Of the many things the recession messed up — and I think we can all agree it really ruined a lot — plans were the biggest victim. Once the economy went kaput, your future suddenly became a little less certain. Could you afford to maintain your lifestyle? Was it the best time to switch jobs? Could you save enough for your upcoming wedding after pay cuts? The ramifications were endless.
In Sunday’s New York Times, writer Michael Luo touched on a phenomenon that is occurring throughout the country: overqualified workers who are satisfied just being employed. As Luo points out, many job postings give the basic requirements for candidates, but many applicants have experience and education that theoretically qualifies them for much higher positions. When these job seekers find themselves in these positions, they experience some insecurity but have some satisfaction that at least they’re working.
Academic research on the subject confirms that workers who perceive themselves as overqualified do, in fact, report lower job satisfaction and higher rates of turnover. But the studies also indicate that those workers tend to perform better. Moreover, there is evidence that many of the negatives that come with overqualified hires can be mitigated if they are given autonomy and made to feel valued and respected.
The new variable in all of this is the continuing grim economic climate. Many workers’ ambitions have evolved, after all, from climbing the ladder to simply holding on to a job, any job. Turnover would also seem to be less of a concern amid predictions that it could be years before unemployment returns to pre-recession levels.
As a result, Luo points out, many overqualified workers are struggling to accept their current situation without letting insecurity appear.
For his part, Mr. Carroll admitted that he had caught himself often trying to drop his credentials into conversations at his new workplace.
“Obviously that stems from maybe some embarrassment at the level that I’m at,” he said. “I do want people to know that, to some extent, this isn’t who I am.”
Have you found yourself in this situation in the last couple of years? How have you dealt with being overqualified? Some job seekers have said that “overqualified” is a useless term because all that matters is whether or not a person wants the job and is qualified for it. Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts.
Three degrees, substantial experience in the private sector (graphic design and software training) and I still can't find anything except sparse adjunct positions with no benefits or stability. I'm afraid that this recession will either have created a lost generation of highly trained and highly educated unemployed workers or a class of employed workers who have no mobility whatsoever.
hello, I have been collecting unemployment for about two months now after 9 years at my job as they went bankrupt, I started a new job but I am under qualified for this position and feel it is not a fit as I am lost an have no idea what I am doing half the time, and the position is better suited for someone with more expirience. If I quit because of this, will I be able to still receive UI benefits in MN?
ok so i am a cnc programmer/machinist i make half way decent money at my current job but after being a cnc programmer in the air conditioned office to being back on the shop floor kindda sucks but its a job. i make about 15k less than i did 3 years ago. the biggest problem i have is since i used to design tooling and program 3 4 and 5 axis milling machines i am now writing programs for simple stuff. yeah i am over qualified but i also am paying my bill for now once i see unemployment start to come back down i will go back to doing what i really want to do or open my own machine shop and make my own money. sad to say though once i open my own shop i will be just as cheap as my previous employers were i wont give raises no bonuses none of that hell i wouldnt even offer health insurance i guess i will just be another greedy business owner.
Irish.. when i was planning the reunion, from what I gathered this is still eppy 22, unless dates have changed or maybe the reception is a 2 eppy thing!!!
This is the really wonderful site posting, im delighted I came across it. Ill be go into reverse the track to consider other posts that
i was in the barber business for more than 17 years.i was very successfull in the business,owning 6 different locations in major shopping centers.i had 2 partners and our shops were very busy indeed.i mayed plenty of money from 1994-2010.eventually though,the economy took its toll(along with a divorce).and i found myself in dyer straigts.just 2 months ago i landed what i thought was a geat job at a beauty college working as a barber instructor.the job has been a nightmare.my students are 9 guys that are just a bunch of punks.i have not been able to perform my job properly because i am not familiar with some of the proceedures and the paper work alone is overwhelming.the guys i try to instruct are completely disrespectful and disgusting.they dont want to do anything but screw around and they treat me like i dont kno anything even though i have tremendous knowledge of the hair business and am also a top notch haircutter.the other instructors that work at the college have not anywhere near my experiences and knowledge in the business and yet they manage to conduct thier classes much better than me.this whole instructor thing is new to me and im struggling to make it.everyday i think i will be fired.now they put a girl in the class(one of the other instructors) to help me and she was only in the business for 5 years before they hired her
she is trying to sometimes boss me around and frankly i resent it
i have not yet met the challenge of this new job,yet at the same time,i feel like i have so much more expeience in the hair business than everyone else i work with.i did a flet top haircut on a maniquin head the other day and the students had nothing good to say about it.are they aware that ive done 5,000 flat tops and satisfied customers?.this is just to frustrating.no respect.
