Still looking for work...

Few weeks ago I had a job interview first over-the-phone and then face-to-face for an assistant manager position at a storage facility I was there for almost an hour that interview went well they told me how much they will pay an hour what is expected, and they asked me how much of experience I have and I told him that I have 11 years of experience in the field and they told me they will let me know. I call back they never call me back I don't know if that manager felt intimidated cuz me knowing so much about it and being a property manager in my previous job he might have felt threatened. I was going for his job but that's not what I was there for I was just there for the job opportunity to start all over again sad that don't even bother to return my phone call.

I worked as a Manager for over 18 years and quit, I am looking for another job. I am having a hard time finding one because i am either overqualified or due to my age. (I am of retirement age) They seem to hire very young kids now. (I am not looking for a Management position anymore) what can i do?

Have you ever gone online and you see a job that you really want and you look at the skills that the person that's hiring put up and you say oh I got the skills I can do this job and when you apply and you got a response back they just say you're overqualified I mean really do managers or owners of companies want under-qualified people?

Remove These Things From Your Resume

Your Resume should grab the attention of the hiring manager and get you an interview for the position that you are applying for. It needs to showcase your experience, skills, accomplishments and the direction you are trying to move your career towards. Most important, your resume needs to have information that is related to the job that you are applying for and how you can benefit your perspective employer.

The biggest mistake found with many resumes is, too much informations is crammed into them. They are so long because of piles of unnecessary additions that took up space and didn’t tell potential employers anything about the job that the candidate could do for them. Instead of focusing their resume on the job they wanted, they tried to do the impossible and paint a complete picture of themselves in a single document.

Whether you’re starting a brand new career or you’re getting back on the job market, your resume can make or break your job search.

The big question, though, is what exactly you should do to turn your resume from an autobiography that no one finishes to a lean, efficient 1-pager that lands you interviews. Getting your resume in tip-top shape doesn’t take as much effort as you’d think; it’s about knowing what to take out more than what to add.

Here Are Some Things To Take Out Of Your Resume

Anything Not Directly Related To The Potential Job

When you’re updating your resume for a particular job listing, pay attention to what the responsibilities and necessary requirements are. If each bullet point on your resume can’t directly relate to something from that job posting, it’s best to leave it out.

This means you can’t just rely on one single go-to resume if you’re serious about getting hired fast. If you think about it, the single most important thing your resume should convey is that YOU are perfect for the job at hand. And one resume can’t make you perfect for every job on your job search.

Jobs From More Than 5-10 Years Prior

Take out your random assortment of campus jobs from your college years or those couple of temp jobs you worked during your first year or two out of school. Chances are they have nothing to do with what you’re applying for.

And in case you held one single job for 5–10 years, a good rule of thumb is to limit yourself to including 4 previous work experiences.

Irrelevant Accomplishments Or Awards

There’s no need to include that you won your county’s soap box derby competition in the eighth grade, or that you were on the Dean’s List in college…unless those awards make you more qualified for the job at hand!

Skills That Are A Given Or Outdated

We’re almost two decades into the 21st century. You’re expected to know how to use pretty much all of Microsoft Office, so there’s no point in writing it in your “skills” section.

Instead, if you’re applying to jobs in tech, focus on computer languages, programs, and apps you know that can truly set you apart from the other candidates.

An Objective Statement

An objective statement at the top of your resume only swallows up precious resume space! Besides, you can write about yourself in your cover letter and/or application email.

Images Or Visuals

Unless you’re a graphic designer doing a creative resume, steer clear of including photos, clipart, or graphs. They clutter up your resume, taking up valuable space.

References Upon Request

To a hiring manager, this is a given.

Full Paragraphs

Steer clear of full paragraphs in your resume. Each previous role you list should have three or four bullet points (five or six tops if they’re super short!) explaining your position, your responsibilities, and your impact.

If there’s something you think is crucial for a potential employer to know, explain that in your cover letter.

Exaggerated Statements Or Straight-Up Lies

Keep in mind that hiring managers check up with your past employers and do their own research, so even if you think a small exaggeration will go unnoticed, why take the risk.

For example, in the world of tech, never over-exaggerate how well you know a particular programming language. Saying you’re proficient in iOS development when you’ve dabbled in programming a single app won’t go over well. Hiring managers figure it out eventually, and it’ll only lead to embarrassment on your end.

If you get the job, you need to be able to perform those skills that you mentioned your mastery off in your application right away, or it may be back to the unemployment line.

Controversial Or Bizarre Interests and Hobbies

Your politics or religion can be left out of your resume. Also best left out is that stamp collection and your ability to shotgun a beer in under 30 seconds. Unless you are certain that your politics or beliefs line up with the company’s values, it’s best to steer clear.

