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!