I lost my job from Sun Microsystems back in 2008. I was denied unemployment, and haven't been able to find work since. I have 5 years management experience, and worked in music retail, selling instruments. Yet every job I apply for, I'm told that I'm overqualified. I'm at my wit's end here. Just had a baby two months ago, and have using ebay and craigslist just to scrape by. I've closed ALL gaps on my resume, but I can't catch a break. Yet, my drunken idiot cousin can bounce from job to job. Makes me wonder if I'm just too smart to be hired, or crazy as it sounds, I'm not female so nobody wants to give me a chance. Don't know what to do anymore.
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three degrees and cutting grass
overqualified to pack boxes
sick to death
in a world designed to require money who doesnt need a job ?
I began working at the age of 28. After about 6 months I was let go. I have worked off and on but always seem to be let go after 3 months or so with no reasons given. I am a hard worker. I don't slack or waste time. I even went back to school and that was a disaster. I am now 50. No one will hire me. I am about to lose my mind. I am tired of interviews where I sit there expected to impress the person interviewing me when they don't care about my productive abilities. I am tired of phony offers to do work-at-home surveys. I am tired of being lied to and turned away because of whatever reason I am never told. I honestly believe that when one goes on an interview the interviewer gets immense pleasure turning away those who are there to do a job. I just want to be able to pay my bills and take care of my family like everyone else.
Lost a job over 2 years ago and never found another one. Although my work history gap has been filled with "back to school" and recent certifications, no one is biting. My salary requirements are very flexible as money is not as important as re-establishing recent work experience.
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I've had trouble with many of my co-workers. Most aren't friendly or particularly helpful. They sometimes go out of their way to sabotage my work efforts in a variety of ways. Some are rude and condescending toward me in front of visitors and people we routinely deal with. It's uncomfortable for all of us and I won't stay in the job much longer because of it. I've tried to address the problem but no longer care one way or the other because I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't shove my credentials in anyone's face. They are the ones dealing with feelings of inadequacy and beating me up because my existence makes them feel bad. I just want out before someone targets me for an act that could ruin my chances of obtaining employment elsewhere. I didn't take the job to make people feel rotten--especially myself. I just want a decent paycheck and not to end up outside in the cold but "overqualified."
I lost my job six months ago (seems like six years). Since that time I have been applying to jobs online, testing with temp agencies, going through job search workshops at the unemployment office and networking with other professionals. I have had a grand total of two interviews and been told that I'm overqualified for most jobs I apply for. Despite this I have enrolled in an online college course to get my BS in Accounting and hope that will help me get a job. I am very depressed but trying to cope as best I can. Looks like I'm in good company.
I worked for a company for four years and just got a raise, two weeks after my raise check , I walk into work and they say ( SORRY < BUT WE HAVE TO LET YOU GO. ) , That just got to me. I just shut my mouth and
took it like a man.
Now as a result of that lay off , I have been out of work for two years ,Nobody want to hire me because i'm over qualified !! , Also , I have no unemployment coming in to support my family
they won't even give us food stamps. what is this state comming to. There gonna have a lot of problems on there hands in the next few years,everyone is gonna be out of work ,and the crime rate is gonna spike to an all time high ,If nothing is done on the governments part.
It's a turning into the
( UNEMPLOYED STATES OF AMERICA )
I just hope all this pain,and loss is worth iT in the long run.
Thank you.
Timothy
I've been looking for full time work for 2 years. Laid off in 2005 and had a few contracted jobs but nonthing permanent. I've been substitute teaching, more on than off since 2005. I've a masters degreee and have worked since 16, so this has taken its tool on me psychologically. My partner has lost all interest in me and works more and more I think to not have to spend time with me. I wish I could get a job but I hear the same story--overqualified, underqualified (with experience), needing a 2nd language, or not in the fit (too old). It's dishartening when the interviewer is young enough to be your child and they have the control over you getting a job. Count your blessings if you are working...
