Overqualified?
 

Has anyone been told that they're overqualified for a position? I seem to get lots of interviews, but no offers for because I'm either overqualified or not qualified enough. I have two degrees and a post-graduate certificate (and lots of volunteer work), which is apparently too much for some entry-level jobs. However, I don't have in enough for jobs at a slightly higher level. Any advice for such a situation?

I was once told to "dumb down" my resume.

I didn't, so I don't know if it's good advice or not.

When I got married and moved from NYC to Virginia Beach, I thought that employers would be jumping all over one another in their rush to hire me. I am sure the other ten zillion or so Navy spouses thought the same thing when THEY moved there :(

After a month of sending out 150 unsolicited resumes but not one bite, I signed up with a couple of temp agencies and the people at both places suggested that I remove the fact that I have a BA from my resume and downgrade my former PR account executive position to a more "administrative" position (i.e. secretary)

Like DA, I declined to "dumb myself down". I figured it would hurt more than help in the long run and, besides, it was lying.

I gave up on the temping and got a waitressing job where I made good money. In the subsequent years, I was able to find freelance work and internal PR work without fudging my resume.

Good luck to you! I know it's frustrating.

That sounds like a good way of finding "A" job, any old job, making a TON less then you're worth.

This has happened to me twice. In the end, it all worked out: I would have been bored.

It happened to me once; I later found out that it was because the job description was very misleading; I would have hated the job itself, even though the description sounded promising.

Isn't an employer saying you're "overqualified" the same thing as someone you're dating saying "it's not you it's me," which really means that it IS you and he/she/it is just not that into you?

I was told it meant "We'd hire you for this job, but you'll be bored and leave in two weeks, so it's not worth it," or "We can't pay you enough based on experience, so we won't even bother offering it."

Wait until mid-life or past and see how frustrating this one is.

Nobody seems to believe that money is not always the driving force.

A lot of people get tired of climbing the corporate ladder, and just want to make enough to be comfortable and be of some use to society.

It is remarkable how much great experience and knowledge is passed over because some boss thinks (s)he or the company can't afford it.

Dumb.

I know many Army officers' wives in the same situation. Quite a few of us went back to school to get certified, get a MA/MS in our subject area so we could teach at the cc level, took the lowest GS level position just to get in the system, etc. Others opted to start their families in their early/mid 20s vs waiting until 30.

Regarding dumbing down my resume: If I took out my master's degree, people are going to wonder what I was doing between 2002 and 2004!

Tell them you took an around the world trip.

I'm sure that's the case sometimes... (and I like that analogy!) :)

But....

It could be money too.

In broadcasting.. for instance.. there are market sizes. It's kind of like a pyramid. The NY area is the number one market and conversely.. towns like "North Platte Nebraska" are way down near the bottom of roughly 180 "markets." (regions)

A friend of mine wanted to go from a network TV producing job in NY to a local affiliate in Miami. He had an amazing resume and resume tape (we're talking Emmys).. but none of the news directors would return his call.

He finally got through, and one of the news directors said that people in the Miami area were "afraid" of him because they couldn't pay him near what he was getting in NY. They told him that he was "over-qualified" for the job.

And.. although he was willing to take a cut in salary to make a lifestyle change.. it turned out to be true. The pay was WAY lower than he could possibly afford. He ended up turning it down because his current expenses (a kid in Princeton, etc) wouldn't allow him to do so at this juncture.

That happened to me for years as a television director turned production executive with network directing experience.

Finally -- just last night -- I took a job with a new sports network as a director.

I finally convinced someone it was just something I liked, and that I was finished playing the "bigger market" game and just wanted to go back to my roots.

Of course I had to talk them out of trying to make me Manager of Operations. It paid a LOT more -- but I'm pretty tired of HR problems, budgets, etc.

BTW, the last time I checked, there were just over 200 Markets (DMA's) with the largest being New York City and the smallest being Glendive, MT. The smallest I worked in was Columbus, OH (Number 31 at the time) and the largest was New York City. The good thing about the new job is that I get to stay and work here in Denver (Market #18).

Congrat's on your new job! Sports director.. !!!

I haven't looked for a job in many years.. love where I am. Thanks for the update on markets.. since being out of local TV, I haven't kept up with them. They're always changing. Glendive, huh? Never heard of it.. but maybe that's why it's the smallest!

