And that has created an interesting dilemma for recruiters and hiring managers who often reject those applicants as being overqualified.

As a former recruiter for some of the world’s largest companies, I understand their quandary. I, too, rarely hired overqualified candidates, particularly if it meant offering them less money than they previously earned.

The exceptions were those applicants who succeeded in convincing me they wanted a job for reasons other than the paycheck. In contrast to openly sharing purely financial motives – “I really need this job to save my house from foreclosure” – successful candidates told me why the job appealed to them on a more intrinsic level.

For instance, I once interviewed an elderly gentleman for a mid-level management job on my staff. Because he had once held bigger positions than the one I had available, I was concerned he would jump ship once a more lucrative or challenging opportunity came along.

When I asked him to explain his interest, he replied:

“Well, I’ve tried retirement and, quite frankly, I’m just not very good at it. While I’ve learned a lot in my career that can be of immediate value to you, from a personal standpoint I really miss the sense of purpose I get from helping others.

Not only did I hire him but he stayed with the company long after I had moved on.

The point is, if you are willing to take a lesser job than your career history suggests, be certain to share your applicable skills, experiences, interests and motives so that the recruiter or hiring manager understands money isn’t the primary reason for wanting the job.

During the interview process with one prospective candidate, I brought an abrupt halt to his employment candidacy because he declined to answer one of my standard questions: “What are your compensation expectations?” 

Why so fast on the rejection trigger? 

Because I simply wasn’t willing to risk wasting my time or the time of others’ in the organization without knowing if we even had a chance of making a job offer he would accept. 

If the candidate feared being  rejected because his compensation requirements were too high, he could have avoided the issue by saying he was looking for compensation that was “fair and represented a win/win” for the both company and himself. 

While that wouldn’t have gotten him off the hook, I would have considered it a nice first try and pressed him again for a specific dollar amount.  At that point, he then should have provided me with a range spanning from his bare minimum to what he really hoped to earn and adding “It really depends on the responsibilities and scope of the position.” 

In most cases, that would have given me a general idea of whether we were even in the same ballpark.

So, while I was prepared to give that person some latitude as to how to answer the compensation question, a flat-out refusal clearly wasn’t one of those options.

When the question of compensation comes up in the interview, respond accordingly. The right response could be a win-win for both of you.

After closely reviewing a job posting in the hospitality industry, for example, a marketing executive included the following information in this section: 

Executive-level Marketing position in an organization that will leverage my extensive direct-to-guest program experience and demonstrated ability to develop strategic brand alliances.  I am particularly interested in creating & implementing system-wide initiatives that directly support sales and operational objectives in the hotel and resort industries.

With literally thousands of resumes to sort through, your goal is to get recruiters to review as much of your resume as possible.  To entice them to do this, capture their attention quickly by clearly and succinctly stating what you want, what you can do and what you’ve done.  The Professional Objective & Profile section – which can be easily tailored to the position – is the perfect place to do this.

Professional Objective & Profile:  One of the things I always want to see in a resume is the Professional Objective & Profile section just below the name and contact information.  I call this the “billboard within the billboard” as it summarizes key information about the applicant in the already abbreviated format of the resume itself.  While people may argue this approach potentially limits their opportunities within an organization, I can only tell them what I typically did as a corporate human resources executive when reviewing resumes without this section – I tossed them in the reject pile. When literally thousands of resumes have been dropped on my desk, I wanted to sort through them as quickly and efficiently as possible.  And if someone didn’t provide a brief overview of their qualifications, I simply was not going to spend the time to determine if the jobs I had open fit their particular interests and skills.  My feelings were, “If they don’t know what they want to do, I’m not going to figure it out for them.” This may seem harsh, but it is reality.  Your goal is to get the recruiters to review as much of your resume as possible. To entice them to do this, make it as easy as possible by including a Professional Objective & Profile section.  Otherwise, just like I used to do, they may not give your resume more than a cursory glance.