I see I am not alone. As was stated in many of the other posts it is a weak employer that will not hire the overqualified. Some of the jobs I have been sending out resumes to are union so it would not matter if you are over or under qualified you are paid a set rate for that job or skill set. I have been to some interviews only to find out later that the employer hired an inexperienced person. The job comes up again in about two weeks. Do I need to act like I just fell off the train during an interview or do I answer the questions to the best of my ability even if it makes the person interviewing me fill uncomfortable?
I've been job hunting with a Bachelor's degree in the middle of getting my Master's, and my greatest fear has always been that my degree would either become worthless or that I wouldn't find a job in the field I worked so hard to learn about. But when it comes to paying the bills, there's no "over-qualification", I need a job. With few replies and no takers on my resumes, I have no doubt that the part-time min. wage jobs I'm fighting for are not calling back because of the degree.
Are the unemployed the only ones aware that there's a recession? Is it fair for an employer to reject someone who wants a job, any job, and will work hard on it, no matter the degree, simply because they don't want to be out on the streets? It's not like I'm going to ask for a raise because I have my B.S., we're all well aware that we're not in a strong negotiating position here.
What employers in the professional environment want is fragile-minded minions who will do their bidding at double the stress for less than half the price. I have been "underqualified" or "overqualified" for jobs since I graduated college 4 years ago. I have even been turned away when I went for positions that I didn't train for, but was willing to adapt to. Positions that I did qualify for, I didn't have enough experience for them despite doing an internship with the likes of NASA. The fear of someone taking their jobs or leaving their ranks for something better, which is a human basic instinct, stops employers. When the economy does turn around, there will be companies looking to hire anyone who will just meet the generic requirements for the sake of filling their vacancies. It is an employer-oriented job market out there right now, but when the tables turn, this will be the outcome.
I agree with the previous comment, In regards to the 1999 bug. Employers were scared their computers would shut down, because of the two digit issue in some older software code. I remember being hired to check code thousands and thousands of lines. It was a good time then I was paid very well.
That was until 04 when my company was bought out by an 800 pound gorilla. They laid off the entire company over 500 people. The severance was good, however it didn't last. I have had jobs since then, but none in my field. Since 04 I've worked as a Restaurant server, Comp Lab assistant, Computer Operator, now a Production assistant and It took over eight months to find this job.
So right now yes I'm extremely grateful to have it, I see opportunity here just waiting for the right time to pass my resume to the big boss. Having worked here I've created a good reputation. In addition it fills up space on my resume Since employers now have the nerve to say they won't hire people who haven't had a consistent job history, What!! Just stay encouraged I to hope things will get back to the way it was before, but at this point i don't know. Unless America pushes for new industry like green jobs we will be here for awhile. Good luck to all and stay strong...
You should try St Louis MO, almost every job here requires a degree! Would you believe a job description for planting seeds in a green house (seed testing) requiring a B.A.?
I was unemployed for awhile. My story mirrors some of yours. I left the military because, at the time, my wife and I thought if we bothed worked we could stay in a community that was good for our kids. I went from $48,000 a year and the best benefit package around to $10 an hour. And my wife got a $7 an hour job. Benefits became a faint memory!
We both worked our way up and into decent pay for that community and she got fired 3 weeks before I got laid off. I had worked my way up to the "lofty" sum of $15.25 an hour and we crashed hard as far as finances went. We tried to stay in that community because we took such a large pay cut to do so and it was a great school system for our kids.
From a little over a year ago, we have both looked for work and I also worked some side jobs that put food on the table but won't ever make it onto my resume! Now, finally, after hitting as far bottom as we could with a forced move - finally (yes, the long story has apoint) I have a decent job again!
Today was my first day! While I would love to have been hired with a larger salary, now at least I know I can earn that salary by loyal and effective service to this employer that was kind enough to hire me. And I know that as a salaried employee I will work more hours than I might want to at times, it will be much better than not working any hours as has been the case this past year.
