"Sustainability"

    

     Okay, so I had an interview on Friday, I had one today, and I have another tomorrow. (Here’s hoping the third time’s the charm!)  You know, I’ve been thinking, if  “fifty is the new forty”, why the heck can’t I get a job?  I pondered this today after an interview with a young man who demonstrated about as much interest in talking to me as he would his mother on a Saturday night. I think I’ve got it figured out now, after forty five minutes with this fellow who is young enough to be my son.  Sixty may be the new fifty, fifty the new forty, and so on, but from whose perspective?  From the perspective of the sixty or fifty year old, of course.  No matter how young the semi-senior individual feels, or regardless of how well we have aged, to the thirty-something, we are old!  We are not dealing with subjective age here.  The fifty-something job candidate is trying to convince the much younger interviewer that we are not as old as they perceive us to be. What is problematic is that they will not comprehend the concept until they reach the dreaded age themselves.  In the meantime, I, and many others like me, try to appear as young as possible. We attempt to convince the increasingly younger interviewers of our own youth and vitality, and that we are far more capable than they give us credit for.  I feel as if I am at a disadvantage before even walking through the door. When going on an interview, we of a certain age not only have to sell ourselves on our experience and expertise, we need to convince the individuals doing the hiring that we are young enough to do the job, do it well, and keep at it for years to come. (Puts a new spin on the term sustainability, don’t you think?) The questionnaire I completed today asked an interesting question: “where do you want to be in ten years?”  I didn’t respond that I hope to be retired…