I've had a very hard time getting my current job. No doubt ageism was a reason, combined with some years of self-employment that recruiters can't see as a anyth

I've had a very hard time getting my current job. No doubt ageism was a reason, combined with some years of self-employment that recruiters can't see as a anything but a suspicious hole. Still 40 is not old, wait one or two decades to worry. Not sure if removing experience would have helped. After all, qualifications on nearly-extinct tech was an advantage in this case. My problem is that I almost always get hired when I can talk with the technical lead. But I get filtered out before that step, like dozens of times past year.