Yes, I have some nice qualifications and some great experience! I was a great catch for this employer! But instead of worrying about what I used to be, I am very happy to have the opportunity to work towards what I can grow into with this new employer. This past year has taught me to appreciate this opportunity and to build something positive out of all I have been through.
Best of luck to those still out there and looking. I know what it is like and am so grateful to have found this position! Hang in there and keep fighting and you will find your opportunity. And as far as overqualified goes .... who cares?!? Get in the door and work your way back up the chain of command! You did it once and can do it again.
I know I feel so much better just having the chance to work towards something again.
I have been underqualified for every job I have held since 1999. I know I have done a good job, but somehow there is never money for raises or promotion. I am not materialist (I never spent when I had money and I never had kids because and never got sucked into that house trap). Therefore, I always felt free to walk out when I got passed over or some such thing.
Now I have been kicked to the curb once again at age 48. I didn't believe it at first, but I have begun to see myself as retired.
Thing is, I know I was a lot smarter than my co-workers and many of my supervisors. I don't care whether you believe it or not.
I am over qualified draftsman with architechual skills. Amazing that after 9-11 things have changed drastically that I can barely stay afloat though I am going to become homeless because I can't pay my bills or space rent and will lose my mobile home. Minimum wage jobs don't cut the pie.
I thought our new president was going to change things, apparently not! So people like me have to lose everything and our livelyhood for what., broken promises. Well lookout weeds here I come with my landscape tools.
I was overqualified and underqualified the moment I graduated college with an MBA at 23. Needless to say, job-wise, I haven't gotten very far. It's been 3 years now.
I've read many of the responses above. Some say employers are weeding out the old. I find this funny in the sense that many young people make that same argument but in terms of the young. Basically, that they are preventing the young from entering the workforce.
So what are employers looking for if they are keeping out the young and kicking out the old?
I have no idea. The in-betweeners I guess?
Who knows!?!
Employers don't seem to have any ideas either.
So I started a business. Wish I had a job paying a substantial income so I could finance the business...that would be nice. Then it could grow steady according to my vision.
Oh well, back to writing resumes I go!
Obama flipping burgers at McDonald's would be the opposite situation you are in. He is underqualified to flip burgers. AND, he SHOULD lose his current job!!!!
As maddening as the current situation is please try to take some solace in the old maxim "this too shall pass." Do you remember 1999? I certainly do. Back then employers were overpaying for help. With only 3 to 4% unemployment they had no choice. The first recession of the decade brought some of that down to earth. Then, a miracle occured. That miracle was the real estate bubble. Once again demand for everything (not just labor) started outstripping supply. It wasn't as good as 1999 but demand for skilled employees (coupled with rising real estate prices and easy credit) gave almost anyone who wanted it the chance to have a McMansion with a plasma TV in every room and "his and hers" SUV's.
Today employers are scaling back to the point where one person does three jobs for a quarter less pay and are still worried about layoffs. Don't worry, in a few years the old regime will return and once again employers will overpay and overhire.
Perhaps the best thing to do it always think of yourself as an independent contractor? Do not maintain company loyalty as this loyalty will not be returned. Save in the good times and when times get rough use the savings to buy your own business and take market share from your last employer. That is (sort of) what I'm doing now and I don't feel the least bit bad about it because they didn't feel the least bit worried about me.
How do you figure that out when all the jobs are in India and China now? It is not the same as the last Great Depression. The factories never really disappeared. They just stopped working for about 10 years.
I don't see how EVERYONE can start their own business. How many dog walkers are really necessary? That's a load of BS. Wal Mart has put all independent retailers out of business. And if you sell a service, you are just going to get ripped off. In my last full time job I saw countless independent contractors get into fights over pay. My boss blamed the contractor, when I blamed him for having completely unrealistic expectations and asking for the impossible.
Starting your own business is bullshit.
I do agree that loyalty to an employer should be a thing of the past. And if there is a way to take all their customers away, you should do it.
I have been unemployed for YEARS.!!! I am overqualified for everything I touch.
Don't say that... I have been working since I was a child. I went off to war at 17. I have NEVER Been unemployed in ALL my life till now. I frequently had 2-3 jobs.
