"I'm sorry, but you are overqualified for this job."

So, you've busted your guts to get a significant level of education, and your knuckles are raw from working through a considerable number of years throughout your career. Is this where it's gotten you?

Overqualified.

In a tight job market, it becomes an employer's market. For many experienced and well-qualified candidates seeking job opportunities, your career pool has suddenly become shallow considerably. The dwindling jobs you apply for may be paying less and require less experience than what you've garnered thus far.

TELL ME WHY?
Hiring managers often prefer people whose compensation and experience levels match their openings. When they say you're overqualified, it can mean a number of worries for recruiters:

1. You’ll jump ship when a better offer comes along.
2. You'll be more expensive than hiring someone with less experience.
3. You'll think your job is below your level of capability.
4. You're too old.

IS IT GAME OVER, THEN?
Absolutely not! Forget about wallowing in self-pity. Languishing while waiting for that "perfect job" will only cause you to be out of work. The gaps in your resume will make you unemployable. The vicious cycle continues. Unless you're willing to live off your savings and take up a new hobby or pursue a venture while waiting, take action.

GAME PLAN
Assess how well you sell your strengths and your rationale for taking a position that may not seem challenging or well-paying enough. Make sure you're the one who broaches the overqualification issue with potential employers. By doing so, you defuse their objections with a carefully crafted pitch.

1. Won't you leave? Point to your job longevity history if they are worried you'll leave the moment you can. If you have been a job-hopper in the past, and you are determined to get this job, agree to sign a time-commitment contract.

2. What's your last salary drawn? You can prevent a disclosure that will opt you out of the race by saying, "A lot. Probably more than you are willing to pay for this position. But money is not my top priority and I am not expecting to be paid what I earned during the best years of my career." Another tack would be to show evidence of how you have actually cut costs or increased revenue for your previous companies.

3. Would this job bore you? Show humility and enthusiasm for the new job, indicating what you can bring to it. An experienced consultant applying for a junior role said, "To me, I find nothing more challenging than making a client happy. I look forward to getting back to the real fun of consulting."

4. Will your age be discriminated against? One way to circumvent this sensitive issue is to avoid the matter of age altogether by deflecting them towards describing their ideal candidate. Counter each criterion with how your experience and qualifications can be leveraged to their benefit. If there is evidence that you are the best candidate for the job, they cannot reject you based upon your age.

5. More a post-factum tip than anything else, should you be offered a job, ensure that you get a written statement of your role and responsibilities. In a scenario where you leave the job because demands were not as expected serves only to confirm their initial fears. So get it in writing.

IT'S WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TABLE
It's an imperfect world with its fair load of injustices. You have to make the case for yourself that you're bringing something that's hand-in-glove for what the potential employer seeks. First of all, if you're willing to accept less, resolve that within yourself and concentrate on getting the job in hand. Then, focus on articulating the relevance of your prior experience and how this experience will benefit the company.

I end with a note of hope from a hiring manager in the IT industry, "I had the pleasure of going through 200 resumes. Only 10 stuck and were invited for interviews. Out of those, only a couple were invited back for seconds. One person, in the end, got the job. He presented his case the best and was the most-liked by the partners. I am very happy with him and he's been doing a great job so far. Despite the tremendous number of unemployed IT workers in the market it is still extremely hard to find good people and companies still recognise that experience counts as long as it's in the right package, overqualified or not."