How can I make myself look less qualified on paper?

11 Comments

1. AnonymousApril 28,2023 at 6:36PM UTC

   Yes, get rid of distracting stuff and taylor the resuene for the job you are applying to.
   Also a cover letter helps to explain your situation. If you like, you can go back only 10 years or so with job experience, and don’t put dates for graduation for your education.

2. AnonymousApril 28,2023 at 6:58PM UTC

   Look at non-profits. They tend to make up their own rules and titles. They also need professional expertise but don't always attract it

3. AnonymousApril 28,2023 at 6:59PM UTC

   I'm in your space. Please do not omit your degrees or legal background from your resume. There are many positions that prefer a law degree but do not involve the practice of law i.e Compliance, Regulatory Affairs, Government Affairs, Director of Contracts, Director of Procurement, Privacy Officer, Professor

4. Kimberley Ferretti HammettApril 28,2023 at 7:21PM UTC

   Impossible to say for certain, it can come down entirely to the first person in the org to see the resume and what they are looking for. I wouldn't suggest omitting anything that would be clearly valuable to the role.

   Whether or not you like this answer your best bet is to use your network and advertise among your network what you're looking for and why it would be a good fit for you. Have that conversation up front and you may get interview opportunities that are tailored to you and not spent worrying that you're over-qualified.

5. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistApril 29,2023 at 5:12AM UTC

   Your resume is not a legal document, there's no resume police that will come after you, so you can really put whatever you want on there. Or not put it on there.

   It's pretty much standard operating procedure to lop anything over 10, 15 years off the resume so that might help.

   I understand you wanting to leave certain degrees and experience off your resume. You don't want to have to spend an entire interview explaining experience that isn't relevant to the position you're applying for. I get that. I recommend that folks focus/target their resume to the position they're applying for. And for you, putting all your experience on there runs the risk of the dreaded "you're overqualified BS."

   But if you've worked the last 15 years in the legal field and you want to leave that experience off your resume, what are you going to put on there?

6. AnonymousMay 1,2023 at 12:29PM UTC

   I think it needs to be said out loud that a resume is an ADVERTISEMENT with a specific target audience. (really).

   The fact that use over time has made folks think it is a total detail of their professional lives is a misunderstood purpose....

   How and what and why you choose to share to make you look like an interesting candidate that fits the "buyer's" needs is fair.

   You get to decide.

   Truth in advertising does not mean you have to disclose unnecessary facts not related to the actual ask/need.

   Many HR/recruiters forget that (while they forget they and the company they represent need to be attractive to the candidates too!)

   You should not be "blamed" or discriminated for having one career, then wanting to make a life choice to another. If you have the asks the job entails, you have the right to show this in the best way to be of service to the hiring manager to find the best candidate to fill the job.

   And as a pet peeve to HR/recruiters-- KNOW and UNDERSTAND the job role and the business you are recruiting for and stop screening on bias and lack of understanding of the job.... many many good candidates that would be an asset to the business of the company are filtered out for poor knowledge, discrimination and just laziness... and improperly/ignorant setup keyword scans.

   I used to work for a Fortune 50 company and refused to let HR handle the screening. My team read every single resume.

   And we found gold in the effort and skills that were needed. They would have been deleted by HR! Hiring managers please do the work in due diligence. It is your job to build the best team to drive business success -- and it starts with finding great people!

7. AnonymousMay 1,2023 at 4:32PM UTC

   Yes, take the degree off or put it at the bottom as a footnote with the college name and just grad date not discipline. Then scrub off the roles that are non-essential and make the resume read about the tactical things you do. Content of the job enhance that and less that you were a lawyer.

8. Julie EMay 1,2023 at 8:04PM UTC

   I would leave the grad date off because it gives away your age.

9. AnonymousMay 1,2023 at 6:41PM UTC

   There's two things I would do. One, edit your resume to focus on the skills/exp that align to the type of job you want to work in. Don't change your job titles, if you were a mgr, you may want to say leader, but I wouldn't do much more than that. I would ensure you have a Summary section at the top of your resume that states your success as a lawyer, but that you're looking to change careers to YY. If you're able to add a cover letter to your application- do it there as well, then highlight what you believe the value to be for YY company in hiring you. Good Luck!

10. AnonymousMay 2,2023 at 12:08AM UTC

    I don’t think the description of what you’re up against is accurate. Thai comes across o me that you feel overqualified for all other possible jobs.

    You need to overcome a culture bias, not a skill bias, much like when a long time consultant or business owner decides to work for a company in an FTE capacity and recruiters or HR are reluctant to hire someone they perceive as potentially hard to manage.

11. AnonymousMay 2,2023 at 6:15AM UTC

    Honestly, don’t get rid of anything. Maybe do some rearranging and updating to format what you’re looking to target, but I’ve noticed that legitimate recruiters will look at your resume and see your experience as transferable skills depending on what your applying for. It’s not a matter of being over qualified anymore when you can rebrand yourself.