I received an email from a Disney recruiter who stated he had seen my resume and was impressed with my HTML experience. He also called, but I missed the call. I responded to his email and then called him back the next day.

We chatted while he pulled up my resume. I assume it had been downloaded from a job board and was fairly mashed up.

Over the next few minutes, he noted that I had previously held a contract at Disney and asked about it. I provided him with a summation of that job. He asked for a copy of my most recent resume, which I agreed to send.

While he was still reviewing the downloaded copy, he suddenly said, "You've been contracting. I don't know if you're what we're looking for."

I considered two possibilities:

• Perhaps he had reached the education section and realized I am over 65. I don't believe Disney has issues hiring individuals over 65 for minimum wage positions, but I have encountered situations where they don't seem to prefer candidates over 35 for technical roles that are permanent or have the potential for permanent placement.
• Alternatively, he may have noticed that my recent contracts have been through my own company (a multi-owner LLC), meaning they were freelance contracts rather than W-2 employment. Based on my previous contract at Disney and comments from friends and neighbors who work or have worked for Disney (excluding the Imagineers), the company doesn't seem to fully trust those who are partially self-employed (i.e., find their own contracts). I'm not sure why, as they claim to seek individuals who can manage their time and work without close supervision.

So, it might have been the age factor.

Other than noting the one contract I had worked at Disney and blurting out, "You've been contracting," he asked no questions related to the job beyond his initial statement in his email. He had contacted me specifically because of the breadth of my HTML experience. So, no questions.