Sometimes it seems like you just can’t win. You’ve spent decades following a solid career path and rewrote your resume countless times – but you still come across as overqualified. It’s a real problem that affects many of the workers seeking temporary assignments. Automation Personnel Services can help you overcome this issue and make your presence known to nearly any employer.
Draw Attention to Your Transferrable Skills
If possible, try to shift the focus away from your qualifications and onto your most useful and transferable skills. Automation can help you achieve this by marketing your skill set to specific employers in different industries, but feel free to narrow the focus as needed.
Maintain Flexibility
Maintaining your flexibility – both in terms of salary and scheduling – can sometimes help you get a job if an employer thinks you’re overqualified. In some cases, an employer might think your salary requirements are too high or you’re expecting a luxurious benefits package. You don’t want to leave a false impression, so don’t be afraid to clarify these issues if you think there is any sort of confusion.
Highlighting your flexibility also opens the door for other opportunities. You might be overqualified for the specific role in question, but there might be another job – either now or in the future – that is better suited for your skill set.
Revise Your Resume
Although job seekers often use their resumes to list every single job and certification they possess, it’s not always necessary. In some cases – like this one – it might even do more harm than good.
If you think your qualifications might get in the way, take some time to revise your resume before attending the initial interview. Remember: There’s no rule stating you must include every employer or role you’ve ever had. In fact, resumes are often heavily edited to include only the most relevant and applicable skills or achievements.
Minimize the Scope of Your Experience
Finally, try to minimize the overall scope of your experience. This is achieved in a number of ways, but it really comes down to how you portray or describe your past jobs. Describing yourself as a manager carries senior-level overtones that might be too much for the role in question, but saying you’re a team leader gives a similar impression without the implications.
We often take creative freedom when trying to promote our strengths and skills, but we rarely use it to minimize our achievements. It’s a difficult art to master, but it can be done in a way that preserves our professional profile while accommodating the exact requirements of the role.
How to Initiate a Professional Follow-Up
Contact your interviewer or potential employer in a timely manner and remind them of the position you’re seeking. State your qualifications – using the above strategies to make yourself more competitive – and remind them of your ability to fill the role in question. Not only does this ensure that your name stays fresh in their mind, but it lets them know that you’re willing to adapt to their needs and specifications.
Partner with an Award-Winning Staffing Agency
A two-time winner of Inavero’s Best of Staffing ® Award, Automation Personnel Services, Inc. is ready to bring your company the best employees. Contact us today to get started on working with one of the largest staffing firms in the U.S.
