Overt age-ism

It finally happened. My design scheme back-fired on me.

I have a young face. I used to get carded at bars well into my thirties, it's 
that young. I grew a beard. I let my gray hair show when it came in. I wore 
glasses when contacts would work. Anything to look a little older and be 
taken seriously in the workplace. In one location I was told that I had the 
perfect look for a consultant. It was great.

Until today. I was told at two different places that I was too old for the 
contract. Straight out. Now, in the world of work, that would be an illegal 
thing to say. But in the world of consulting, apparently it's ok to say. I 
was shocked. I was angry. It was the first time in my life I was 
discriminated for anything other than lack of experience or training (easy 
things for me to overcome). 

I turned to my wife, and said that now I am starting to understand (just 
starting, thank you) why minorities and women get testy about this. It is not 
a good feeling.

So, to take a bad thing and attempt to make something better out of it: has 
anyone else experienced over age-ism lately? My experience seems to indicate 
it is on the rise, but I'm usually late in discovering trends like this. How 
do you cope with it? Are there good strategies to overcome it? Are there 
support groups to help deal with the anger? I'd like to know.

Hank Heath
HLHeath Consulting
Ph: 801-209-0091
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