Topics: Resume · All topics
PatriciaParis, France

I'm 45 years old and have 12 years' marketing and communications experience with Silicon Valley firms in the U.S. Now that I'm living in Paris and job hunting, I'm frequently told that I'm overqualified for jobs or that employers are looking for junior-level candidates with three to five years' experience. I also list all of my job experience on my curriculum vitae. Is it to the advantage of older workers to reposition their experience to seem less senior or "expensive"?

Daniel's advice

Sure, it's to your advantage to recast your experience if the current presentation isn't working. That said, you must be interested and willing to do a job that requires less from you and pays a salary smaller than your experience might warrant.

Your experience isn't the problem, however. It's the fact that you're trying to list every job you've done on your CV, which probably isn't necessary. As an example, when you flew to Paris from the U.S., you didn't need to hear every detail from your travel agent regarding the plane, fuel, crew and baggage. It's not that the information wouldn't have been interesting; it's just that listening to it would take too long. The same is true for employers trying to determine whom to invite for interviews. They're usually pressed for time and have lots of candidates to see. They want to know at a glance only what's relevant for the job because they're too busy to read details about every work experience a person's had, no matter how interesting.

Your job is to simplify their job. Find out what employers' concerns or issues are and address only those in your CV. Show how you can help with them. Remember that the function of a CV is to get an interview -- not a job. Once you've secured an interview, you can use your persuasive talents to show why you're the person to hire.