His resume/cover letter still listed off a lot of buzzwords for specific technologies/platforms/languages to get the manager's attention -- they just were different ones from a different era.
Currently new frameworks are created in dozens and few are required for everyday work and they change each year.
The amount of information newer programmers have to keep pace with is HUGE...
Thats why some companies stop hiring ppl after 30s because they are simply not able (statistically) to keep with all of it. Its also more about not having other responsibilities - family, kids, friends, home, groceries, hobbies, health etc
I really hate that part of IT because its not what we have seen in our hearts when our first "Hello World" did run..
This is a huge generalization. Some people's careers start in their 30s. Would you think some 30s something ML researcher that just got a PhD is over the hill? Not everyone is married and has kids in their 30s either.
From my experience the young guys aren't keeping up either. They have a very short period where the framework they have learned is the one that's en vogue. 3 years later they are also "behind" because if you do actual long term work you are behind almost by definition. You can't abandon your previous work and rewrite everything every two years because your tech isn't cool anymore.