"Overqualified?" Here's something to think about.
I absolutely hate the term "overqualified." I work with people all of the time who are told that they are "overqualified" and I know how painful this can feel.
However, it’s very common feedback, with 92% of respondents in my recent LinkedIn poll saying that they have heard it.
If you are hearing this a lot, you may want to rethink the roles that you are applying for.
Let me tell you about a recent scenario.
My client is a Gen Xer who has been out of work for 8 months. He was VP for a high-profile firm for 10 years. That’s a long time, friends.
When we spoke, he was applying for Director roles.
Not for a big reason - he just thought he would have a better shot for these roles.
But he wasn’t getting any interviews.
I totally get where he was coming from.
He thought that he would have a better shot at landing Director roles - that being overqualified would help.
That’s typically not how it goes.
My thought for him was to flip it: Go for CXO roles instead. (Especially targeting smaller companies).
If you’ve been in a certain role for 10+ years, it’s going to be hard to explain a step-back (you can do it, but you need to have a clear strategy).
For a job search that’s not landing results: Reexamine your goals regularly.
Are you “underapplying” for the wrong roles?
Can the reader easily understand your next step?
Your career path doesn’t need to be linear, but you do need to connect-the-dots.
My Discussion with LinkedIn News:
In case you missed my discussion with LinkedIn News Editor Andrew Seaman
📄 A transcript of the episode is here: https://lnkd.in/dnM5_kvM
👂🏻 Listen to the conversation on your favorite podcast platform: https://lnkd.in/da8c7q9F
Upcoming events:
SHRM Executive Network Experience: I'm heading to SHRM25 in San Diego this weekend - I'll be talking about "Silver Tsunami Success" with Claire Casey (President of the AARP Foundation) and Andy Ortiz (SVP & Chief Human Resources Officer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center) as a part of the SHRM Executive Network Experience - more to come!
Redefine Your Career: Executive Strategies for Navigating a Changing Market: I'll be part of a panel discussion outlining executive career transition best practices for Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business alumni network on Thursday, July 17 at 1:30pm. Tepper has graciously opened this up, so all are welcome to attend - learn more and sign-up here.
Question of the week
I was laid off in October. In January I started a position as Interim Director of Marketing for a fairly well-known nonprofit. The job lasted through May.
As I’m beginning to look for jobs again, I’m not sure how to deal with this interim position on my resume or LI. I don’t want to look like I’m trying to leave a job after 5 months, but I also don’t want it to look like I’ve been unemployed since October. I’m also not opposed to another interim or fractional job. Thoughts?
I would make your situation clear both in LinkedIn and on your resume.
Here’s an easy way to show this:
Interim Director of Marketing (Contract Role: January 2025 - May 2025)
This reflects your end date and let’s folks know that you aren’t looking to leave a role after 5 months. I would also make sure to emphasize your success in interim/fractional work in both your resume Executive Summary and LinkedIn About section so that you can try to attract additional work. You could set-up a business page in LinkedIn with a quick Canva logo to show your interim/fractional work under one umbrella if you would like (although it’s not necessary, it would show that you are open to these kinds of roles).
In case you missed these LinkedIn posts:
Fred Smith passed away at 80 this weekend. He led FedEx into his late 70s, only stepping down as CEO at 77.
Poll: What is your biggest frustration with today's hiring process? (1700+ votes)
"Don't go back more than 15 years on your resume."
My 50-something client landed a Fortune 500 VP role, but this wasn't an overnight success story.
Let's not sugarcoat it: job loss is devastating.
Want to up your game on LinkedIn?
Need a new resume or executive bio?
I deliver resumes, executive bios, LinkedIn profile optimization, and 1-hour strategy calls.
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Limited time only: We'll be offering the current version of the Ageless Careers Toolkit through June 30, so if you're looking to take the course, you'll want to start it now.
The Ageless Careers Toolkit is a self-paced job search program with 5 modules:
- Build Your Ageless Career: I answer your biggest job search questions and troubleshoot common issues for Gen X and Baby Boomer job seekers
- Write Your Ageless Resume: I've written 1000s of resumes - this is my 43-page guide for writing a winning resume
- Craft Your Ageless Cover Letter: My tips for writing a cover letter in 10 minutes or less
- The Art of Ageless Interviewing: Boost your confidence through my biggest interview tips
- Create Your Ageless LinkedIn Presence: We are going to optimize your LinkedIn profile so that opportunities find you
The toolkit includes both written guides and video presentations with 10 sample resumes across various functions (marketing, finance, engineering, manufacturing, sales, etc) and roles (Project Manager, Director, VP, C-Suite).
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Other ways that I can help:
Question of the Week: Do you have a question that you would to have answered in the Question of the Week? If so, reply to this email and let me know what's on your mind.
Corporate Presentations: I deliver customized presentations for businesses and universities, offering webinars/in-person presentations across topics including ageism, resume best practices, LinkedIn optimization, job search, and more.
Hiring Help: Reach out if you have any open roles that you would like to share with this community.
Sponsorships: Reach Gen X and Baby Boomer executives by sponsoring this newsletter (we're currently at ~5000 subscribers for the newsletter and 75,000+ followers on LinkedIn, so you can easily reach a wide base of readers).
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Take care of yourself and have a wonderful weekend!
Colleen
