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7.4 What Is a Skill Set, and How Do I Get One?

Age is also less important in the workplace than it was 50 years ago. Most organizations no
longer have mandatory retirement at age 65, and many people choose to work beyond that
age. Youth does not stand in the way of someone’s success either, especially among those who
start their own businesses. The founders and chief executive officers (CEOs) of many major
companies today first held the top job at major companies when they were under age 30.
These CEOs include Mark Zuckerberg, who cofounded the company Facebook from his col-
lege dorm room when he was 20 years old; Adam Goldstein, who started the growing travel
company Hipmunk at age 22; and David Karp, who founded the popular blogging platform
Tumblr when he was 20 years old.

Not everyone is an innovator and capable of starting a new company, and these examples are
not to say that experience and past job performance do not matter. However, today’s work-
place is based more on your skill set, your ideas, and your ability to offer value to a company
than on your position in a company, your seniority, or your age.

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