Presentation delivered at the second annual PCC Employment Outreach Event, An all welcome, all community, all about getting employed free conference for PA and NJ residents. Is your experience level beyond the 1-5 years “sweet spot” of today’s job market? Are the only jobs that are advertised at your target companies for positions below the level of your prior job? Are you trying to balance the effort of applying with wasting precious energy and resources on blind alleys? Attend this session to learn practical approaches to applying to “step down” jobs at the screening to the apply, application, and interview stages. With planning, you can effectively add such applications to your job search without spinning your wheels. Get possible criteria for picking which jobs to put in the application effort and which jobs to pass up on. Acquire techniques for highlighting your experience advantage in your application. Just as importantly, learn how to “step up” the job description once you’ve gotten a foot in the door. Given by an experienced professional who is now working at a job that - as advertised - she was overqualified for. The skill set discussed in this session can add a new dimension to a search for those job seekers with valuable years of experience behind them. Michelle is an experienced speaker, a member of Princeton Toastmasters, and a professional who successfully removed her "over qualified" barrier.

1. Removing the
“You Are
Overqualified”
Barrier
Michelle L. Lewis
Room 166 Robin’s Nest
12:30-1:15 pm
PCC EOE January 19, 2013

2. Agenda
 Seeing the problem – firsthand
 Calculated time and energy investment
 Screening to apply
 Application
 Interview
 Negotiation minefields
 Summary

3. Seeing the Problem -
Firsthand

9. Preapplication Sceening

10. Base Characteristics of Jobs
 Location
 Industry
 Responsibilities
 Company culture
 Level/Compensation

11. Preapplication Sceening for
“Overqualified” Jobs – MLL
 Location – No relocation expenses
 Industry – Same, current economy = less likely
 Responsibilities – No “stretches”
 Company culture – Leaning toward smaller, but
flexible
 Level/Compensation – At least a plausible argument
that higher than advertised could help

12. Make your own
rules
But stick to them.

13. The Application

15. Specific Tips
 Leave ego out of it – remember your goal
 Leave off years on education section
 Leave off phrases with numbers
 Nix “Over 20 years of experience . . .” instead
“meets required experience level”
 Leave out jobs greater than 10-15 yrs ago, if
possible and any skills now obsolete

16. Key word match
is “key” -- crib
from the ad.

17. Consider Alternative Strategies
for these “Long shot” Applications
 Send a video resume
 Pitchideas rather than past with 1 page job
proposal
 Push the social media angle beyond your comfort
zone
 Start a blog and use it as part of your application
 Consider volunteering to work “on approval”

18. The Interview

20. Click icon to
add picture
Experience =
asset

21. Counter
stereotypes

22. Why should the
position be
upgraded?

23. Negotiation Pitfalls

27. My End and Beginning

28. Summary
 Don’t ignore “step down” jobs
 Screen out suitable opportunities based on your
aims and available volume
 Watch all references to dates or years
 Focus on experience, forward thinking,
technical skills, value
 How can you solve their problems?
 Final bit of inspiration . . .

29. Click icon to add picture
Gary Allen
Me2DC Run
700 miles – one mile at a time!
http://www.maine2dcrun.com/

30. Good Luck and Keep at it