> From: [email protected] [mailto:discuss- > [email protected]] On Behalf Of Evan Pettrey > > Most of the resumes I've been receiving have been coming from people with > 10+ years experience who are still in jr. roles. > > I'm not looking for an incredibly deep skillset, just somebody who is > motivated to do more with their careers. I'd rather have a candidate who is > fresh and hungry than a seasoned vet who is still looking for a junior position.
I'll tell you what I think about that: I am a person with 10+ years experience, who is considering a job change, due to recent acquisition of what was formerly a really cool startup where I work. For now I'm still in the Sr. position, so I'm not going to voluntarily jump to a Jr. position, but my position was eliminated and I haven't been laid off yet, so I'm actively looking around, anticipating that I might be forced to make that jump. As I look around, I find... Due to the state of the economy, there are lots of jobs out there, but they're all looking for Jr. people. This means I'll have no choice but to apply for positions where I'm overqualified, and just as you expressed, a lot of businesses choose not to hire people because they are overqualified. "You must have no ambition, because you're applying for this job." or "I know you'll leave as soon as you can. I want to hire somebody who actually *wants* this job." I think I'm clever. When I apply for a position where I'm overqualified, I try not to make myself appear overqualified. I'll chop everything off my resume that's over 4 years old, eliminate any management experience, dumb-down my previous titles, and put a positive spin on the perceived difference between my age and career. Show up totally subservient and obedient, bowing to the infinite wisdom of my superior officers. "I decided to make a career change a few years ago. I was a software developer, decided to go into IT." Or "I was in IT, decided to go into software development." Both are kind-of true. Throw in some life-changing events, such as getting married, buying a house, having a baby, and people are willing to accept the fact that your career is younger than you are. "I was a party animal, and suddenly needed to grow up and change..." Be energetic and positive, try to win them over. Because my wife and house and baby are depending on me to sacrifice my dignity and get that Jr. level job. Next, I want to address the philosophy of "I want to hire somebody who actually *wants* the job." Suppose you hire a 3-yr Jr person. Well, 4 yrs from now, they won't be a 3-yr Jr anymore. Suppose you hire somebody who's overqualified and who's going to leave as soon as they find a better opportunity. Guess what, that's no different from hiring an ambitious Jr person. How long will the overqualified person stay? A year? Three years? How long will the Jr person stay? Four years? More likely two... I think we're comparing 1-3 yrs of the overqualified person, versus 2-4 yrs of the Jr person. Guess what, a year or three from now, you'll have a highly qualified Sr. person willing and able to help you find and hire the Jr. replacement you need, while he/she goes on to a better paying Sr. position somewhere else. Or you get another year from the Jr. person, who then leaves on 2-week notice. _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] https://lists.lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
