The piece on EA Recruitment’s use of YouTube videos to promote candidates (Recruiter, 15 April, New Media, p11) provided a stark reminder of the barriers caused by preconceptions and stereotypes in the recruitment process.

Apparently, according to the article, one of the successes of the scheme was a 19-year-old girl who was extremely impressive but failed to get interviews due to her age. The YouTube link resulted in three interviews and three job offers, with companies admitting they would never have been interested in her were it not for the video.

Let’s hope the idea catches on. If it could work for older individuals in the same way as for this younger candidate, it could represent an amazing breakthrough in helping the over 50s re-enter the employment market or change jobs.

As many mature candidates will recount, their main concern lies not so much with whether or not they are ultimately offered a job but the dispiriting dearth of opportunities to even present themselves and their experience to prospective employers.

Like the example quoted, if all companies get is a faceless CV the majority simply aren’t interested once they realise a candidate’s age.

• Dianne Bown-Wilson, founder, in my prime