I've heard it said that in Silicon Valley, 30 is too old. Age discrimination is just one of many concerns readers have written me about. 
As *Sue said, "There were 3 of us that applied for that job. All of us met the requirements but we were all also over 40. Not one of us got a second interview. I'm sure it was because age."

I guess we'll never know exactly why *Sue or her friends didn't get the job. My advice to her was to forget about a few gray hairs and concentrate on what she has to offer. After all, *Dave got a great job in his field at 45 (after a series of stop-gap consulting gigs). Who else do you know that found jobs in their fields lately that is over 30, 40, 50?
Don't let fears about any specific aspect block your career success.

Seek out people who break your rules! That's right. If you're convinced that there's something irrelevant about you that makes you an undesirable candidate, find people with that aspect in common that succeeded anyway. After all, wouldn't it be nice to prove yourself wrong?

Be yourself. In my experience, I've clearly noticed that people who make hiring decisions do tend to employ candidates they have something in common with. Even when the economy was hot it was important to hire candidates that were a close fit with the company culture and group dynamics. Now that qualified candidates are easier to find, employers have more to choose from. So what if you're not a good fit for the position you just interviewed for. You will be for the next one.

Something, old, new, borrowed, and blue is an old adage believed to bring good luck to another type of long-term relationship - marriage. Incidentally, a good balance of many different aspects also helps companies be successful. If you sense that anyone's idea of a good fit is actually discriminatory, you don't want to be part of that organization anyway.

See Your Success,
Tara Montgomery

* I will always change names and specifics that would identify the people discussed here.