I'm an older engineer too and I am very aware of how frustrating this can be for techs of all ages so I made our screening test less fizzbuzz, do my work for me and gotcha questions and more real world, challenging, engaging and most of all interesting.
Examples include: How would you solve this at a high level, here's some code we know is broken, how would you both fix and improve it etc.
After all, both parties are being screened.
The other upside is that we also get to gauge communication and analytical skills not just production line coding.
Even after doing this, over the years I have seen a good 30% refuse to do it or just ghost at this point for whatever reason. Afterall, I've done it myself a number of times.
Examples include: How would you solve this at a high level, here's some code we know is broken, how would you both fix and improve it etc.
After all, both parties are being screened.
The other upside is that we also get to gauge communication and analytical skills not just production line coding.
Even after doing this, over the years I have seen a good 30% refuse to do it or just ghost at this point for whatever reason. Afterall, I've done it myself a number of times.