A lot of people hire people like themselves or - to paraphrase previous posts and threads - people they would like to hang out with. And hiring managers are typ

A lot of people hire people like themselves or - to paraphrase previous posts and threads - people they would like to hang out with. And hiring managers are typically younger than 50 and don't want to hang out with someone in their 50's and/or don't want to hire their "parent". Many people see 50-year-olds as "old dogs who can't/don't want to learn new tricks", regardless of past achievements/tricks. And many mid-size to large employers still harbor the illusion that they can hire someone who will stay with the comapny for life, or close to it. Thus, they don't want to "waste time" on someone who will "retire" soon anyway. They want someone to "invest in" and for them, that translates into a younger person. Finally, some people simply don't want to hire someone who knows more/is more experienced than they. Sometimes it's because they fear that person will have an attitude; sometimes it's because they have a need to always be - or perceive themselves to be - the smartest kid on the block.