They Say I’m Overqualified. I Think It’s Ageism | JobSearchTV.com
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
Preparing and Practicing Your End Game
Ageism obviously exists, but I think people copped to it much too quickly. There are ways to deal with the issues and be able to win the job. Here are a few examples.
They say I’ve overqualified. It’s obviously ageism. And I don’t know that that’s true, necessarily. So let me kind of walk you through a couple of things that prompt them to say that you’re overqualified.
And the first one is, they think you’re too old. And the goal, if you’re facing the possibility of that, see if you can get referred by someone who knows, the firm knows the people there, knows the person you might be working for. Thus, they can address it for you. Having an advocate from the outside means that you don’t have to face the rejection. They can present you and talk about what they know about you and that can shortcut the possibility of ageism.
Another reason they may think that is, you really wouldn’t want the job. It’s really a step down. And you might explain why you would want it. So they think the job is beneath you. And you may be able to explain, ‘hey, look, I’ve been managing for a long time, I’ve kept my hands involved in the day to day a lot. I’m tired of the headaches of managing. So I really would be very happy taking a step backward.
You’d be unhappy with the position. Now you got to explain why this wouldn’t be an issue for you. Even if they think you’d want the job, or are concerned that you get bored. So that’s different than the money; that’s really about your attitude, which comes back to the idea of being enthusiastic throughout the interview, not holding back, putting yourself really out there.
Another factor is you’re probably too expensive for us. And we know that money is always a factor for everyone. But you’re willing to take a step back financially, because this is a time in your life, that it’s less important for you. So remember, when they’re thinking about too expensive, you can address that proactively.
Another thing is, they think you’d be too tough to manage. So part of the thing that you can do is good managers are really people who are smart. And they’re concerned that you might be a problem person, connect with them at the meeting, connect with him on the interview, demonstrate that you’re not trying to take their job. What you want to do is do what they want you to do. And if they want more from you, you’re not going to force it on them. You’d be someone who they could come to for advice.
The last thing I’ll bring up in this area of the overqualified is there’s not going to be a lot of growth in this firm. What you want to do is talk about, as I’ve been alluding to, throughout, at this stage, you really don’t care. It’s not you’re concern. You’re happy doing this job. If they promote you, great. If not, you’re very happy doing this job. And you bring extra skills that could be useful if needed.
So, again, show enthusiasm. Make your experience an asset for you. Another thing I’ll just mention is show that you like to learn and thus, you still have the drive to be effective. Don’t be passive in the interview. Take control of it. And when you’re talking about your experience, make your storiws succinct. No monologues like you’re doing Hamlet. Instead, keep your answers to a minute, minute 15 and connect the dots in your background between what they’re looking for and what you can do for them.
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ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. His work involves career coaching, as well as executive job search coaching, job coaching, and interview coaching. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2400 episodes.
Are you interested in 1:1 coaching, interview coaching, advice about networking more effectively, how to negotiate your offer or leadership coaching? People hire me to provide No BS career advice whether that is about a job search, hiring better, leadership, management or support with a workplace issue. Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
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