You’re well educated and have many years of job experience. On the surface, it seems like good qualities to have. But if you’re applying for an entry level position that could be a negative. When an employer looks at your resume they will look at the education and past job experience and compare it to the job that they’re hiring for. If your qualifications are higher than the job requires they may just pass you over for the next applicant and you might never even know why.
One big reason they will do this is because in the back of their mind they know that you really do want a job with a higher salary and a better job title, and will bolt as soon as you find it. Filling a job position takes time, money and energy to get you up to speed and they don’t want to have to do that just to have you turn around and leave. They want to make sure that the employee is going to stick around for the long haul.
There are many reasons why someone would want to take a lower paying job. If your unemployment has run out and you’re running out of options, you might not have any choice but to take any kind of job rather than starve.
In the new recession job market employers are better able to understand your reasons for wanting to take a job that’s below your normal pay scale. The best thing is to just be honest with the recruiter or employer and let them know the real reasons. Let them know that you’re flexible. Maybe this is a job where you could possibly rise to a better position. In that case, they might want someone that’s willing to start at the bottom again, but has the potential to grow in the position.
The best thing to do is to customize your resume so that it highlights the skills and talents you will need in this position. Downplay what you don’t want to emphasize. You may not want to put your resume in chronological order or highlight the big gaps in your work life. It’s not a lie, it just doesn’t play up your past job titles and salary.
What they care about is what you can bring to the current position. If you know that you can do a great job, let them know that. being excited and confident about the position carries much more weight.
