Overqualified, Overpriced, Or Undersold As An Age 40+ Job Seeker?

I doubt you're getting feedback that you're overpriced or undersold as job seeker in your 40s, 50s, or 60s.

Employers are rarely honest if they feel a more senior job seeker is too expensive ... it creates legal and HR risks for them. You're probably not getting feedback that you didn't sell yourself well enough either.

Instead, you're likely getting feedback that you're overqualified when you're searching for a job and you're over 40.

But to employers, all three represent the same thing for age 40+ candidates... and it's not that you're overqualified. Because most age 40+ job seekers have been taught to undersell yourselves and it makes you look too expensive.

Partially, it's due to how we were raised as GenXs and Boomers, scolded/published if we bragged, making it uncomfortable to sell ourselves as well as we can when it's critical that we do ... in job search. This has been reinforced by the way that most career coaches, outplacement firms and professional resume writers have too low of a goal for you (to appear qualified ... which makes you appear average and overpriced).

The good news is that you can change how you present yourself in your resume and during interviews, to stop underselling yourself.

Here's how to start:

Sell Impact, Not?Responsibilities?Or Experience:?Once you show you can do the basics (that you're qualified), hiring managers want to know if you can improve their team. You can overwhelm your next hiring manager with the impact you've provided to past employers, rather than focusing on reponsibilities and experience. Because when you try to sell responsibilities and experience, you tell employers what you were supposed to do, but force them to guess if you did your job well, poorly or at all.

This becomes the story that comes to mind when you think about your career - responsibilities and experience. And that "story in your head" not only undersells you on your resume, but it affects how you interview as well.

And because the story in your head is focused on responsibilities and experience, it's tough for you to recognize that you're underselling yourself.

I see this in nearly every job seeker in their 40s, 50s and 60s, when their job search isn't going as well as they'd like. But the candidates over 40 whose job searches are going well, universally recognize and communicate impact in almost every statement they make.

I can show you how to do this as well, and I'll teach you how to get started in my next webinar.

I help people solve the most difficult job search problems, including job search acceleration, getting past ATSs, ageism, remote positions, product/job function/career/industry/ geographic change, unemployment, "bouncy" recent career path, job search turnaround, seeking raise/promotion, industry in decline/consolidation, long term gaps, family leave, or other of the most challenging job search issues.

Join me for my next free Resume Webinar (enroll at https://x.resumewebinar.com/register for no charge) and learn how to accelerate your job search, so you can find your next job faster in 2023.

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