I have done it all from peeling potatoes to high tech. I am an ENGINEER with 20 years experience, I also have and MBA and A bunch of other degrees. It first started to happen in FL in Dec 2004. Having not recovered from the Dot com bust and recession of 2000-2002, 1 yr reprieve and into the worst depression, NOT recession in 70 years. It is unthinkable that I couldn't find a job, especially to my family who have always lived in a time of plenty. They are used to just knocking on doors and getting a job right away. First I when I moved to FL in 98 you just floated your resume and you literally had to turn the phone off because so many jobs appeared. Now I was routinely sending out 300-400 resumes a day.. TODAY I can only find 1-2 job in my field and most jobs are FAKE. I answer them all, plugging away. I have WALKED most of south FL and knocked on doors for every job imaginable. NOTHING.
BEYOND HORRIBLE... Everyone I know is either unemployed, losing or have lost houses, or moved away. Vast neighborhoods rotting away with houses falling apart in foreclosure, factories, and office building empty.... I am the only one left here in FL out of all my friends and I am leaving at the earliest.
No one can pay me for the suffering and misery that I have experienced in last few years. Beyond words. I am sick of politicians of any side. Tired of
being tired. I guarantee you that I will find a way to make them all suffer for this.
Yes, what they have done (the corporate CEOs who walked away with those golden parachutes) really needs to be paid for.
You make a point also that i agree with, namely that things never really improved from the dot com bust in 1999/2000. 9-11 merely kicked it into high gear. And by 2007 when i finally recovered everything I lost in that bust, we are doing it all over again.
That is why I am not spending a penny on any US based Fortune 500 Company. I bought nothing for Christmas except a couple of books (I don't think those are made in China yet and those liberal egg heads don't contribute to the Tea Party). The Same goes for Hollywood, even if their product is largely junk, they are at least against fascist takeover of US.
If you can't find a substitute made in the US or Europe, don't buy it at all.
I got laid off in 2008, and was out of work for almost a year. I was always being told I was "overqualified". When I did finally get a job offer it was a third less than what I had made previously. I took the first job I could because I was trying to save my house and my family, but I ended up losing both.
To make matters worse the company that hired me was run by a bunch of incompetents, and despite working hard and doing an "excellent job" and given lots of lip service, I was not actually valued or treated with any respect. With the economy being so bad the business had to cut back, and as they say "last hired, first fired". So, after another 6 months unemployed I finally got another offer...making nearly 20% less than my previous job (for those of you still counting, that's a 50% pay cut in less than two years).
They say those tax cuts for the six figure salary guys really helped average Joe's like me...yeah, it helped all right...helped me learn where my local unemployment office is, and how to live out of my car and look for work using computers at the library while missing my wife and kids...
yep overqualified is such a loosely used term
i am having trouble getting an interview but when i do get a phone call they want to ask me what have i been doing since 2008 because that is what is left blank on my resume
i then proceed to inform them i had a lung transplant and then there is silence on the other end and i have to laugh because i was only given two weeks to live and i am not stressed out on it
i would like to do some work but can only make $1000 a month because of the disability and not get hit on it
would like also to get gas mileage as well paid for
I've just hit the fourteenth month of unemployment. During this period sporadic employment as a substitute teacher provided relief from boredom and kept the wolf from the door, but this is a hell of a way to live.
I've read that this recession harbingers a new reality for those of us over fifty and that many of us may never again return to work in professions to which we've devoted our lives. This has led to applications for any type of work--panic prevails over pride. Sadly, many HR people don't realize that this new reality has changed the rules; education, degrees, former positions are moot.
I read an earlier post in which said that she had seen this situation coming based upon observations in India where well educated people are serving ice cream. This is the situation in many third world countries--I just never thought I would see it happen here.
Our social contract is broken. There is something wrong when people who have followed the rules--studied hard, worked hard all their lives, and are willing to work-- can't find a job.
If all of you people are "overqualified", why don't you set out and do it on your own? Start your own business. Stop complaining and do something about it. This is typical nonsense.