Thanks. I got curious. There are now 210 TV markets (DMA's = Designated Market Areas).

First and last are still the same.

Here's a link to a list if you're interested:

http://www.nielsenmedia.com/DMAs.html

There have been some pretty notable changes. When I worked there, Detroit was number 5 and dropped to 7. Cleveland was in the top 10 (number 8 I think). Miami was much higher, but Houston, Dallas and Atlanta were in the top 15-20. That pretty clearly shows the migration away from the traditional "rust belt."

The top 4 markets have stayed the same for as long as I can remember.

An interesting statistic from years ago, which I doubt is true anymore, is that there were more people in the Philly TV market than the entire Mountain Time Zone. I suspect, with the growth in the West, that has changed. Denver has moved from market 33 when I first visited here to number 18 now.

It's funny how they move the markets around-- consolidate them, then create new markets. I can't keep up!

Anyway... best wishes in your new job!

:::yawn:::

Alum, there are plenty of NCO wives who have degrees and want careers too (shocking, isn't it?), and many are in the same situation. Women who wear their husbands' ranks make me ill.

I took a job for which I was overqualified because I really wanted to have a job right when I finished grad school. BIG MISTAKE. Huge!

BTW-- Delt Alum... what kind of hours will you have? I would imagine mainly evening hours to cover sports?

Mine are crazy.. never the same. Sometimes I start work late at night.. sometimes the wee hours in the morning. Wonder what 9 to 5 is like??? But on the plus side, I get to enjoy the afternoon most days-- go to the pool and such.

Good question. This is a start-up and I suspect it will take a while to define itself -- whether everything will be live (afternoons and evenings), or some stuff will go to Memorex.

Days off will change from major sport season to the next as well.

Typical TV production stuff.

I've been in TV for a long time, so hours just don't seem like much of an issue. That will especially be true since all of the kids are gone.

The only hard part I have is sleeping. I come in at all hours of the day-- literally-- depending on what's going on. Do you have any tricks for these strange hours? I have blackout blinds, a white noise machine.. you name it!

Maybe if you tried sleeping instead of GC, you'd get more sleep.

Alpha Frog,
Why must you always be so nasty?

BTW-- how can you possibly talk about being in the computer when your profile says:

Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: The Ozdust Ballroom
Posts: 5,206

"Hello Kettle?? This is Pot...you're black"

And I'm not complaining about how much time I spend on GC. I get my stuff done and have plenty of time to sleep.

That's what I'm thinking.

Well, when I started directing I drank a lot.

That's not a joke.

Fortunately, I've moderated over the years.

Melatonin is good for grabbing some Z's. I like the kind that you use sublingually, for faster absorption. I feel like I have a better night's sleep when I use it, although it's not something that should be used every night forever.

DA, congratulations on the new job! That is awesome and I am jealous. If you guys ever want to do a story on Jose Mesa's biggest fan, let me know!!!!!

I think alum was just replying to my post and she knows that my husband is an officer.

But you're right about the "taking a job you're overqualified for to get a foot in the door" thing being a huge mistake. I know some people who did that right after college and it took literally years for them to dig themselves out of that hole.

KR, Thanks!

M03, You are absolutely correct. There are many military members of all ranks whose dependent spouses (don't forget sometimes the wife is the active-duty member) are overqualified for the available positions on an installation.

When I recounted my experience, I used the term officers' wives because that's who I lived amongst and knew on a personal basis. Although the boundaries are blurred a bit, the junior enlisted, the NCOs, the warrants, the company-grade officers, and the field-grade officers don't really associate with eachother on a social basis except at formal functions. The Army units to which my H has been assigned have been relatively strict in this regard.

Update: I did find a job. I found a job as a coordinator assistant in an advertising company.

That's wonderful! Good luck in your new job!

I'm aware. I grew up just outside "the largest military installation in the free world," and am part of a family that boasts four generations of Naval officers ranked higher than Commander, so I am quite familiar with rules of fraternization, etc. This is probably why I'm so sensitive to the "wearing of the rank" that happens so often in my hometown.

I do know that there are a lot of military wives on GC whose husbands aren't officers, and they'd have very similar stories. We really can't be elitist...

Ft. Hood? We never had the pleasure of being assigned there.