Quantify accomplishments: Prospective employers consider a number of factors when determining which candidates match the requirements for an open position.  While skills, experience and education are all important, the demonstrated ability to get measurable results will add significant credibility to your qualifications.  For instance, while many salespeople may be able to talk a good game by highlighting their activities (e.g., “Called on key customers in major markets.”), I am always more impressed with statements quantifying specified accomplishments (e.g., “Increased sales revenue by 45% annually over a three-year period.”).  So while activities are nice, results are a whole lot better.

Summarize the unimportant: For individuals who have changed careers and their previous experience is not relevant to their current career aspirations (or if they are concerned about age discrimination), one tactic is to summarize the earlier jobs and experiences under the heading Previous Experience at the bottom of the Experience & Qualifications section.  For example, “Prior to 1982, I gained valuable computer experience and was promoted to various roles of responsibility including system analyst, programmer and billing coordinator.” If age is not a concern, you can add the span of years such as, “From 1994 to 1998, I gained valuable experience . . .” In this manner, you are submitting a factual resume without revealing too much about the jobs you had when President Obama was still in grade school!

Keep it short:  The resume is not intended to represent a comprehensive history of all of your accomplishments, talents and awards.  Depending on your years of experience, background, professional or occupational standards and career pursuits, the resume may be as short as one page (e.g., young college graduates) and as long as three (e.g., seasoned executives).  Anything more than three pages and a recruiter may find it too cumbersome and detailed and end up setting it aside in favor of more reader-friendly resumes.

Fax it:  Not long ago, employer fax machines were constantly buzzing, beeping and cranking out incoming resumes.  With e-mail, they are much quieter – but not abandoned.  Because recruiters and hiring managers generally receive few faxes, faxing your resume may help it stand out from the e-mail crowd and increase the likelihood it will be read.  Be sure to include a cover letter when faxing your resume.

The encounter was memorable not only because it was the first time I met Bill Marriott but also because it was first time I was called upon to literally deliver an elevator speech.  While I recall sharing something fairly relevant about some recent union organizing activity at our newly opened LaGuardia airport hotel, I knew I could have just as easily said something really nonsensical and embarrassing.  After we exited a few a moments later, I took a sigh of relief and committed to myself that I would be much better prepared for any future such encounters with influential people in the company.

Now imagine you are applying for a corporate marketing job with Marriott and you happen to be riding in the same elevator with a department manager who is escorting you to your interview.  If he or she asks, “So what do you do?” how would you respond before the doors opened?  Both of these scenarios illustrate the importance of the concept known as the “elevator speech.”

Of course, elevator speeches are not confined to dialogue that only takes place in elevators.  They are intended for job fairs, networking events and even social activities.  For the purposes of a job search, you should always be prepared to give a 30-second statement that briefly highlights your skills, experience and career interests in favorable, yet not overly boastful, terms. For instance, an effective response to the question asked by the department manager above may go something like:

“I am a brand marketing manager.  While most of my career has been in the consumer products industry with companies such as Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola, I most recently worked at American Express on a new financial services product they plan to roll out to their premier customers.  Right now, I’m very interested in pursuing opportunities that would leverage my skills and experience in the travel and hospitality industries.”

Regardless of your profession, your elevator speech should showcase your talents and be sufficiently open-ended so as to potentially expand your career opportunities into an appropriately broad range of professions or industries.  If it’s too narrowly focused (e.g., “I’m a hotel sales manager”), you may miss out on opportunities where your skill sets are potentially transferable.  If it’s too broad (e.g., “I’m a people person”), it comes across as too ambiguous or whimsical and risks diminishing your candidacy.

At this time, I recommend you take a moment and grab a blank sheet of paper and draft your 30-second elevator speech.  While it may seem awkward and silly, I also encourage you to practice your speech in front of a mirror or a video camera until you feel comfortable with not only the content of your remarks, but also your delivery style.  As with any step in the job search process, there’s simply no substitute for practice and preparation and that includes your elevator speech.