What To Do So You Dont Hear Youre Overqualified

What To Do So You Dont Hear Youre Overqualified What To Do So You Dont Hear Youre Overqualified INBOX: “I’ve been searching for 5 months now, and I have to say this is not coming together for me this time as easily as it did for my last job. The problem is I’m getting the “overqualified” response even though I’m not that concerned with the level or title. I don’t know how to change this.” When you approach your job search with a flexible, open mind, it can be vexing to keep on smacking up against responses that feel inflexible. After all, you match the qualifications in the ad, you’re willing to do the role, and the title doesn’t matter that much to you…so, what’s the problem? The problem is that you â€" quite naturally â€" are only thinking about this from your perspective. I gently suggest that you adopt the recruiter’s or employer’s perspective, and then make some adjustments so that you fit the role in their mind. Segment Your Job Search â€" Strategically A good rule of thumb is to pursue roles that are on your level, 1 title below your level, and 1 title above your level. But where most jobseekers make a mistake is in using the same resume for all 3 of those levels. What you need to do instead is approach each role strategically. You can â€" and should make modifications to your resume that take just a few minutes. This is far different from a resume overhaul (which you should NOT be doing every time.) Identify the primary 5 responsibilities indicated in the ad that the employer would be paying you to come in and actually DO. These are going to be the central duties in the job, then make sure each version of your resume reflects those. DO Be Concerned About Title While you may be open to a range of opportunities, the employer â€" in most cases â€" only has 1 opportunity to fill at the moment. It’s in your best interest to fit the mold so you can increase the likelihood of the employer responding to you and calling you for an interview. For example, if the position is Senior Manager and you’ve been at the Director or VP level for several years, dial back the leadership tone that comes across on your resume, to align yourself more closely with a candidate who looks like a Senior Manager. The criticism I often hear about this approach is that it feels like dumbing down your resume. It’s not. Realigning you resume to fit the role at hand is the smartest thing you can possibly do to move your job search in the direction that you want. Don’t Mix Up The Message When your phone rings and the recruiter wants to speak to you about your background, make sure to articulate the story in that conversation that matches the story on your resume. The mistake is the tendency to want to add more or to tell the full story. You have the full story in your mind, but the recruiter only has the story that’s on the piece of paper. Your resume is the reason the person called you in the 1st place. At this stage, they’re primarily seeking confirmation of the story your resume tells. Now is not your opportunity to “fill in” everything you may have left off. Focus on presenting the story that best showcases you as the ideal candidate for the role. Just as you can be selective in what the resume shows, you can also be selective in your conversation. You do this in any number of social interactions on a daily basis already: the answer to, “how have you been doing?” is different based on who’s asking: your doctor, the best friend you just saw 2 days ago, or your old high school friend from 20 years back. Your responses in an interview situation need to differ as well. If you’re targeting a Senior Manager role, the story in which you strategically guided an enterprise-wide initiative to promote financial transparency when you were VP, Finance, may not be the best example that serves you in this particular case. Instead, select an example that more tightly aligns with the level of responsibility indicated in the ad for the Senior Manager role. Take ownership of the accomplishments that feel closest to what you'd be required to do in the opportunity you're pursuing at this moment. Much of getting hired centers on making a connection. That connection starts with your resume, and carries through so you get responses, get calls for interviews, and hear offers. We walk you through exactly what to say in Ageless Resume Secrets for the 50+ Job Hunter! Get the language you’re missing, so you don’t get told again that you're overqualified for an opportunity you really want.