Downplaying experience to get preferred job

By Joan Cirillo 

Q. I am looking for a job in career services at a college or university. My past job was director of career services for a small college. However, I don't need to be a director in my next job. What I love to do is to counsel and coach the college students and would be very happy finding a job as a counselor on my next job. However, I am not getting any interest when I apply for those types of jobs. I'm wondering if they see that I was a director on a past job and assume I would not be happy just as a counselor. I am thinking of taking the director off my resume and see if I get more interest. I know I could sell myself once I get the interview. What do you think?

A. You didn't mention if you were 45 or older, but this is one of the classic dilemmas for the mature job seeker. We call it "dummying down" the resume.

So many mature job seekers go through this process.

They have so much experience and credentials by the time they are in their mid-40s that if they go for a less responsible job than the one that they previously held, they are automatically disqualified. The employer assumes that they would never be happy in the job or will only stay until something better comes along.

After mature job seekers are rejected multiple times for less responsible jobs, they decide to take off some of their job titles or credentials so they can find work. Hence, they "dummy down" their resumes.

For some it might mean taking off a PhD they worked so hard to earn; for others, it might mean taking off a hard-earned job title such as director.

It is heart breaking that mature job seekers must do this, but they have to be able to eat.

If we try everything else and they are still not getting interviews, I say take off the job titles or credentials that they think are getting in the way of their finding work.

I urge employers not to make hard and fast decisions about job seekers because they have more experience, job titles or credentials than the job requires.

Call them in for an interview and question them in depth about their previous experience. Get your concerns addressed or not.

At least then you will be able to make a more educated decision than just unilaterally deciding that the candidate won't be happy in a less responsible job.

Certainly not all, but many mature job seekers will tell me they would welcome an opportunity not to have to manage employees or manage a budget anymore. Others will tell me they loved doing a particular aspect of the job and would welcome an opportunity to do that full time.

Hiring managers and human resources staff: Please be open to interviewing many different candidates for a particular job, even those who have done higher-level jobs.

You never know where that star employee will come from. It just may come from a 67-year-old employee who wants to continue to stay in the workforce and be productive.

Be sure references know prospective job's details

Q. I have a real dilemma and I need an immediate answer. I took off the title of my last job on a resume because I did not think they would call me if I left it on (it was for a lesser job at a lesser salary). They called for an interview and I really liked the job and the people I spoke with. I was called in again and the interview went very well. I could tell that I clicked with the interviewer and she with me. She asked me to submit three letters of reference. I asked my reference from my last job to please write a letter for me and she sent me a copy of what she wrote. Wouldn't you know, she referred to my previous title in the letter. I am so afraid the interviewer will think that I lied on my resume. Should I call her and try to explain why I didn't put the title down on my resume? I will be so disappointed if I don't get this job. What should I do?

A. I wouldn't do anything. If you call and explain, it calls attention to the mismatch of job titles when she might have missed it. Hopefully, the interviewer will only focus on the positive things that your reference wrote about you, not the different job titles. If she does ask you about this at a later time, I would be honest and say that "you were concerned that you would not get called in for an interview if you left the job title on and the job sounded so perfect for you. I would then add "it is just what I was looking for." That will let her know that it was just the type of job you were searching for.

Just a word about prepping your references, whether for a phone call or for writing a letter. Be sure you do a good job of letting the reference know what the prospective job title is, what company the opportunity is with, what projects or job tasks you emphasized and what projects and job tasks you would like your reference to emphasize. Be sure to explain any changes you made to the resume and why you did it so the reference is aware of any changes.

You are not asking the reference to lie, but simply to be aware of them. If you had let your reference know about the change you made on the resume, I am sure s/he could have phrased the letter in a way that did not refer specifically to your previous job title.

Good contacts always important to job search

Q. Are references as important in today's job search as they were in the past? So many of my references have retired or have moved on to other companies. I have no way of chasing them down. How much energy should I put into tracking down references?

A. Put lots of energy into tracking down your references. Many things have changed about today's job search: electronic resumes, applying online, and passing online tests to even be considered for an interview are all fairly new.

But one constant in today's job search is to have really good references that will speak well of your skills and experience on the job. If there are two equally qualified candidates applying for the same job and one has great references and the other does not, believe me, the company will go with the candidate that has excellent references.

Be creative. Good references do not always have to be former bosses, but try to have at least one in your mix of three references. The other two references can be a former colleague, an internal customer, an employee that reported in to you or an all important external customer. The optimum situation is to have many references and you select the three that work best for a particular job opportunity.

Here are some tips for maintaining your references:

Establish contact at least twice a year. One time might be during the holidays. Send a card and let them know what you are doing and what company you are working for. Call again about six months later or better yet, invite them to lunch or dinner. Keep those references alive and well as long as you are in the workforce.

Let your reference know immediately if you lose your job or decide to look around.

Ask if you can use your contact as a reference during your job search. Don't assume, ask. Stop and really listen to his or her response. If there is any hesitation, say, "that's OK. I have plenty of people that I can call."

You would rather know now that they cannot support your search than to use them and lose job after job offer before you figure out that you are not getting a good reference from one of your contacts.

Call or e-mail immediately and let your contact know you have given his or her name out as a reference. If you call, do it before or after working hours so you do not interrupt his or her work day. Let the reference know 1) what the job opportunity is and where; 2) who will be calling; 3) how interested you are in the job; 4) what job aspects of the new opportunity overlap with what you did on the past job and 5) any other projects or competencies that you would like the reference to emphasize. This will help focus the reference on what s/he will say to the caller.

Follow up and let the reference know if you did or did not get the job. If you did get the job, be sure to thank the reference for supporting your job search.

Send a formal thank you letter when you land the job with your new contact information, job title, and company.

Check in with the reference after about six months to let him or her know how it is going. Keep this important relationship going as long as you are in the workforce. You never know when you will need that all important contact!

As you advance in your career, you may want to use more current references. However, I would still keep up with prior references. You never know when a past reference can offer information that is more germane to the job at hand than your more current contacts.

Joan Cirillo is the executive director of Operation A.B.L.E., a nonprofit that provides employment and training opportunities to mature workers 45 and older.

E-mail questions to jobdoc@globe.com or mail to Job Doc, Boston Globe, Box 55819, Boston, 02205-5819. 

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