I had an interviewer say, “You’re overqualified — why would you want this job?” It threw me, because I didn’t know how to answer without sounding desperate. How would you flip that into a positive without losing credibility?
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it’s a tough spot to be in. because if you do get the job, you will feel underpaid and not have the respect you deserve as a senior level person- I have been there and done that unfortunately 
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Been there (in fact I am in that situation in my current, underpaid job as it was better than unemployment as that alone wouldn’t even cover my monthly mortgage, and I really thought it would be temporary until I got a better job ) and it is a crappy question to ask of us. You wouldn’t have applied if you didn’t need the job.
I was very honest and said I needed the job as I was caught up in a big group layoff and I had bills to pay.
I have now been looking for something else for almost 2-1/2 years and it is worse than ever in my 25+ career.
The other day I saw a job posting for which I know would have been perfect for, in the senior salary range I want and needed. I contacted recruiter and she told me she would submit my resume BUT to be prepared to be rejected solely on age. She said a lot of younger hiring agents are Googling people to see how old they are and are thus making judgments. She said if I can be found they will do that and not even respond to my application.
I told her I have no way of deleting information because if you own a home property tax records are available among other things like our age.
She also told me these companies want someone age 30 with 20 years experience and knowledge. Totally unrealistic.
It has all become so disheartening.
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Over the last few years, I have been older or the same age as my lead, and it’s been challenging. For my last role, I spun it to be a nod to learning a new area. they were ok with hat
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I’d maybe relay that I’d applied because of a certain reason (i.e. I have a lot of experience in that industry/product category/working with that specific client/etc.) and then throw it back at them, and ask them why they felt I would be overqualified (it could be that the job isn’t paying much as compared to your last roles, or the title was lower, etc.). Until you know WHY they said this it’s hard to gauge which response would be the response that would calm their fears. For example, if they say the title is a lot lower, for example, you could respond that you’ve never been hung up on titles or hierarchy, and that your focus has always been about hands-on effort and providing service to clients.
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