How to Handle Youre Overqualified in Interviews

How to Handle Youre Overqualified in InterviewsHow to Handle Youre Overqualified in InterviewsHow to get the job youre too experienced for. It seems I continually hear this complaint, They arent hiring me because Im overqualified. One man e-mailed me about this problemI have a lot of incredible extracurricular professional activities, publishing expertise, project management experience, board leadership skills, etc. I have an MBA, and am a CPA. All of this info is on my resume because it sets me apart. However, I am concerned that people are viewing me as overqualified for lower-level jobs and eliminating me. Yet, the jobs I am truly qualified for are fairly high up and there are only a handful of openings. HelpSo what should you do if youre credentialed withgood experience and advanced education, are looking to become re-employed and are even willing to take a lower-level ort? Here are a few tipsDont be tempted to Dumb DownThis strategy moves your career backward. You typically end up frustrated, notlage hired or worse - you find a new job you cant wait to move out of. Most employers today actually want you working at your highest ability level since productivity is key to everyones success. They also want to retain you past the many months it takes to train you for the job, so you can begin to make a contribution to the company.Do some soul searching and savvy preparation.Acknowledge that employers are reluctant to hire a person who is overqualified because they think the person is unlikely to be happy, wont stay long, might want the interviewers job or may expect fast promotion. Remember that you can be threatening to the interviewer, especially if you are truly suited for the interviewers job He may think you arent seriously interested in doing the job for which youre being hired - nor do employers want someone whos burned out or sees the job as an easy paycheck.Examine why you want the position. I need a job is not a response that will endear you to him. You must use your communication skills to convince him why a demotion is a good option. You must create a reasonable explanation. Try thisMy current position as Regional Sales Manager requires me to cover 14 states, and the job had grown into 15 nights of travel per month. This has become an increasingly difficult sacrifice for my family. I have decided to seek a major accounts-rep position that allows me to focus on my strengths - selling, sustaining top-notch client relationships and up-selling - but also allows me to go home most evenings. This is not an option at my current job. It requires a lot of out-of-town travel to do the job, which I am no longer willing to do. I believe my extensive marketing and sales skills would greatly benefit your organization in a positive way. I see this as a win/win situation for both of us. Dont show desperation.You may feel it, but it will work against your getting hired if you show how frantic you are to get a job. Too often an executive sa ys, Ill start at any job just to get my foot in the door. That wont work - its an outdated strategy. Being willing to take any job often makes the interviewer disqualify you. She needs a competent person to perform the specific job shes hiring for.So, you must show not only that you can do it but also that you want to do it. You can offer some advantages, gained from your experience, such as My ability to solve problems and train others would be a major plus in the position. Many employers are slow to hire, yet pay well when they select someone for the position, so patience is essential.Look harder for positions for which you are qualified.Employers want a good fit and an individual who delivers results. Customize every cover letter you write and tweak your resume to match the opportunity. Be sure to address the major needs required and demonstrate results youve achieved in line with the level requested. A former CEO at a smaller company might only be a midlevel executive at a larg er organization, so be clear as to how youre leveraging past experience and leadership to help a potential employer excel.Networking is key to hearing about and landing a new job.Ask colleagues, friends, former employees, college alumni, and other contacts for referrals to new people who can help you uncover unadvertised positions. An introduction to a senior executive can open new doors and even create a job when no advertised one was available. Department of Labor statistics reveal that 63 percent of all jobs last year were found through contacts, so network, network, NETWORK

