I just aborted yet another online job application . . .

that required applicants to include the year they graduated from college.

Applications of this kind should have the following statement at the top: "I'm too old for consideration. Stop reading here and trash this application."

A rose by any other name

I hate ads like this one:

Then and now

I remember a time when I was about 18 when I had an interview for some job (probably a summer one). On the way to the interview, I stopped in to see my mom, who at that time was a buyer for a department store in Newark. 

As she straightened my tie, she said, "Don't worry. You always make a good impression."

I carried that confidence, along with a great deal of experience, into job interviews that I've had over these many years. And my interviews have resulted in many job offers. 

Now, because of my age, I almost dread job interviews. I can still make a good impression -- from my resume and on telephone interviews -- but when I walk into an interview, my 68 years accompany me.

I wonder what mom would have to say about that.

When caption writers blindly follow the rules