interview help please!

itsmethatswho

Hi, I have been on the job hunt for a year now, and have had interviews but no success, i have since discovered that the probable cause for this was a negative reference from a bitter previous employer.
With help on the forum i think i have now ironed out my referencing problems.
The job i have got an interview for is an unqualified position, i am qualified but have been out if the field for a while. Before my application i contacted the employer by email, as this was the initial application method, and informed them of my qualifications and asked if they would accept my application for the post. They sent me the application pack and said yes they wuld be pleased to hear from me. This post due to being unqualified , would mean a pay cut and less responsibilities, etc. If this means i can grt back to work then its what im prepared to do. However i know they will ask me this on interview, how do i answer this without appearing that im too desparate for the job? As i dont want them to question why i havent been able to get a qualified job.

Any advice would be appreciated.

mountainofdebt

Well could it be that you didn't get a qualified position to the number of other applicants

The problem you may have with taking this tack is that this then suggests that if you could get a qualified position you'd be off.

Perhaps you could say that you're at a stage in your life where you don't want the responsibilites that a qualified role would entail

theoretica

Can you enthuse about how wonderful their company is and working for them would be worth the paycut? Would the commute/area suit you particularly well? Is the company big enough that promotion would be plausible once you have refreshed your skills?

How are you explaining the year job hunting? If purely as job hunting I think they won't be too surprised at an application at a lower level.