The Inbetweener: I have no job because I'm too qualified
I wrote this article because I noticed a number of people leaving comments on this website who are in the same boat as me: in the 30 to 45 age bracket; made redundant between Q4 '08 and Q2 '09; and told by recruiters and potential employers that they are "too qualified" or "run the risk of getting bored". Other popular catchphrases include: "your skills will be wasted" and "you will leave when the market picks up".
As background, I have several years of experience as a stockbroker with two large international firms and most recently worked as a business development manager at a boutique. Sales is/was my game.
My previous job came to an end in late 2008 when the company went into voluntary administration. I had received good feedback about my work, so at that stage I thought I could be choosy about what job to take. I was wrong.
I interviewed at one place and the recruiter, HR manager and the initial person who interviewed me were all positive and assured me I was going to get the role. Then the market turned pear shaped mid December and I was told that I didn't have the "right background" for the direction they wanted to take the business in. At that point recruiters were telling me to "relax for the rest of the year" and start looking again late January 2009.
When I started again, I noticed that there were no sales roles. And given my background in wealth management, no jobs there either. I had no mortgage or business banking experience and so at that point reasoned I could really only go for a back-office role (I had previously done admin, prior to working my way into sales). I applied for client services, operations, basically anything that would keep me experienced in the market.
I called up recruiters, harassed them and kept sending my CV, only to never be called back. I didn't even get rejection emails, and in one case, I discovered that my CV had been lost.
Of the recruiters that did bother to follow up, I was told the same thing: "the employer is concerned that given your extensive experience, you may be bored with this position and when the market picks up - and it will very shortly - you will leave for more money".
I then made the decision, common to those in my situation, to return to my masters in commerce studies. At least then I would be doing something constructive while waiting for sales jobs to return to the market. And should a recruiter bother to get back to me, I had an explanation as to what I was doing with my time.
Fast forward to April 2010 and I'm still at university studying for my masters, still applying for jobs, but now facing a different dilemma. I have learnt to apply directly to the firm and cut out the recruiter, but given that I have been out of the market now for over a year, my contacts have either moved on or gone cold, eliminating me from a straight sales position. I'm still unable to "utilise" my sales skills enough to warrant a middle or back-office role.
There are a number of pre-sales strategy roles and post-closing, warm sales roles (in between client services and sales) which I have been interviewing for, but again I have been told I may get bored and frustrated.
But this begs the question: if potential employers have your CV and cover letter, why bother wasting their own time in speaking to you if they have already have made up their mind that you are overqualified or perceived to be too expensive?
It doesn't bother me as I, at the very least, gain some interview experience, but I can't understand why they would do it. I can't let it bother me too much now - after all I have exams to study for.
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