I was initially contacted by an external recruiter and had a great conversation with him. From there, I went on to speak with HR, the VP of Sales, the VP of Engineering, and another Sales Executive — all of which were productive discussions with consistently positive feedback. My final interview was scheduled with the owner, who I had been told would be particularly challenging. After waiting nine days without any follow-up, my recruiter eventually informed me that the owner declined to move forward with the interview based on my LinkedIn profile picture. I’ve interviewed with multiple companies throughout my career and this has never been raised as an issue before. Frankly, it’s disappointing — and it comes across as ageism.