On Douyin, a woman in her 30s with 20,000 followers was tearfully telling about the strange interviewer she had recently encountered. After going through four rounds of interviews at a company over two months, Xiao Zuo was notified by the HR that she was "not suitable". The reason was that "you had previous entrepreneurial experience, and the company was afraid that you would be unstable and would change jobs." Xiao Zuo's friend resigned from a large company and interviewed at the same company. This person had no entrepreneurial experience, but was also notified by the HR that he was "not suitable" because his "resume was mediocre and he felt that his ability to withstand pressure would be poor."
A few weeks later, Xiao Zuo interviewed a company again. After two rounds of interviews, and after receiving satisfactory feedback on his skills and project results, he was still not hired because he was "too old." Ironically, the company stated in the recruitment notice that candidates must have a bachelor's degree or above, more than 10 years of work experience, and those who have had successful major project experience are preferred - a rough calculation shows that 10 years after graduating from college is about 33 years old.
In the movie "Reverse Life", Xu Zheng plays Gao Zhilei, a programmer in a large company who earns 600,000 to 700,000 yuan a year. After being laid off, he can only compete with deliverymen for jobs, which is a reflection of real life.
In early 2025, a recruitment notice for sanitation workers in Guangzhou clearly stated "under 35 years old", causing an uproar in public opinion.
When positions that traditionally accommodate middle-aged and older workers also begin to build age barriers, the scars of workplace civilization are completely torn open. Data from a recruitment platform shows that among the unemployed group aged 35-45, more than 60% have stopped actively looking for jobs, and the average unemployment period has exceeded 18 months.
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions recently conducted a nationwide survey. The results showed that among employees aged 35-39, 54.1% were worried about unemployment, 70.7% were worried about outdated skills, and 94.8% felt stressed, which were the highest proportions among all age groups. In addition, only 9.4% of Internet industry employees were over 35 years old, and the number in the anchor industry dropped to 7%, making technical positions the hardest hit area for "young people's jobs."
All signs indicate that "35 years old" is the "shelf life label" in the workplace in today's society.
Why is this happening? The root cause is the crude quantification of age in the labor market. Companies equate age with "cost-effectiveness." Young people have good physical strength, learn quickly, and have low salaries, while middle-aged people are labeled as "rigid-minded." Not only are about 80% of Internet jobs clearly marked as "under 35 years old," but even security jobs now tend to favor young people.
Skill misalignment is also one of the contradictions. When an old employee in the manufacturing industry is faced with a robotic arm that controls the tolerance to ±0.01 microns, he is helpless; when a 35-year-old advertising person can't come up with a solution after racking his brains for an entire afternoon, and an active new colleague born in the 2000s uses chatGPT to figure out a solution in half an hour, a gap has already appeared between the accumulation of experience and the iteration of skills.
"I can't roll up, nor can I lie flat. I am anxious and powerless." Recently, Wei Jianjun made this precise description in the short film "35 Years Old" for the 35th anniversary of Great Wall Motors, which instantly hit the pain point of the times. Prejudices weigh on people like a mountain. In the eyes of too many people, 35 years old seems to be an insurmountable chasm, and many possibilities in life seem to be quietly closed.
However, it is worth thinking about that 35 is supposed to be the golden age of a career. People at this age are experienced, mature, have a solid network of contacts, and have decision-making quality, risk prediction ability, and emotional stability that are difficult for young people to achieve.
Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei founded Huawei at the age of 44, Dong Mingzhu started her career in the south at the age of 36; Lei Jun led a team with an average age of 48.6 to enter the automotive field at the age of 54, and Xiaomi Auto became a "hotshot" in less than two years; Yu Minhong, 62, is still exploring new tracks in live e-commerce. These cases confirm a simple truth: age is not a measure of ability, but a medal of experience.
When the age of 35 becomes a milestone in life that attracts great attention from the society, Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motors, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary, stands out as a "peer".
In his speech "At 35", he did not preach from a high position, but spoke of countless struggles and perseverance with an empathetic attitude: "Like you, we are also 35. Like you, our industry is also very competitive and equally difficult. Along the way, we have stepped on many pitfalls and taken many detours. We have heard doubts and seen cold eyes, but our original intention has not changed." This sincere resonance instantly eliminated the distance between the enterprise and the individual, laying the emotional foundation for the short film to reach people's hearts.
"35+ Plan": From shouting to action, building a foundation of quality with experience
The core of Wei Jianjun's speech is to inject positive energy into the concept of "35 years old". He declared with great force: "Carrying 35 years old is a burden; putting it down is a stepping stone; stepping on it will help you overcome this hurdle!" This is not empty consolation, but a cognitive transformation based on deep insight.
He used the growth of bamboo as a metaphor, which was vivid and philosophical: "It takes three years for bamboo to take root, but in the fourth year it grows wildly to nine meters - and the explosion may happen in the next second." This reveals the inevitable connection between accumulation and explosion. Age should not be a shackle that binds people, but rather a valuable capital for rapid development.
In the end, he defined 35 years old as a "beginning" full of infinite possibilities, and called on everyone to "come on, recharge, and just do it! Don't care about other people's eyes and time, it will never let down those who dare to persevere."
