4. The Value of Experience? Priceless!

If you're of a certain age, you may worry that you can't compete in the marketplace, especially if you're switching gears or fields. So repackage your age – as an asset.

Life experience, and the wisdom that comes through living, are strengths in the workplace.

Corny as it sounds, time is a great teacher.

You've experienced success, failure, and challenge.

You've managed family matters (of relatives older and younger), dealt with financial issues (both good news and bad), handled medical problems and life transitions, coped with rapid technological change, and followed the news for several decades in a rapidly shrinking world.

Precisely what are the benefits of your years of experience?

If anyone asks, you can rattle off:

• Reliability
• Good judgment
• Problem-solving ability
• Ability to navigate a crisis
• Experience in negotiating compromise
• Ability to listen
• Ability to assess cost-benefit trade-offs
• Comfort level in working with all types of personalities
• A sense of responsibility
• An established identity
• A sense of purpose

In sum, people of different ages also bring to a team different and valuable life experiences, perspectives, and ideas. You add a positive, new dimension to a diverse workforce.