Inappropriate Email Addresses

This sounds so obvious, but hirring managers receive resumes with email addresses that are anything but professional, like wastedbabygurl27@ email. Get a Gmail account and make it your first and last name.

Personal And Social Media Accounts

Keep it professional! Even if you have the world’s cleanest social media presence, there’s no reason to give a potential employer any reason to start digging into your personal life. Including a LinkedIn profile makes sense in many cases, but there’s no need to add your Facebook account, YouTube channel, and Periscope handle.

Extra Pages

Resumes should be no more than two pages max (preferably one page). This forces you to remove anything unnecessary and to be as straightforward and succinct as possible.

Worried you don’t have enough space to add something important? Keep in mind that if an employer really wants to know more, they can see it on your LinkedIn page, or you can mention that extra factoid in your cover letter or an interview round.

Typos

This sounds like a given but it happens all the time! Two important pro tips: First, read your resume out loud; it’ll help you see more typos. Second, read it backwards starting with your last sentence and working your way up the page. You’d be surprised how many grammatical and usage errors that are found doing this.

Broken Links

If you’re linking to a portfolio or website (and you absolutely should), it’s especially important to make sure that all of your links work and that you typed them out correctly on your resume.

Kooky Fonts, Colors, Or Clipart

No Comic Sans, please! Arial, Times New Roman, and similar legible and professional fonts are the way to go. And don’t make your text size any smaller than a 10-point font at the very most. And since your resume is not a comic book, leave out the clipart.

Anything School-Related

Unless you’re a year or two out, take out mentions of your college GPA, graduation year, or that random fiction writing prize you won during your freshman year. They can make you seem more junior than you are, and besides, most of those accomplishments won’t affect your job performance.

Big Words Or Industry Jargon

A Princeton University study found that people who used huge words in their writing were thought to be overcompensating and therefore untrustworthy by colleagues. A resume should be straightforward, so be as simple as possible with language.

Additionally, steer clear of industry jargon unless it’s absolutely necessary. A hiring manager might not know as much as you, or on the flip side, they might know way more than you and may catch you misusing industry words!

Acronyms

The tech industry in particular seems to have acronyms for everything, but when it comes to a resume, steer clear of shortening any words or phrases to avoid confusion or misunderstanding about your skills and background.

A Bio

Scrap the bio from your resume and make sure the one on your LinkedIn page is top-notch instead!

With these things removed from your resume, you’re well on your way to impressing a hiring manager and landing that job. Remember, your resume is the first impression that your perspective employer with have of you. Make sure that it is a good one. After all, you don't get a second chance to make a first impression.

I was medically retired from the Army in 2010. I was also fortunate enough to make it to 20 yrs. I have four college degrees. And numerous classes in computers and coding. I tweak my resume for each job I apply for and still nothing. It's getting very discouraging. Any ideas? Help.

Phone interview the week before Christmas. Good conversation, they asked good questions, that I was able to answer (correctly, even). I asked them several questions as to how the position fit, what kind of team players work best, etc. They say their next step will occur post New Year's Day. Followed up yesterday. They are "going in a different direction" and "We feel you are over-qualified". It was for a position type I've done for the past 20 years. I'm good at what I do. I've accepted lower pay at past positions to show what I can do, and moved up the pay scale. I understand that some companies can't / won't start people at my last pay rate. I accept that. I show my value / worth, and move up. But I am getting the 'over-qualified' more and more. I've tried even going to another field, and those want 'more experience'. And I'm not old enough to be a WalMart Greeter. Yet.

Should I "dumb down" my resume

Where I am now in life has put me in a spot to where i have to work on my own and for myself. I actually have been told by recruiters that because my education, they can't afford me. Example, i went to a temp agency and i have my BSBA from Davey University and i have taken some classes at Keller Graduate School of Management, Strayer University as well. The one recruiter called me back after the interview and asked me for my transcripts for my Master's Degrees and i had to inform her that i hadn't finished them yet. As soon as i said that, she slipped up and told me she was trying to see if they could afford to pay me and I haven't heard from that office since. I have called them to speak to anyone there and it one phone call, email or text have been returned. So I am now just staying business trying to get things back in order...

I have a Bachelor's degree in math and my MBA. I had a great job but was recently laid off due to restructuring. I have been in the same industry (default servicing) since I graduated. Now I am having a difficult timw finding something in my industry and applying outside of it I am either under qualified due to lack of experience or over qualified for multiple degrees. I don't even mind taking a pay cut to start over. I just want the opportunity for an interview.