Talk out over qualified
Since the 1970's the Goverment has been moving manufacturing overseas
I have tried to stay current with job skills.With the export of manufacturing
we have lost a slew of highly technical positions. I am now seeing the airline pilots now going through the cutbacks The Net effect is that the pay has been stagnet, with the cost of living going up, and the tax burden being placed on the working class. Remember that wealth comes from the ground or is manufactured, with everything else being redistribution of wealth. There is a value placed on an item or service. This has to be turned around for the sake of the country. The Federal reserve (12 member Banks) got the goverment to bail them out with our Kids future income. What is comming down the road is not pretty
Excellent advice, Ernest! (from May 18th) This is exactly what I tell my clients. I'm a job search coach and resume writer, and most of my clients are highly experienced with six-figure pasts. And many of them ask me to "dumb down" their resumes - and I strongly advise against doing that. Taking a job at half your past salary means there's a good chance you'll never make that much again.
From the experience of my clients, many times it's EASIER to get a higher paying job that you're more qualified for, rather than a lower paying one you're way overqualified for. And I don't usually see age discrimination for my clients until age 58 or so. In fact, advanced age/advanced experience works in your FAVOR when applying for higher level positions.
Since the higher level positions are usually not posted publicly, I recommend sending your resume with all of your impressive credentials to your target companies, whether you know if they have an opening or not. The response rate for this method is actually better than applying for jobs posted online. To determine your "target companies," figure out what size company (annual revenue or # of people), the industry, and the geographic location you want to work in. Then start mailing and emailing. (Snail mail actually works better than email.)
My current employer almost did not hire me due to me being "overqualified" for the position. Being qualified for a job I find to be a very gray area. Though a company may be able to describe details of a particular position in a job posting, they almost never include every possibility the position offers. My hiring manager overrode the HR representative who didn't want to hire me, and now, almost two years later, I am working hard for a company I love. My abilities have allowed the company to push more responsibility onto my plate and I have essentially saved them the money of hiring another person. A company that thinks a candidate is overqualified should stop and think, "What great opportunities could this overqualified person potentially offer US?"
Sad but true, I have been unemployed longer than anyone here who has posted. :-(
As I face my fifth year of executive unemployability, even now in 2010, short- & long-term solutions to heal the most vital areas of my shattered personal and professional senses of self, still elude me because the opportunities and fall-back options I once enjoyed are forever gone from these United States.
Unlike most, I have never qualified to collect unemployment & will never qualify. Per the Feds, my current existence is below the national “abject poverty level.”
In less than a decade, I went from upper middle class to below the lowest poverty level.
There is nothing left in me to reinvent.
Extreme disillusionment is all that remains.
Homelessness &/or debtor’s prison = my grievous future...
I see alot of people not able to accept they need reinvent themselves. Sorry, that you worked so hard and reached so high in your lives. But, change is part of life.... Learn work with what you have, not with what you don't.
After 15 months on the unemployed train I finally landed a position at half my previous salary and only slightly better than the unemployment benefit. However, I am glad to be back at work. I am most definitely overqualified for my current position as I formally managed a team of people doing that which I now am doing. I have significant experience, a master’s degree, and many IT certifications under my belt, which means squat when you're unemployed. I am not overqualified, I am MOST qualified. My current employer receives the benefit of ALL my capabilities. This is what I explained during my interview and lo-and-behold, it landed me a job. It's all about the attitude you bring to the table. Will I move on? Perhaps, I will eventually move-on, but not for the time being. I am simply glad to be working again.
This is nothing new to me. I have been OVER QUALIFIED since 1992. I have been fortunate to have held positions that may not have been as prestigeous, but it became fulfilling. Presently, I focus is "part-time" employment. As tremendously trimmed down as this is from making $50,000 ten years ago, I am hapy with my new direction.
I concur.
Often I am told I am overqualified for the job or the opposite end of the spectrum "not enough experience". Why would I want the job? [To keep from being homeless I feel like screaming, but don't.]
They look at me then my resume'. Repeat. Repeat a few more times. I am 'middle-aged' 41 and often folks think I am 35 or 36. Apparently I am still too old due to experience OR I am not being truthful on my resume'. (Yes, I am truthful because lies will bite one on their keister.)
My only other conclusion and this happened three days ago, the Manager/owner literally looked me up and down. His other employees are all boney-ass skinny. I am 'hips and curves'.
The job for this one was cashier at a gas station. I was told "not enough convenience store experience". My response was "Well, when it does not work out with the other person...call me."
