Not getting interviewed

[Paperreceipt]

I left a career-high role last year. I’m financially comfortable and wanted to return to the public-facing role where I started (think ward nurse, bobby on the beat, shop worker etc).

I am applying for small, part time roles on a fraction of my previous salary, and not even getting an interview. I feel that I have so much to offer and good contacts in the industry and it’s disheartening I can’t even get a basic job.

What am I doing wrong?

Are you perhaps over selling yourself? Are you more qualified, more experienced than those reviewing your CV?

Could you possibly (unintentionally of course) be making it sound as though the job you are applying for is beneath your ability or you want it because it's easy?

Neither of which sounds great.

Are you perhaps over selling yourself? I'm not sure what to do really. They ask me for my role and responsibilities and I answer. Some even ask for your salary. I could list my qualifications but not the grades? That kind of thing?

Are you more qualified, more experienced than those reviewing your CV? Yes, almost certainly.

Could you possibly (unintentionally of course) be making it sound as though the job you are applying for is beneath your ability or you want it because it's easy? This is a helpful comment, thank you! I hope I don't come across like that - I just want the opportunity to return to the grassroots of the work, without all of the stress of travel and leading a large organisation.

How do you apply? If by email maybe a well worded cover letter stating that you want to return to the "frontline".

Don't say you want less stress, they might think you want an easy life and won't work hard. Think of the positive reasons why you want a particular job.

It's very difficult to understand the motives of someone who wants to take a step down - especially when they don't acknowledge or explain their shift in gear - recruiters see you as too risky - even for a junior position we want that right person for the team so move to a less complicated, less risky hire candidate.

Yes, I use a cover letter or section on the form to explain my change of direction, and it’s all positively worded.

Some don’t give you that opportunity, it’s just an online form via an agency with no space write about hobbies, interests, why you’re applying etc.

Thank you for your responses, you have already given me a few things to think about.

Do you think it’s ok to omit my grades or even some of my professional qualifications and higher degree?

Does it look like you’re just taking any old job as a stepping stone back to a senior position?

I’d put in a quick line at the start of your CV about your experience and why you’re wanting to return to a more junior role.

Something like “After a number of years working at a senior level, I’m looking to return to a patient/customer facing role. I’m passionate about and want to be able to influence this on a day to day basis”

Sounds wank but makes it clear that you’re looking for this line of work deliberately and you’re committed to it, regardless of your previous senior experience.

If the role you are applying for requires a degree I would put in your degree/masters and leave it at that. Professional qualifications are irrelevant if they don't relate to the role you're applying for.

Have you ever contacted the agency/company/ organisation and asked why you haven’t been shortlisted?

My experience of this situation is that I had CVs from people with 12 years experience fairly senior - I expect to 6 figure salary and we asked for 1 year, they talked about c-suite experience - they came from a different industry and it was a different skill set - sure there were some transferable skills but their inability to address the elephant in the room and respond the the actual points made in the job advert put me off - I felt like they couldn't get the job they wanted so we'd do whilst they found something better paid. Problem is staff that aren't a perfect fit - ie we are relying on transferable skills - don't start making money for us until they are trained and knowledgeable - we might break even at 6 months if we're lucky! Someone who hints at restlessness by being overqualified is too risky for our investment of time and what goes unsaid - is filled with a fear gap and that is never a positive thing.

Have you ever contacted the agency/company/ organisation and asked why you haven’t been shortlisted?

Yes, nearly all have just ignored me but one said they thought I was too busy (it was a role for 12 hours a week).

Do you actually need to work op? Could you volunteer instead?

I do need some money coming in, but I don’t want to work full time, in part because my volunteering role is important to me.

If the role you are applying for requires a degree I would put in your degree/masters and leave it at that. Professional qualifications are irrelevant if they don't relate to the role you're applying for.

I wonder if I am over-egging my cv a bit. I've been 'head-hunted' over the last 20 years, so the last time I really needed a proper cv was at a time in my career I had to sell myself.

I wouldn't leave out any experience/degrees etc. But when you are describing what you actually did in those jobs make it relevant to the role you are applying for.

So for example, if you were a bank manager and are applying for a teller role emphasise how you focused on quality and a customer centred approach rather than talking about business plans and staff supervision.

Another idea - could you move into a training or consulting role? Make use of your experience but in a way that suits you?

I went for a job after a long time out as a sahm. I was absolutely gutted not to get it. When they gave me feedback later, they said they thought I'd find it too easy and be bored. On reflection, they were probably right. I would have loved it for a year, tolerated it for a further year and been looking around after 24 months. They wanted someone for the long term.

Thank you @RhymesWithOrange, I do tailor my cv to each job and emphasis the elements relevant to the "junior" role. I'm not really in to training, I would just like to go back to where the action is. (I do pick up consultancy, it pays well and a few days' work pays the bills, but I don't think this will last for long as my experience becomes out of date).

When they gave me feedback later, they said they thought I'd find it too easy and be bored. On reflection, they were probably right. I would have loved it for a year, tolerated it for a further year and been looking around after 24 months.

This really rings true, and when I first read it, I thought "oh dear, that's me" but most of the jobs I've been applying for are short term contracts.

There was a job last week that I really wanted, great place to work, two days a week and I was gutted not to get an interview. It's wobbled my confidence a bit :(

I definitely have this bias in my head from past experience and probably am one of the people who would pass over your CV.

It's not about being intimidated you'll take my job.

It's more that it just has almost never worked out in the past.

Im not saying you'll have that experience but you're probably running into people like me who have been burned by people with similar situation to you in the past.

It tends to be that people who have paid their dues in an industry and climbed the ranks and are now applying for junior roles try to pass off a lot of that stuff to other staff and try to assume a training/managing/mentoring type role even when it's not the role they applied for.

And if I'm being honest you've already hinted that you would do that when you said you can help with a lot of things that are outside of scope of what the job is. That's not always helpful, in my experience it's been one of the main things that's turned me off hiring people in this situation.

If you need someone to clean toilets for example and you hire someone who spends 25% of their time cleaning toilets and then 75% of their time telling everyone how they could change their processes to clean toilets in half the time.. then that just means I need to hire another person.

The couple times I've been successful in hiring way overqualified people was when they are clearly in their twilight years and just running out the clock and have no aspirations of climbing the ladder again.

Should also say i work I technology so not sure if its same in other industries. We have really high turnover and lots of senior people will sit in a junior for 6 months while they look for something else.

Agree with Rhymes - seriously 'down grade' your CV, I did that ... I used to be the Head of Customer Services but I put something like 'experience in dealing face to face with customers' etc etc.

I got both the jobs I applied to in the last seven years (I am perfectly happy with my current role but I don't particularly like working for someone who is totally incompetent at his job and I know I could do it ten times as well as him fortunately we have very little contact and I am left to get on with it in my own ).

To add to Shelddd's comments, which I tend to agree with, I am exactly the sort of person she refers to in her post ... I am over 60, it suits me to work at a less senior role, I can work part time, but also have time to spend on volunteering and caring for elderly parents. I am still confident I do a good job ... we are target driven and I am always one of the top performers .

It sounds like you are doing a lot of the right things. Maybe it's just a tough jobs market. Maybe employers feel like they want to give younger people who are building their careers a chance. I know when I was up-and-coming I found it disheartening to be beaten to a job by someone applying for lifestyle reasons rather than really needing/wanting career progression and the salary that went with it.

(That's not to say that employers shouldn't be scrupulously fair and put their own feelings aside).

Maybe employers are worried you are using it as a stop gap until you get a job ‘at a higher level’. Might be worth covering this off in some way as to why your want a ‘lower’ role.