Yep, it's far more insidious than just "it's a fairly-land meritocracy" that you believe when you're younger. I have been responsible for hiring a lot of people

Yep, it's far more insidious than just "it's a fairly-land meritocracy" that you believe when you're younger. I have been responsible for hiring a lot of people, and I catch myself judging older candidates before they've said anything: and I'm an old bastard myself!