Mature hopefuls

I recently profiled an amazing guy, Ian Blair. Ian landed a really cool job as a senior consultant with software specialist Prima Consulting. He has also become the office "sustainability guru" - a cutting edge role made possible via a career spanning 40 plus years.

Ian is 69. He was one of the first people to use computers in the rural sector and was using the Internet years before the rest of us. He first saw many of today's software languages while they were in their development stages. What a great guy to have in software consulting company!

Of the emails I've received, some have praised the piece others say I shouldn't be giving "false hope" to mature candidates. The truth is, Ian's is not a typical story and no-one is claiming otherwise. Indeed, LINK Recruitment, who placed Ian, admit to some nerves about putting him forward for the job but they truly believed he was the best candidate and the managing director of PRC, Robert Riegert, agreed. "Age never came into it," he told me.

As far as I can tell, when the clarion call first went out to mature age candidates a while back, employers were just not ready. Things are changing but that change is still slow. Prejudice and misconceptions still exist.

However, I think it is important to tell Ian's story and others like his. Employers have no choice but to embrace diversity if they want to remain competitive. Ian was looking for a job for many months and tried different things to perfect his campaign.

He has provided a wealth of tips on CareerOne.com.au in the "Job hunting advice" section along with other experts so check it out.