New Window Film Reduces Energy Costs

New Window Film Reduces Energy Costs New Window Film Reduces Energy Costs New Window Film Reduces Energy Costs Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers have discovered a way to make an optical film containing hydrogel microparticles that blocks radiative heat transfer. If commercialized, the covering could reflect nearly 70 percent of the solar heat coming through a buildings windows and potentially save billions of dollars in energy costs.Smart technologies that control solar heat through windows show great promise for reducing energy consumption. Air conditioners, for example, consume high amounts of energy during hot summer months, sometimes straining the energy grid. About six percent of all the electricity produced in the U.S. is used to run air conditioning, at a total annual cost of $29 billion.To help lower those costs, research targets light management via thermochromic smart windows. Their advantages include autonomous operation and a simple design. Their performance , though, is challenged at higher phase-transition temperatures, the temperature required for a substance to change from a solid, liquid, or gas state to a different state.As a result, temperature-responsive hydrogel materials are emerging as a promising alternative to conventional thermochromic materials.Certain gels can absorb water and turn erkennbar when hydrated, said Nicholas X. Fang, professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. This triggered us to look for materials that can change from hydrated phase to dry phase with increasing temperature.Listen to ASME TechCast Shining a New Light on Solar Farms and Grids Top Story The Critical Need for 5G Cellular ServiceThe phase transition of a palm-print area. Image MITThe team focused on thermochromic materialstemperature-sensitive materials that temporarily change phase, or color, in response to heat. They selected an emerging thermochromic material made from poly (N-isopropylacrylamide)-2-Aminoethylmethacrylate hydrochloride (pNIPA m-AEMA) microparticles. These fiber-webbed spheres are filled with water. When temperatures reach 85F, the spheres constrict into tight bundles and squeeze out the water. These bundles of fibers turn the material translucent, thereby reflecting light.Its like a fishnet in water, Fang said. Each of the fibers making the net reflects a certain amount of light. But because theres a lot of water embedded in the fishnet, each fiber is harder to see. But once you squeeze the water out, the fibers become visible.Fangs team created a solution containing the microparticles, which they applied between two sheets of 12-by-12-inch glass to create a film-coated window. They also expanded the molecular chain of each microparticle, so that when it contracted in response to heat, the diameter was about 500 nanometers, creating more area to reflect light. When the film was exposed to light from a solar simulator, it turned frosty in response to the heat.For a regular glass window, after 30 minutes o f exposure, the temperature behind the window reached 102F, Fang said. However, with ur film the temperature plateaued at 93F. This shows we can block more than 75 percent of heat from the sunlight.Fangs results showed the solar modulation was effectively extended into the infrared region.An unprecedented solar transmittance modulation of 81.3 percent was achieved at about 89F with our hydrogel thermochromic device, with great scalability and stability, he said.The material could provide an affordable and energy-efficient alternative to existing smart window technologies, many of which are inefficient or, like some electrochromic windows, require more power to operate them. The film remains highly transparent below 89F. At higher temperatures, it acts as an autonomous system that rejects heat, thereby passively cooling a building while still letting in a good amount of light.Going forward, Fang plans to look for other ways to improve the films heat-shielding properties.We only scrat ched the very surface of this interesting optical material, he said. We are also seeking industrial collaborators to co-develop the technology for retrofitting existing windows for enhanced energy efficiency and visual comfort.Mark Crawford is an independent writer. More Exclusive Content from ASME.org Global Talent Makes American Industry StrongerHow Engineers Can Resolve Conflict and Save Their BusinessPolymer Composite Can Regulate Its Own Temperature

Job Requirements for a Marine Corps Electrician (1141)

Job Requirements for a Marine Corps Electrician (1141)Job Requirements for a Marine Corps Electrician (1141)According to the U.S. Marine Corps, the job of a Marine Corps electrician or 1141 includes installing, operating, maintaining, and repairing electrical power distribution systems, whether those systems are underground, above ground, and overhead. Electricians also operate and perform organizational level maintenance on electrical power generation equipment, load banks, and floodlight sets. When theyre on Military Operations Other Than War, or MOOTW, they install and repair interior wiring in buildings. Electrician Duties An electricians duties include installing hardwareincluding cross-arms, insulators, and lightning arresters. He might also assemble or erect and climb utility poles or towers and stringwire conductors. He would be charged with measuring, cutting, bending, assembling, and installing electric conduit. He might be charged with installing control and distribut ion apparatus such as switches, relays, and circuit breakers, or testing circuits for continuity, compatibility, and safety. Circuits can include ground units and those of components. The electrician would typically use test instruments such as multimeters and ohmmeters and install and repair electric fixtures. The Course for Non-Commissioned Officers Non-commissioned officers are afforded the opportunity to attend the Advanced Electrician Course that provides in-depth instruction on the requirements of the National Electric Code and the planning of electrical hilfestellung. This includes determining demand, phase balancing, and voltage drops. An apprenticeship program that leads to U.S. Department of Labor certification as a journey worker is available to electricians under the United Services Military Apprenticeship Program, known as the USMAP. Apprenticeships The USMAP is an official military training program that offers Navy and Navy Reserve full-time support service me mbers the ability to improve their job skills and to complete their civilian apprenticeship requirements while theyre still on active duty. The U.S. Department of Labor provides the nationally recognized Certificate of Completion when the program is complete. The USMAP affords military participants with an opportunity to enhance their job skills and show motivation for more challenging military assignments. Having a DOL Certificate of Completion often proves to be a significant advantage in obtaining better civilian jobs because employers know the value of these apprenticeships. Job Requirements You must possess the following to become an 1141 electrician An EL score of 90 or higherYou must not suffer from acrophobia, a fear of heights.You must first complete the Basic Electrician Course (M0.311B2) at the Marine Corps Engineer School inCamp Lejeune, North Carolina.You must have normal color vision. Refer to MCO 1510.96A Individual Training Standards,for a complete listing of du ties and tasks.