“GK, I keep seeing job posts that say age doesn’t matter for mid-senior roles — but HR just told me I’m ‘overqualified’. I have 18 years of experience. When did that become a problem?”
A 40+ years old professional shared this with me during our 1-1 strategy call.
Here’s the truth 👇
Age may not be the problem. Positioning is.
When they say “overqualified,” here’s what they usually mean:
❌ You’ll demand too high a salary
❌ You won’t fit into our culture
❌ You’ll get bored and leave soon
But notice what they’re not saying:
✅ Your experience is irrelevant
✅ Your skills don’t matter
They know your experience has value — they just don’t see how it solves their problems yet.
That’s where positioning changes everything.
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Stop positioning yourself in the past. Start positioning yourself for their future.
🔹 Instead of: “18 years in operations”
✅ Try: “Built scalable ops systems that cut costs by 40% — ready to do the same for your team”
🔹 Instead of: “Senior Manager for 10 years”
✅ Try: “Mentored 50+ managers into leadership roles using a proven playbook”
🔹 Instead of: “Extensive experience across multiple domains”
✅ Try: “Solved [specific problem] 3x faster by applying cross-functional insights”
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Your experience is GOLD — but if you package it like everyone else, you’ll get rejected like everyone else.
💡 Action Tip:
Rewrite your profile / LinkedIn today.
✔ Lead with the outcome you create over the years you’ve worked
✔ Speak to their pain points over your past titles
✔ Show proof of impact — numbers, results, transformation
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🔥 Don’t lead with what you were.
Lead with what you’ll build next.
If your experience isn’t opening doors anymore — it’s time to reposition, not retire.
👉 Need help repositioning your experience?
Book a strategy call – https://24x7coach.com
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