A few tips for the ‘overqualified’
I am Michella Chiu, a career coach at Prime Opt - a career coaching center I founded together with my partner to help professionals with international background find a job in the USA. I also belongs to the Columbia University Alumni Career Coaches Network. I would like to provide my views as both a career coach and an academic: how seekers can not be seen as to overqualified while searching for jobs. As the Ph.D. Job Seekers Program Lead and a Ph.D. candidate myself, I spend most of my time working with professionals who are labeled as "overqualified." Here are my tips for my clients, on different aspects:
1. Resume writing: It is impossible to generalize the needs of different industries, but we at Prime Opt always tell job candidates that communication skills, technical skills, and ownership skills are things universally applicable to all positions. So, make sure you make all three skill sets obvious in your resume.
2. Interview: Most job seekers who are labeled as "overqualified" get questions in interviews including: "do you really want this job?" or "will you leave the team soon?" Tell interviews your plan to stay in the company or industry you are interviewing for, and portray yourself as a professional who can make long-term contributions. Also, employers tend to have an impression that people who are overqualified are not willing to work with others as a team, or do not take orders from managers. Therefore, giving examples of how you work in a team is crucial.
3. Thinking: If you have professional degrees and looking for entry-level positions, think of yourself as making a career shift. Think less about your past achievements, but think more about what under your belt can be applied in new environments.