Recently I had the opportunity to be on a panel of alumni entrepreneurs sponsored by my university’s career services office. There were five of us, three men and two women. As we all introduced ourselves, I realized that the oldest man on the panel had been born the year I graduated from college. In an instant I wondered if I should mention the year I graduated. Would this room full of undergrad and grad school students dismiss me as too old to have anything to say to them? I shook off the fear and told them my graduation year. Except for one pair of raised eyebrows, it wasn’t a problem. The students were attentive and asked lots of questions. I totally enjoyed myself and afterwards had conversations with a few of them.

What did I learn? My fear of being considered "too old" was in my head, not theirs. Unless, of course I look at all the advertising telling me that I should be worried about it. Can’t I just be who I am instead of fitting into some classification? Yes, I’m older, but that’s not a bad thing, especially if one considers the alternative.

From time to time I hear my friends mention how they’re afraid no one will hire them after 45 or 50. When I was unemployed a few years ago, I went to a job training session. A gentleman in his early 60’s said that if he walked into an interview and the interviewer looked to be in their 30’s, he’d just walk right out.

In a society that values youth, it’s easy to believe that you’ll be rejected if you have wrinkles or are not "youthful" enough. A friend of mine is the only person over 50 in her department. Everyone else who was older was let go in the last downsizing. So yes, it is a factor, but age and experience are not old school, they are valuable and needed. Especially with people living longer, we have to be willing to define ourselves – in spite of what society tries to fit us into.