亲爱的安妮：您和您的读者能否考虑一下我的现况。我在一家《财富》500强公司（Fortune 500 ）工作了20多年，期间不断得到升职。2008年，我带领一个小部门扭亏为盈，之后我就一直在负责那个部门的工作。但现在，作为公司重组的一部分，我的部门将与另外一个部门合并。公司给了我一笔非常慷慨的退休金，我也很愿意接受，可我现在还不想退休。我如今才61岁，身体非常健康，我感觉至少还能坚持以高效率工作10到15年。

    但我担心的是，潜在雇主们会这么想吗？有人说，我“比实际年龄要年轻”（当然，这肯定是言不由衷的恭维话），我还有市场吗？有些日期是否不应该出现在我的简历中——比如我的毕业年份？您对此有什么建议吗？——SK

    亲爱的SK：猎头公司Witt/Kieffer的总裁兼CEO查尔斯•沃德尔认为：“只要你擅长自己的工作，年龄就不是问题。看看巴菲特。他已经82岁了，可没有人说他应该退休。”确实如此。伯克希尔-哈撒韦（Berkshire-Hathaway）的投资人和其他人或许都恨不得能克隆出另一个巴菲特来。

    Witt/Kieffer公司的猎头们发现，雇主对于拥有几十年成功履历的管理者的需求日益增加。比如：在2012年，公司安置的CEO约有14%超过60岁，比十年前增加了3%。高管方面的比例也基本相同：13%的人超过60岁，而2002年仅有3%。

    这种巨大的变化并非意外。据美国劳工统计局（Bureau of Labor Statistics）最近的统计数据显示，美国失业率随着年龄增长而呈下降趋势。上个月，25至34岁年龄段的失业率为7.6%；35至40岁为5.9%；45至54岁为5.7%。而55岁以上年龄段的失业率为5.3%，是所有年龄段中的最低水平。

    当然，如今的水平远远高于危机之前的2007年，当时55岁及以上年龄段的失业率仅有3.1%。但从另一方面来看，将这一水平与应届毕业生（20至24岁）的情况进行对比，我们就可以证明一点：经验才是王道。应届毕业生失业率高达惊人的13.5%。

    你能带领一个有问题的部门扭亏为盈，这在任何时候都是一个非常好的卖点。沃德尔认为，这一点在当前动荡不安的经济形势下尤其可贵。因此，你的求职过程肯定会一帆风顺，只要你做到小心谨慎。首先，从当前公司争取到愿意为你的成就作担保的推荐人：“在你这个水平，同事和上司的强力推荐至关重要。”

    其次，沃德尔建议，在与招聘人员和雇主交流时，“明确每一位雇主的需要以及自己的技能如何满足这些需要。关键是要确定，你能为新岗位带来的东西，正是雇主们所需要的。”拿出时间和精力来找到最适合的岗位，可以避免招聘经理们给出“条件太好”这样的评价。

    Dear Annie: I wonder what you and your readers think about my situation. After 20-plus years rising through the ranks at a Fortune 500 company, I turned around a small division and made it profitable in 2008, and have been running it since then. Now my business unit is being merged with a different operation, as part of a restructuring. I've been offered a very generous retirement package, and I'm willing to take it, but I'm nowhere near ready to stop working. At 61, and in excellent health, I feel I have at least 10 or 15 highly productive years ahead of me.

    My concern is, will potential employers agree? I've been told I "don't look my age" (a backhanded compliment, for sure), but how marketable am I? Should I leave dates off my resume -- the year I graduated from college, for instance? Do you have any advice for me? -- Still Kicking

    Dear SK: "If you're good at what you do, age isn't an issue," says Charles Wardell, president and CEO of executive search firm Witt/Kieffer. "Look at Warren Buffett. He's 82, and nobody's saying he should head out to pasture." True. Berkshire-Hathaway (BRKA) investors, among others, probably wish they could clone him.

    At Witt/Kieffer, headhunters are finding that employers increasingly want managers with a decades-long track record of success. Consider: In 2012, about 14% of the CEOs the firm placed were over age 60, up from 3% a decade earlier. For C-suite jobs overall, the figures were about the same: 13% over age 60 vs. 3% in 2002.

    Those big jumps are no fluke. According to the latest stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment declines with age. Last month, the jobless rate stood at 7.6% for 25-to-34-year-olds; 5.9% for ages 35 to 44; and 5.7% for the 45-to-54-year-old cohort. The jobless rate for people 55 and up, at 5.3%, was the lowest of any age group.

    Granted, that's much higher than the unemployment rate for people 55 and older in pre-recession 2007 -- a tiny 3.1%. But on the other hand, for proof that experience is king, contrast that current 5.3% with the rate for new college grads (ages 20-24): a whopping 13.5%.

    Since you turned around a troubled division -- a highly marketable skill anytime, but especially in this still-shaky economy -- your job hunt should be pretty smooth sailing, as long as you approach it with care, Wardell says. First, line up references at your current company who will vouch for your achievements: "At your level, strong recommendations from colleagues and higher-ups are crucial."

    Then, when you speak with recruiters and employers, "get very specific about what each employer needs and how your skills fit," Wardell suggests. "The key is to make sure that what you bring to the job is exactly what they're looking for." Putting in the time and attention to find precisely the right fit can prevent hiring managers from bringing up the dreaded "O" word (for "overqualified").