“Companies are starting to hire again, but many are turning their backs on older job seekers.”That’s the opening line from an article yesterday on CNN.com, which ran a headline announcing Job Blues for Gray-haired Workers.

If you’re over 40 and out of work, that’s hardly a news bulletin.

Even though the national unemployment rate among older workers is lower than that of younger workers, none of the recent gains in hiring have occurred for the older bracket.

Where are all the equal-opportunity employers and why don’t more (or any) business leaders truly embrace the philosophy of the founder of outdoor clothing giant Patagonia?

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Employers are overhauling employee evaluations to better separate top performers from underachievers, The Wall Street Journal reports. Hewitt Associates estimates 10% of managers and 11% of other employees are now judged solely on the results, as opposed to a mix of results and softer metrics such as showing leadership, up from 7% and 8% five years ago. Nearly a third of execs are judged solely on results, up from just over a fifth in 2005.

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The Wall Street Journal takes a look at common mistakes that job seekers make, which recruiters say can take them out of the running. Among them: a sense of entitlement, rudeness, arrogance and lying. One recruiter says some of the behavior is so outrageous that she thinks she's being secretly taped by a TV reality show.

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Almost every day I hear from people who have been out of work for many months—if not years. They say they're desperate to work. When I ask what they've been doing and how the process is going, very often they tell me that they've "only" been offered jobs that pay $8 to $10 an hour. That's followed by the same refrain from everyone, "I can't possibly work for that little."

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Inc. is one of my favorite magazines and the June issue focuses on America’s best run companies. One of the top places to work is Patagonia, the outdoor apparel company based in California. When asked what he’d do to create the best workplace if he were starting a company today, founder Yvon Chouinard said, "I'd search out older women as employees.

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The Business Roundtable, a survey of 106 CEOs from some of the country’s biggest corporations, finds that 39 percent of executives planned to increase hiring during the second half of 2010, the highest percentage since 2007. Only 17 percent of CEOs said they would lay off employees.

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Business is picking up for many companies but employers are still asking employees to work overtime to fill the demand because they're still being cautious about making new hires, USA TODAY reports. Still, employers say they can't risk burning out workers with too much overtime and will begin hiring if the recovery continues.

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The federal government, education officials and giant military contractors are collaborating to recruit a new class of tech professionals trained to battle data thieves, online scammers and cyberspies. Community colleges are expanding cyber programs -- and drawing adults seeking to change or advance their careers, USA TODAY reports.

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Lots of reaction from you about job postings that require applicants to be currently employed. Most of you were outraged, but plenty weren’t surprised—having experienced it firsthand.

How about this one: Since we focus exclusively on women’s career advancement, we’re often approached by recruiters asking for recommendations of female candidates. But there’s sometimes a catch: No kids, no spouse, a willingness to put in long hours and travel.Long hours and travel we can accept, but anytime there’s a demand about family and marital status, we refuse to engage.

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I hear from women every day who are suffering greatly from job loss. My staff and I offer them whatever advice, leads and resources we can, but it’s often challenging since we can’t possibly give everyone the one-on-one help they really need.

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