Wei Jianjun and Great Wall Motors' responsibility is not just about spiritual encouragement. At the end of the short film "At 35", the "35+ Plan" is launched today, opening a special recruitment session for talents over 35 years old worldwide. This is by no means an empty slogan, but a declaration of war on age discrimination in the workplace with the most practical actions, and the strongest practice of "35 years old is not the end of a resume, but a new beginning of a life resume."
This plan covers multiple core positions such as administration, production, supply chain, R&D, and marketing, and opens the door to the experienced "35+" group. The end of the film calls for "I hope all companies will not set age limits for talents", which demonstrates Great Wall's sense of social responsibility that transcends commercial interests. This is also due to its profound understanding of the industry: automobiles are a major technology application industry, and the technical maturity of talents is directly related to product safety and user trust. For 35 years, Great Wall has "pursued quality and worked hard on quality", implemented a high-standard quality management system, and knows that it is inseparable from experienced engineers and craftsmen to put in enough effort in places that users cannot see. Starting from the fundamental position of being responsible for users, Wei Jianjun advocates the positive value of "not treating talents as consumables" and emphasizes "using talents to give birth to products that users can rest assured." The "35+ Plan" is a solid support for the commitment to "insist on high-quality car manufacturing" and is a key step in transforming experience precipitation into product reliability.
This move contains profound social and industry insights. The "35-year-old" threshold not only hinders individual prospects, but also restricts corporate innovation and social and economic vitality. Great Wall Motor's own development has confirmed the value of experience - its leap from a technology follower to a leader in some fields is inseparable from a group of technical backbones who have been working for many years. At the same time, Great Wall firmly believes in bottom-line thinking and rule awareness, regards compliance as the premise and lifeline of long-termism, and opposes behaviors that harm the health of the industry. This respect for rules and adherence to quality are consistent with its cherishment of mature talents. Enterprises must continue to create value for society, "must have the ability to generate blood, and unprofitable enterprises cannot go far." Great Wall "pursues quality market share", improves profitability while increasing sales, does not rush for quick success, and does not engage in "bloodletting" price wars. The high-quality development driven by this steady operation enables it to have the ability and confidence to practice social responsibilities such as the "35+ Plan".
Ballast and Catalyst: The Contemporary Implications of Corporate Responsibility
Looking deeper, Great Wall Motors has leveraged the grand contemporary issues of talent value, social equity and corporate responsibility with its attitude declaration of "Year 35" and the pragmatic actions of the "35+ Plan".
When workplace age anxiety spreads like a virus and turns into a social disease, companies have the responsibility and ability to become the "ballast stone" to maintain social fairness and justice. Great Wall Motors has demonstrated the truth of "ability transcends age" with its 35 years of high-quality development achievements in adhering to long-termism. This is not only about fulfilling the basic responsibility of corporate citizens, but also a major issue of responding to the call of the times, solving social pain points, and maintaining development fairness.
Against the backdrop of a profound transformation in the demographic structure and the accelerated advancement of China's modernization, building a better age tolerance is a core test that companies must answer well. Especially in the manufacturing sector, the value of the profound experience, superb skills and stable mentality of workers over 35 years old has long been systematically underestimated. The development of companies should focus on the unlimited potential of "human possibilities" rather than the simple accumulation of their physiological numbers.
The cornerstone of the grand blueprint of common prosperity is to allow workers of different ages and backgrounds to share development opportunities. As a key unit of social operation, enterprises should become a "talent melting pot" that gathers diverse wisdom and inspires sparks of innovation. Great Wall Motors' action this time is to create a platform for the collision and integration of "the wisdom and experience of the post-70s + the innovative ideas of the post-80s + the energetic thinking of the post-95s", injecting a valuable "catalyst" into the healthy development of the industry. The energy released by this chemical reaction is a powerful driving force for the society to move towards common prosperity.
Great companies set an example for the industry with their values. Great Wall Motors speaks for people aged 35 and opens its arms to "35+" talents with real jobs. Its significance has gone beyond the commercial behavior of a single company. It is expected to drive thousands of companies upstream and downstream of the industrial chain to re-examine and reshape their employment concepts, so that the social responsibility of enterprises goes beyond the narrow commercial scope and truly creates "universal values" for the entire society.
at last
At the age of 35, life is just beginning. Great Wall Motors' "At 35" short film and "35+ Plan" are a beam of strong light that penetrates the fog, piercing the anxiety and haze that shrouds "35 years old" and rekindling hope.
It declares to the whole society: the wonderful picture of life should not be roughly limited by the ruler of age; the real golden period is always the "present tense" that is being written. When "Gao Zhilei" uses his algorithm experience accumulated in a large company to become an "ace deliveryman", who can say that "35-year-old" professionals are out of date?
We hereby call on all companies to take off their tinted glasses of "35-year-old shelf life" and completely abolish age discrimination clauses in recruitment. Age should not be a yardstick for measuring the value of talent, nor should it be a barrier blocking career paths.
Great Wall Motors' "35+ Plan" has proved through action that experience accumulation is a valuable asset for enterprises and the cornerstone of social innovation. We hope that more companies can break prejudices, embrace diversity, and establish an evaluation system centered on ability, experience and potential, so that workers of different ages can shine on a fair stage.
