To think that my professional experience is holding me back?

[Isitameproblem]

As I was just recently made redundant, I've started to ponder if my senior (but not quite senior) roles mean that I'm "difficult to place".

I've been working in the same sector/industry (give or take) for the past 14 years. I'm a senior individual contributor. However, most of the roles that I'm qualified for ask for 6 years of experience. So am I overqualified? Does it look like I lack ambition?

I've had some people manager roles, but the first one was 8 years ago, and the second one is the one I've being made redundant after 8 months.

It's not a niche industry, but my skills (languages) can be seen as niche if needed.

in the current job market I think it is quite common for people to be in this situation: i.e. overqualified for advertised roles. It's a factor of the corporate pyramid structures, and in my industry (tech) a glut of mid-senior people after the boom years.

I had some feedback recently that the role I applied for wasn't big enough for me. I agreed, the title and early round recruitment conversations didn't really reflect the role.

A lot of new hires at my current employer seem massively overqualified (e.g. ex Head of Dept as an individual contributor, also an ex Director now a 'lead').

Apply to the seemingly more junior role but have a good consistent story about why you are applying to that role at that organisation.

How do you feel about removing old employment history? Older than 8--10 years

I’m in a similar position and have been recommended to only have a CV going back for 10 years. That at executive level further back is not relevant. It’s hard at the moment and generally hard to strike the right balance.

That's what I've been thinking maybe just include the last 8/10 years.

Yes, leave out the older stuff.
Put "full employment history with dates available on request" at the end.
This also has the advantage of disguising your age, which the panel should not be allowed to know or be able to work out.

Have a plausible story for wanting to step down / accept a lower salary, e.g. wanting to move into a new sector, wanting a specific type of experience or training in the new role that you haven't had before. Put this in the cover letter and be prepared to discuss it at interview.

Theoretically I'm not willing to step down in salary (been there, done that) and it's not something I'd do again.

I like the idea of "full employment history on request".