Would you hire someone with a few wrinkles and gray hair?

Today I was in the doctors office with my son and I was paging through the magazines when this ad caught my eye.

I have a few concerns here:

1. Are there really employers out there that would not hire someone with a few wrinkles?
2. Are there people who feel that spending money to remove wrinkles will enable them to get a job?
3. If you really felt it necessary to surgically remove wrinkles wouldn’t the words “photo not actual client” be a concern? More important, how could this man recover from a surgery like this and somehow strike the same exact pose, right down to the hairline and the position of his tie?

Unfortunately, we are in a culture of “anti-aging”.  Many people say that the baby boomers will change the way we are aging, unfortunately this ad and countless others with the same tone are the direction I see many baby boomers headed.

Lets now compare this to my favorite ad from Dove.

I ask you the questions:

1. Would you hire this women?
2. What makes her beautiful?

Obviously, we would need to see her resume to determine if she was a match for a job.  I am very concerned that we have a culture that might discriminate against her gray hair and hire the guy with the plastic surgery!

I think its her eyes and her smile that make her beautiful. They reveal passion and purpose.  I feel that a focus on purpose will make people realize how all the anti-aging tricks seem foolish.  I realize there is a tremendous problem of ageism in the workplace, but the problem of not celebrating aging is going to be much worse.