Have you become too old to work in digital? If you are over 40, there are more than a few digital leaders who may think so -- people who think you are past your sell-by date. While the average age of digital marketers has increased over the past several years, it's still an industry that seems to favor the younger set.
I am well over 40. Over 45, in fact. And over the past year, I have seen far too many remarkable talents shunted aside -- people passed over for new roles or unable to find new jobs. And more than a few of them have told me that ageism is a significant cause of their troubles.
Hey, America is a youth culture, and marketing is right dead center in that obsession. So my shrieking about ageism is unlikely to do an effing thing to address the issue.
But perhaps there are ways that we 40-plussers can examine our own behaviors and personal styles and make changes that dramatically reduce the odds that we will be victims of ageism. We can make changes, in fact, that prove we are essential to the furthering of this industry in the years ahead.
This piece is intended to drive just that sort of personal self-examination. As such, it is not a rose-scented anti-aging cream that will transform us into bright-eyed 25-year-olds. Instead, the idea here is to review some common bad behaviors to identify the things we do that make us seem less relevant. Then to nip those behaviors in the bud.
Here are seven such behaviors to begin your soul searching.