High school apparently did not count nor the years in management in restaurants. Did I mention I currently work as a CASHIER in a grocery store? It was the only job I could get and have been there nearly a year now part-time.
The other thing used against me in interviews is "So you are in school?" Yes I am!
For head-hunters OMG this is laughable. The ones who have called me for phone interviews, please!
*They did not have my information handy, yet they called me.
* Was told "We are looking for someone with at least 3 years experience in (field). I have 7. Well we are looking for someone with 5 years experience. Again, I have 7. Dingbat headhunter on the phone who called me, can not count! I cut the interview short with this particular one.
* When applying for the job I am not needing to buy into a franchise.
Case in point Aflac-Georgia
I am called in for an appointment/interview. Long story short, the man was trying to sell his franchise to me. I was told I was interviewing for a Sales position. He had pulled my information from online where I had posted my resume' for job searches.
Frustrated
Hey Georgia Blues, its tough for us all. Most of us have not even began to talk about the financial problems that we have/are suffering. You have to keep your chin up and stay focused. Try to stay in the crazy game with us. I wish you luck
Corporations have always wanted deep resumes. We were told to go to college and we could be anything that we wanted to be. With deep resumes came steep pay. Corporations still live by that rule of thumb. Take McDonalds for and example, most of us made more than a manager and had more education. We have also been polished by the companies we used to work for and the lifestyle we used to lead. Now, do you think that the McDonalds manager is going to hire you for a cash register job? No, because he cant afford to pay you. Its not that McDonalds would be afraid that you would leave-they would have to pay you for what you are truly worth. Also, the manager may be intimidated by your age and stature. It might even be a bit harder to control you. You see, there would be teenagers and elderly coworkers around you. The fear is that you may want to reconfigure the soda machine or create a plan to make the drive thru ordering flow better. Shortly, you would tire of the incompetencies around you and would be asking for more to do or a better position.
I've worked for a temp agency for two years and had to dummy down my education and experience in telecomm. My pay as well; ive been layed off so many times its hard to grasp the concept of staying in a job. luckily i've been working the same job for 1 year and two months; because i've learned to be an idiot and aquire the street smarts to agree to everything. My Boss harasses me, but i put up with it for my three year old daughter. What the hell, i pray for my enemies. The company and the industry i work for is a revolving door and people leave (talented people) luckily, i've learned and have made character sacrifices, like developing stamina and not quitting on the spot. In one job, the old cfo was prone to dementia everytime he was stressed. I fired myself and walked out, my common law wife could not understand it. she has been working the same job 16 yrs, understand. I dont regret it, i'll have my CPA soon, it'll just push me over the edge of overqualified if this economy doesnt shape up soon.
Mary, I too had employers used my previous experience running a business against me. In my case it was that they feared I would be insubordinate. I used to be in real estate. I also got the "the minute real estate comes back you are going to leave." I got annoyed one day and told a guy "do you know where you are going to be in 5 years? " he said yes "right here." I told him seriously "If you find a better job you are going to take it. I am no different than anyone else." I did went off on him, but since I already knew I wasn't getting the job I didn't care. I eventually found work and have been working in another field. It's not what I want and I miss real estate and hope to eventually go back but still. Now a days they are discriminating against people for the dumbest things.
In response to Mary's comment: Another thing some companies don't consider is when you have worked temporary jobs. They won't count them even though that is where I have learned a great deal. There is still that old mentality out there if you work temporary positions you must be a loser of sorts. In my case, it was just that I wanted to have a say of when I wanted to work and when I wanted to take off and you know in reality you cannot do that with a permanent position.
I took a job that I was overqualified for as well out of desparation bec. I thought my unemployment would run out. Now bored out of my mind, making 1/2 of what I was making (my company dissolved in 2008) and my home in foreclosure!
Just got back from a two week vacation and I still have nothing to do....literally. I am taking classes but will not be completed until March 2011.
You are correct, but we as people have always lived with the fact that a company can let us go at any time for any reason. I live in Delaware and that is the law. So, employers need to live with fact that I as a person can decide to leave anytime.
