Wednesday, April 06, 2011

How Do I Handle Being Over-Qualified for My Job Objective on My Resume?

Many people are applying for jobs for which they are over-qualified. Some can't find work in their professions and are forced to look at lower-paying jobs to make ends meet. Others are easing into retirement and want jobs with less responsibility than what they held in their active careers. Still others are being forced out of retirement into whatever jobs they can find (not necessarily in their earlier professions) in order to support themselves.

So, how do you handle being over-qualified on a resume? Here are some tips: Continue reading...

4 comments:

Mark said...

This all sounds good, but how to handle job titles at previous employers that may raise the overqualified flag. My understanding is potential employers may check with former employers, so job titles must be accurate.

Susan Ireland said...

Hi Mark,
You need to put down a "job title" that can be verified by your former employer. But you can downplay your title by how you present it.

For example, you might put the name of the company in bold, but not bold your job title.

Or, perhaps you could generalize your positions.

For example, instead of
ABC company
CEO (2009-present)
Vice President, Markeing (2007-2009)
you could write:
ABC company, Management positions, 2007-present

That would be accruate without emphasizing how senior your management role was.

Would either of these methods work for you?

Anonymous said...

ok so i did play down the resume
Now what about the application, can I lie saying I do not have my doctorate degree?

Susan Ireland said...

Anonymous,
Don't lie on your application. If "highest degree" is a required field on your application, you must fill it in accurately.

However, if the field is not required (or if the application form does not specifically say you must provide all requested information), then consider leaving that field blank.

Don't lie! The form may allow you to leave information off the application. But DO NOT LIE!