Remember back when you were 14 and 18 was cool because you could vote, 21 cooler because you could drink and 30 was old. After that it would be all down hill for sure.

But, the mind doesn’t age at the same rate as body does. My mental age is a sexy 28 (woohoo!) as calculated by CDR. I could have guessed that without taking the test. Wait, we’re not really here to talk about my mind in particular. I’m afraid it would take down the server this is hosted on.

The point is, mental age, aptitude and attitude combined with up to date skills and the desired level of experience should be all that matters when we talk about talent. Instead, lately I have been having requests to talk about 2nd life passions, listened to colleagues talk about being worried about being knocked out going under the limbo stick of 50, and reading about Hard Times for Job Hunting Boomers  and ageism.

AARP, leave me alone…. I’m sure I’ll love you some day but I am SO not there yet!

It’s sad when a 49 year old woman selling real estate in Virginia is doing Hollywood style botox to look younger to stay competitive in the job market and consultants have to suggest older workers mention their use of newer technology in their searches.

The bureau of Labor Statistics  Employee Tenure Study cites 4.1 years as the average time a U.S. worker stays in the same job. A couple of months ago, a colleague of mine, Jeff Lipschultz wrote an interesting blog post on the trend of shorter tenure at jobs, 40 Jobs in 40 Years? Fact or Fiction? While I think 40 might be stretching it, even the government recognizes people are not retiring from their one and only.

So, what’s the big deal? The 49 year old botox queen shouldn’t have to worry about the taut-skinned 20-something sacking her job because regardless of age, the likelihood either one of them is going to last more than 4 years there is unlikely. Everyone is “recareering” not just the people who truly do qualify for an AARP membership with its up to 50% discount on hotels in North America.

My Recruiter friends need not be afraid of mature candidates and my HR buds need to work diligently to educate hiring managers on performance based interview skills. Candidates of every age need to be razor sharp in this acutely competitive war for talent, make it unquestionable in the interview why they are the only one for the job and leave the hiring manager with the clear feeling that if they don’t snap you up it’s their loss.

Thirty isn’t old anymore, the way the Social Security Administration keeps upping retirement age, it’s the new 50.