I was laid off in June of last year from the construction industry. Because I had a boss that used the money to fund his trips to see his latest fling in FL. I was on unemployment for 8 months. I finally got a job interview with a local healthcare firm. I should have ran when my instincts told me too. But I didn't I accepted the job for crap money. Thinking this will be my only chance to go back to work. I now work for the most dysfunctional company in the state of KY. The people are neurotic, paranoid and dysfunctional. I have never worked in a place where bad behavior is rewarded. I was told after I was hired that if I would have been hired by the VP he would have warned me about this place. They are begging for people to hire for an AR position within the company and no one will apply due to the reputation of the company in the community. I was asked to take the position and refused due to the verbal, mental and emotional abuse that dept takes. Don't get me wrong the verbal, mental and emotional abuse is spread around equally among all the employees that have not been here since the dawn of time. I am blessed to have a job. I know this. But it still doesn't make getting up in the morning and coming to this place any easier.
[...] comments generated by a recent TheWorkBuzz post asking workers to discuss how they felt about being overqualified for their jobs, it’s apparent that many job seekers are frustrated by the “overqualified” label – and many [...]
[...] comments generated by a recent TheWorkBuzz post asking workers to discuss how they felt about being overqualified for their jobs, it’s apparent that many job seekers are frustrated by the “overqualified” label – and many [...]
[...] comments generated by a recent TheWorkBuzz post asking workers to discuss how they felt about being overqualified for their jobs, it’s apparent that many job seekers are frustrated by the “overqualified” label – and many [...]
[...] you’ll recall, we recently asked you to weigh in on the overqualified debate. And you weighed in with passionate responses. Judging by your comments on that post, it seems [...]
[...] you’ll recall, we recently asked you to weigh in on the overqualified debate. And you weighed in with passionate responses. Judging by your comments on that post, it seems [...]
[...] you’ll recall, we recently asked you to weigh in on the overqualified debate. And you weighed in with passionate responses. Judging by your comments on that post, it seems [...]
[...] you’ll recall, we recently asked you to weigh in on the overqualified debate. And you weighed in with passionate responses. Judging by your comments on that post, it seems [...]
[...] you’ll recall, we recently asked you to weigh in on the overqualified debate. And you weighed in with passionate responses. Judging by your comments on that post, it seems [...]
[...] you’ll recall, we recently asked you to weigh in on the overqualified debate. And you weighed in with passionate responses. Judging by your comments on that post, it seems [...]
[...] you’ll recall, we recently asked you to weigh in on the overqualified debate. And you weighed in with passionate responses. Judging by your comments on that post, it seems [...]
[...] You’re overqualified for the position, but do you care? Of the many things the recession messed up — and… [...]
[...] You’re overqualified for the position, but do you care? Of the many things the recession messed up — and… [...]
[...] You’re overqualified for the position, but do you care? Of the many things the recession messed up — and… [...]
[...] You’re overqualified for the position, but do you care? Of the many things the recession messed up — and… [...]
[...] You’re overqualified for the position, but do you care? Of the many things the recession messed up — and… [...]
[...] more than one occasion we’ve discussed the label of “overqualified” for workers who have the experience and education that theoretically qualifies them for higher [...]
[...] more than one occasion we’ve discussed the label of “overqualified” for workers who have the experience and education that theoretically qualifies them for higher [...]
[...] more than one occasion we’ve discussed the label of “overqualified” for workers who have the experience and education that theoretically qualifies them for higher [...]
[...] November 2010 | work buzz | Permalink On more than one occasion we’ve discussed the label of “overqualified” for workers who have the experience and education that theoretically qualifies them for higher [...]
[...] more than one occasion we’ve discussed the label of “overqualified” for workers who have the experience and education that theoretically qualifies them for higher [...]
[...] more than one occasion we’ve discussed the label of “overqualified” for workers who have the experience and education that theoretically qualifies them for higher [...]
[...] more than one occasion we’ve discussed the label of “overqualified” for workers who have the experience and education that theoretically qualifies them for higher [...]
[...] s1); })(); TweetShareEmail//On more than one occasion we’ve discussed the label of “overqualified” for workers who have the experience and education that theoretically qualifies them for higher [...]
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[...] the company? For insights on how your peers and employers respond to these questions, read: “You’re Overqualified for the Position, But Do You Care?“ In a highly competitive job market, you cannot afford to leave these questions for the job [...]