Today’s Wall Street Journal tackles the issue of the overqualified candidate. With so few senior level jobs available, many executives are trimming their resumes, changing titles, and even omitting some of their education to appear less experienced and thus less likely to jump ship if another opportunity comes along. Here’s an excerpt from the article, The New Résumé: Dumb and Dumber:

“Kristin Konopka sent out nearly 100 copies of her résumé in January in search of receptionist work, but got only one callback. That’s when Ms. Konopka, a 29-year-old New York actress and yoga teacher, took her master’s degree and academic teaching experience off her résumé.

The calls started coming in. The slimmer version of her résumé landed in 30 in-boxes and earned her three callbacks and two interviews. “It definitely picked up the interest,” says Ms. Konopka, who realized quickly that people don’t “want to hire anyone who is overqualified.”

I touched on this very same issue and a few others that come along with it in a recent column. My advice, and that of the pro’s I interviewed, erred on the side of caution with deceiving an employer. Instead, creating a new type of resume placing emphasis on talent over title and skills over salary can put a new spin on your job hunt while still keeping you honest. The author of the WSJ article touches on this kind of editing rather than ommitting in resumes towards the end of the article:

“Some résumé writers advise reworking a résumé into a functional one stressing transferable skills instead of past job titles and accomplishments. “Instead of focusing on the big achievements that might scare an employer away, you can spell out what you can bring to an employer in the next position,” Ms. Kabell says.”

While creating a new, less traditional resume can shed a new light on your experiences and take the emphasis off your age and experience level, the overall question of overqualification seems to be less concrete to tackle than changing a resume. Many readers of today’s WSJ, commented on the fact that they see “overqualified” as a cloak term and that you’re either qualified or you’re not. That may be true, but what some readers see as descrimination against a more experienced and “very qualified” applicant, is a red flag to an employer who is looking for someone to stay on for the long run and not bail out for a better salary or title in a few months and can you blame them? Better to adjust to the times than try to fight it.

-Bev