GOLDEN YEARS
How to Land a Job
You Are Overqualified For
Experience is incredibly valuable because it gives you a greater understanding of who you are. The more you experience, the more skills you’ll tuck under your belt, and the more perspective you’ll gain – which can only be a good thing, both professionally and personally. However, when it comes to changing careers in later life, you may feel uneasy about applying for a job that doesn’t match your skills and experience level – especially when you have more skills than are necessary for a particular role. If this feels like you, then the key thing to remember is that hiring managers are less likely to doubt your ability to do a good job, and more likely to worry that you’re hoping to gain more from the role than it can realistically offer. People may also make incorrect assumptions about your commitment to the role, assuming that you might feel it’s beneath you in some way. But, by preparing to address these incorrect assumptions head on – you can easily show prospective employers that the term “overqualified” is completely irrelevant – and that by hiring you, they’ll be gaining a star team member with great intuition. n 24 | Worcestershire Now | Issue 200 | October 2020
1. Declutter your CV When you’ve got years’ of skills and experience, it can be tempting to try and include too much information on your CV – especially about things you’re particularly proud of. But it’s likely that not all of this information will be relevant to the role you’re applying for, and will make your CV much longer than it needs to be. An employer can often receive hundreds of applications for a single job, and if your CV is more than two pages long, there’s a good chance they’ll become overwhelmed and move onto the next, more concise application. Whilst it’s important to list places you’ve worked, job titles you’ve had and core skills you’ve picked up along the way; any additional details or examples from more than 10 years ago should only be included if they demonstrate your ability to do the job you’re applying
for – otherwise it becomes irrelevant. It’s more important to summarise a list of your relevant skills and experience at the start of your CV in a brief personal summary, than it is to give extensive information about the jobs that you did 20 years ago. 2. Always include a cover letter Whatever your experience level, it is so important to make sure you include a cover letter. It’s your chance to speak directly to a prospective employer and let them know why you want this specific job with this specific company, and which of your positive attributes you can bring to the role. From looking at your CV alone, there’s a chance that your potential boss might wonder why you’re applying for a position that CONTINUED OVER THE PAGE
