“We think you might be overqualified.”
If you have 15, 20 or 25+ years of experience, those words can be incredibly frustrating.
Because how did all that experience suddenly become a problem?
Usually, it hasn’t.
When an employer says “overqualified,” what they’re often really wondering is:
Why does this person want this job?
Will they be bored?
Are they going to expect more money than we can pay?
Will they leave as soon as something better comes along?
These aren’t questions about whether you can do the job. They’re questions about whether hiring you feels like a risk.
And this is where positioning really matters.
I see experienced professionals run into this all the time.
Their resume does a great job of showing everything they’ve done over 20+ years, but doesn’t make it clear enough why they’re a strong fit for what they want to do next.
Their LinkedIn profile still positions them for where they’ve been, rather than where they’re going.
And sometimes they’re targeting roles that make perfect sense to them, but that connection isn’t nearly as obvious to the person doing the hiring.
One of my clients was pursuing a role that was technically below her previous title.
She genuinely wanted it. She liked the company, the scope of the role, the mission and the team.
But her resume told the story of someone whose career was continuing to move up the ladder. It didn’t make it clear why this particular opportunity was exactly what she wanted next.
So we changed how we positioned her background and made that connection much clearer.
Her experience hadn’t changed. The way we positioned it had.
And it worked.
She got the interview, and the company ultimately created a more senior version of the role for her because they saw the value she could bring.
That’s why I don’t believe having “too much experience” is necessarily the problem.
But if employers can’t quickly understand how your experience fits what you’re pursuing now, it can absolutely work against you.
So if you’ve been applying, networking and interviewing without getting the traction you expected, don’t assume you need to work harder at your job search.
You may need to look at whether you’re positioning yourself for what you want next.
P.S. We’re heading into September, and we’re already seeing an uptick in hiring activity with our clients.
If you’ve been thinking about making a move, now is a good time to make sure you’re ready to take advantage of it.
If your job search isn’t producing the opportunities you expected and you’re ready for some support, I have a few strategy calls available to talk about what’s happening in your search, what you’re looking to accomplish and whether working together makes sense.