America, November 24, 2003
Overqualified and Unemployed
What is work really?
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Now there are few joys in life than being told you're smart, ambitious, and organized. That is unless you're told all those great things as a way to frame the most hated comment in all the work-world: 'You're overqualified for this position.' These days I seem to be getting that setup for a let down way too often. With a resume that spans the globe and skills that span the office, I seem to be way overqualified for any position that I try for. And to an extent, I am. Or for that matter, so is anyone else. I have the firm belief, backed up by years of observation, that unless we're talking a technical area like rocket science or bridge building, you could train a monkey to do pretty much any office job. Granted, this does nothing to convince employers to look at me a second longer either, which is part of my problem. The other part is that since I've been to so many places and done so many things, everyone thinks I am unfocused or worse, a job hopper. I am neither, really, just a talented guy looking for the right place where I can do good work for a reasonable wage. Well, me and a few thousand other Washingtonians, who the Washington Post was nice enough to point out, are better educated than me. It seems that in Washington DC there are more people with advanced degrees (Masters or higher) looking for work here than with only a Bachelors like me, or less, making it a very competitive place anytime, and particularly hard now. I don't even bother applying to a job in the Washington Post's employment section if the ad is more than a day or two old, as I've heard that employers are getting three to five hundred resumes for every job they post, regardless of the skill set required. How can I stand out in a pack that big? If you have any ideas, please let me know. Or better yet, if you know of a nonprofit in need of a smart, ambitious, and organized manager, email me right now! |
