Good Question

DENVER (CBS4) ― Janielle Christian moved to Colorado not long ago from Chicago. She came for a future.

"As long as the pay is fair and it's someplace where I can remain for awhile. I'm perfectly willing to take that, but a lot of people don't believe that I guess," Christian said.

Christian has an MBA. She is sharp and well-spoken. Maybe she knows too much in his job market.

Another woman with a dozen years of management experience told us, "If I enter in at an entry level position, they know I don't want to stay there for very long, why would I? I was the director of sales administration."

It has hit experienced workers hard.

"First you have to help the employer understand what overqualified doesn't mean. It doesn't mean that you are going to leave the job. You've got to let them know you want to stay, you're dedicated, you've got something that you can offer them," said Dr. Karen Dowd, Ph.D., Executive Director of Graduate Career Services at University of Denver's Daniel's College of Business.

It's all about adding value. The job applicant who convinces a potential employer they can make a positive effect on the bottom line often wins. The trick is making sure the employer doesn't believe you want to be someplace else.

"You've got to talk about your dedication, your work ethic, the things you can learn in that new role even if you're overqualified for it," Dowd said.

The Boomer Group's Phil Chipouras says, "You've got to position yourself as the solution to the company's problems. So research, networking, understanding what that company's problems are and positioning yourself accordingly," are all important. It's necessary "to demonstrate that this is their career, second career, their encore career," Chipouras said.

Dowd thinks maybe it's time to think a new career at a lower rung on the ladder might mean less stress.

"In the interview you can make that point," she said.

But we asked, doesn't that seem like you have low aspirations? It means, she says, "I'm flexible; I'm opening myself up to new possibilities. Maybe right now title and money is not where I'm going to get my prestige. Maybe right now having a decent income and a balanced life is more important to me than it was before."

But our next question was, does that mean you're not willing to put in the hours? "No you've got to show that I'm going to work twice as hard."

That's some trick. Put yourself in the place of the hiring manager.

"Remember, they're not thinking about the word overqualified, they're thinking about the word, 'Is this person going to stay with me for awhile?'" Dowd said.

You need to indicate you want to stay put.

I asked if it would be, what about your resume? Several people reported leaving things off their resume, including Janielle Christian.

"Sometimes I will even leave off the fact that I have an MBA … I agree with omitting, I'm fine with omitting," Dowd said. "What you do is you say, 'related experience' or 'related education.'"

Dowd does say once you get the job, be humble with your co-workers.

"Don't bad mouth your previous employer or make fun of your current situation because that will be viewed as condescending to them."

That may make you seem smaller in the long run. And if you can't deal with stepping down, step aside.

"If you're a Type A person who's always going up the ladder and that through and through you can't change, then fine, don't be dishonest to yourself and them."

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