[QUOTE=Manda JO]
I would refine this a little bit to say that employers often avoid hiring people over 40+ in an open-market competitive placement situation. But many, many jobs are not filled that way: post 40, most job changes seem to come about as a result of being recruited or networking: post 40, you are more likely to have a specialized skill set and/or a network of people that you have worked for/with in the past. My mom and dad have both changed jobs many times since they were 40, but almost never have they responded to an ad or sent in a letter/resume (or if they did, it was as a formality, well into negotiations).
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I would push this a bit further - hiring in my line of business would mean I had heard of them through my network. Networking is the way senior jobs get got, not through applying via email or snail mail, and with the competition between my network and in-house promotions, I’d say someone coming in from the cold wouldn’t stand a chance.
I would assume someone over 40 isn’t starting from go, and if their network is so poor they can’t use it to get a job or at least a reference, or they are so crap that they don’t have a network, then it’s unlikely they’d do much for me either as their employer.
The last 3 jobs I had were all gotten through networking. And I’m only 35.