After resigning from a good position with hopes for finding another job quickly, a friend had to face a tough reality: The job market may be recovering but there is no way to say that plenty of jobs are out there.
In addition, years of global economic turmoil have left droves of candidates available and willing to fiercely compete for each and every opening, making it even harder even for a qualified person to get a job quickly.
Now that my friend’s savings have begun to deplete, he has been forced to think of Plan-B: Taking whatever comes along, which isn’t a bad idea, after all. Keeping an eye out for a good position but having a job that pays the bills until an opportunity comes along is productive way.
This plan, however, appeared easier said than done. To start, many hiring managers won’t hire someone who is too overqualified — just because this person is willing to compromise and take the job temporarily.
In fact, this can turn into an obvious reason to reject the candidate for someone else who is more suited for the job and willing to be in it for the long haul.
With that experience in mind, it is important to understand the difficulties that are involved in getting a job that you’re clearly overqualified for. There are a number of points to keep in mind if you find yourself in need for job that pays your bills until something more suitable comes along.
Narrow the circle
Just as you use targeted search for your specific industry or chosen career, when you decide to compromise and take whatever you can get, you still need to focus on particular areas. There are two reasons for doing so.
First, you obviously need to speed up the process and random searches and applications are only a waste of time.
Second, you need to make sure that even though the job may not be close to where you are, it should be in your current career, it still agrees with your personality and experience, and you will have some interest and energy in it.
So select carefully a couple of fields where your previous knowledge and experience can be useful and focus your efforts there.
Tell the truth
Trying to come up with a believable story on why you’re applying for a job that is well below your qualifications isn’t advisable.
The best route is to be honest that you need the money and you also like to keep yourself busy. Of course this will bring up the question of whether you will stick around if something better comes along.
While the answer is obviously, “no,” you always can soften this by mentioning that you’ll ensure that if — and when — this happens you will give the appropriate notice and ensure a proper, smooth handover — as you hopefully have always done in previous jobs.
In this case, if the hiring manager doesn’t mind that you may be a short-term solution, you may get the job easily.
Do your best
By taking a job that is below your previous position in terms of hierarchy, qualifications or skills, you’re not doing the employer a favour.
You will need to do your best to meet the job’s expectations and to avoid losing the job. With that in mind, you need to work as hard as you’d do with any other job.
You may get the benefit of being able to accomplish duties quicker because of your advanced knowledge or skills.
However, in many cases if it is a technical job that you’re not familiar with its requirements, you many find yourself going through a tough learning curve which turns the experience more challenging than you initially expected it.
Enjoy the experience
Being in a spot where you’ve to accept a job for which you may be overqualified is not easy. However, much of this experience can be determined by how you perceive it. If you look at the glass half-full: it is a job that will allow you to pursue a more suitable position without feeling the crunch of finances.
In the meantime, you may get the benefit of being outside the house, having some sort of professional life and avoiding an employment gap. You even may learn some new skills in the process. If you stick with this outlook, this experience can turn into a positive one all around.
Rania Oteify, a former Gulf News Business Features Editor, is currently an editor based in Seattle.
