Being told to 'aim higher' by interviewers!!

fabbman

Hi all,

So I am experiencing positive/negative? feedback from job interviews.....

I have been told to 'aim higher' and 'what is a guy like you doing in this kind of work'

The story is I am essentially an unskilled man of 37 years, had numerous jobs ranging from Cashier roles, driving, maintenance etc....I have never been career minded, I have travelled extensively and my approach to work is that of a means to pay my way in life, however I am looking for work after my partner's redundancy and it's very very frustrating to be told in interviews that I am too good for the roles I am applying for, the problem is it's a catch 22 situation how do I 'aim higher' if my CV does not match the position advertised, after all there has to be a filtering process when hundreds of applicants apply for each job!

I pride myself on being ultra-confident and articulate and am told this in interviews, trouble is the jobs that match my CV do not do me as a person justice.

What can I do?

Oldernotwiser

fabbman wrote: »

Hi all,

So I am experiencing positive/negative? feedback from job interviews.....

I have been told to 'aim higher' and 'what is a guy like you doing in this kind of work'

The story is I am essentially an unskilled man of 37 years, had numerous jobs ranging from Cashier roles, driving, maintenance etc....I have never been career minded, I have travelled extensively and my approach to work is that of a means to pay my way in life, however I am looking for work after my partner's redundancy and it's very very frustrating to be told in interviews that I am too good for the roles I am applying for, the problem is it's a catch 22 situation how do I 'aim higher' if my CV does not match the position advertised, after all there has to be a filtering process when hundreds of applicants apply for each job!

I pride myself on being ultra-confident and articulate and am told this in interviews, trouble is the jobs that match my CV do not do me as a person justice.

What can I do?

For a start, I'd stop describing yourself as "unskilled" given your work experience and start writing a CV that reflects this.

If you aren't already using a skills based format for your CVs, then I suggest you have a look at this and revise what you're writing.

megtyler

i would agree with the interviewers, you need to aim higher. you already have rank and file position for so long, it's time to move up to supervisory positions

LadyMissA

I have been told by a few people I should be applying for higher roles but never held the job title although have done all the work so I don't apply and I guess that's why I am overlooked for the lower/junior roles as I have too much experience.

Maybe ask an old employer to see what they think or an agency that works in the field you are looking for