Are you fed up of being told that you're overqualified when you're applying for a role? Let's be honest, you probably are, and that can be a big risk for organisations. But there are ways and means to get over that. You can make sure they accept the risk and recognise that you are the right fit for their role.
Are You Sure You Want to Step Down? Lots of people step down for multiple reasons. Life could be a bigger priority, and maybe you want to balance that better. You might need a quick income fix and thinking stepping down could be the right way to do that quicker. Or you could be close to retirement or wanting to do something different. Ultimately, people's motivations are different, but we need to showcase exactly how you overcome that barrier so you get the job offer at the end of it. I want to start by asking if you're sure that you really want to do this. If you are motivated by money, or maybe you've been going through redundancy and you're out of work, there could be a challenge there. That means you're forcing yourself to step down, thinking that's going to get you a better role. The reality is you don't really want that role. And down the line, you're going to be applying for other opportunities to try and get yourself back to the level that you were at. You have to make sure that you've definitely got to the point where you have no choice. I’ve a YouTube video that helps you determine that too. If not, stick to the job hunt and stay at your level. But if it is around retirement, or a change in your priorities, then we need to look at exactly how to make this work. Tailoring Your Application When you submit your CV, you need to make sure that you're submitting it for the job you're applying for. If you take your standard CV that showcases your more senior experience, then the system will rank you as someone who doesn't do the role they're looking for today. You won't look like a great match for it. And you won't even really get seen by a hiring manager. You've got to make sure you acknowledge that change in the bio. At the end of it, you've got to say how after a successful career in your previous role, you are keen to pursue a career at this level. Make it really clear that you know what you're doing. And you're owning that upfront in your core competency section, aligned to the skills of the job descriptions, not just the skills that you currently have. Because if you go for the skills that you've done most recently, you're going to come across overqualified and won't progress to interview. Focus on experience that's at your level in your work experience too. You don't need to change your job titles, but what you do need to change is all of the detail within it. Showcase some level of progression and showcase some of the things that you did. But you should prioritise the stuff that demonstrates you can do that job at that level. And make sure you apply with the right salary. If you put in the salary that you previously had as your expectation, you'll automatically get discounted from that process. Owning it at the Interview Next we move on to the interview side of things. If you progress to an interview, the key thing that's going to be on their mind is that you are overqualified. You have to convince them otherwise. And if you don't own that upfront, then that's going to be a challenge for you. When you're asked questions about what your motivations are for going for the role, make sure you make it really clear exactly why you are going for it. If life is a bigger priority, explain that you came from a high-pressure role and you're keen to do something that showcases your skills in a better way. That way you can get that work-life balance right. Whatever that looks like for you, make it clear to them. Don't try to hide behind it. And don't try to tell them that your key motivation is just to step down. You need to explain why this is important to you so they can get bought in on that. Crucially, don't make them feel inferior to you. The person interviewing you might be a new manager. They might be someone who's recently in role, or even someone with a few performance issues. You don't really know what the background of that individual is. They might not have as many years of experience as you do doing that role. If you come in and try and say, "Well, this is how I would've done that if I was in your shoes," they're intimidated. They feel like you put their job at risk, and then you don't get the role. You need to be able to showcase that you can operate at the level that they're going for, but equally be their cheerleader to help lift them up. If you can do that, then they will definitely want you in their team. Using the Right Examples Whenever you're doing your STAR examples, showcase working at the level that you're going for. If you try to showcase the things that you've done more recently, which indicate progression, leadership, or whatever that promoted level looks like, it won't match the alignment of the role. It will make them question if they need to retrain you and go through that process again. You want to make them feel like the gap isn't there. If you talk about that senior experience in that way, the gap will still be there. It's important to get this right. As a career transition coach helping mid to senior professionals secure their next role, I have a tool that could help you with all of this. Put your CV in, put the job description in, and it'll tell you how to tailor your application and your interview so you can get this right. Key Takeaways Make absolutely sure you are stepping down for the right reasons, otherwise stick to your level and keep hunting. Tailor your CV to the level you are applying for by removing senior skills that scream overqualified and aligning your competencies to the job description. Own your motivations upfront at the interview, and be a cheerleader for the hiring manager rather than intimidating them with your past experience.
Good luck with your job searches this week, and if you’d like to learn how I can help you further, Book a free, no-obligation 30-minute consultation with me and tell me your story.
Let’s see if I can help you shift the dial and secure your new career.
