vallierojas: Dear Jeremy

Problems at work? Need advice? Our agony uncle ? and you, the readers ? have the answers

Is my Oxford degree preventing me from getting an admin role?

I am a 42-year-old woman trying to return to the workplace after 10 years at home bringing up my twin daughters, one of whom is disabled ? I have been a carer as well as a stay-at-home mum.

I have a degree in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford, but of course that was completed nearly 20 years ago. Before having children I worked in admin jobs.

So far my applications haven't delivered much, even though I have a good knowledge of CVs, application forms and so on. I seem to suffer from being "overqualified" in some employers' eyes, yet I lack relevant up-to-date work experience. I am trying to remedy this by working for the NHS in a voluntary capacity as an administrator.

In the past 10 years I have been a school governor and a carer trainer ? where I deliver talks about being a carer. I have also completed numerous part-time courses, for some of which I have won awards for being "most improved learner" or similar.

Where am I going wrong? It is very frustrating to be told I am overqualified when, due to my family circumstances, I don't feel I am overly ambitious and am happy to take an admin role below my academic level. My husband has given up work to be a full-time carer so I need to find a job urgently, and the situation is really getting me down.

Jeremy says

Some employers, I fear, mislead unsuccessful applicants. It's not intentional but that's the effect. For every person offered a job, many others will have been interviewed ? and they need a reason for their failure. As often as not, that reason won't be entirely clear and objective; it's frequently a matter of manner or an absence of personal chemistry almost impossible to put into words. So, understandably enough, the employer looks for some simple, factual explanation; partly to avoid hurting another person's feelings and partly to dodge the difficulty of justifying a strong but very subjective instinct. Over and over again, for example, unsuccessful applicants complain that they've been told they're overqualified ? despite the fact they'd be happy to work at the level advertised. Maybe they are overqualified; but sometimes that's simply what they've been told. This could, in part, explain your own frustration.

It's worth considering, too, just why overqualification is sometimes genuinely seen as a disqualification. If applicants aren't looking for a higher grade and/or too much money, you'd think that most employers would see better-than-needed qualifications as a bonus. But they worry, I suspect, that an "overqualified" newcomer may disturb the settled hierarchy of the workplace and perhaps be a little superior in attitude. This is a reasonable concern ? and worth bearing in mind at interviews. Even the smallest hint of a sense of superiority, however unintentional, could be enough to raise that suspicion and prompt a black mark.

In your case, it's possible your PPE degree from Oxford, however unfairly, is sending out an unfortunate signal. I'm not suggesting you hide it from view; just that you put most initial emphasis on your experience as a carer trainer and recent voluntary work for the NHS as an administrator. These jobs give compelling evidence that you're not expecting to return to full-time work in an over-elevated position.

Keep yourself going with the knowledge that some employer, soon, is going to be lucky enough to take you on.

Readers say

? If you are sincere about wanting a unambitious role somewhere, I suggest dropping the degree and the stuff about giving talks, and reframing them in a less high-powered way.

Highlight your stickability, and your willingness to take on less spectacular work. Perhaps stop referring to the jobs you are applying to as "below your academic level" ? that attitude will bleed through, and will not make for a pleasant working environment for anyone, yourself least of all.

You are overqualified. You either need to get over sharing the qualifications when applying for jobs for which they are not relevant, or start applying for jobs where those qualifications are relevant. Ascexis

? If I was reviewing your CV, your lack of career focus and recent work experience would count against you, but the fact you have a good degree would not. Doing some voluntary work with the NHS and in general getting temporary work will also help.

You have clearly done many things while bringing up your daughters and you need to work to link these experiences and skills to those in an advertised job. Remember, though, that 70% of jobs are never advertised so you need to make good use of all your connections over the past 10 years to flush out opportunities. ExBrightonBelle

? I also have an Oxford degree (theology, 2003). I now work for a local authority as a planning officer. I struggled to get a job in 2003, ran a small business for a few months until I eventually found part-time work at a library. I was able to use the experience gained there to get a full-time position as an admin clerk. After that I spent six years working hard to prove to everyone around me that I'm about more than just some fancy letters after my name.

Don't get me wrong, I loved doing my degree and would go back and do it again if I could, but it proves very little in the real world. What you have to prove to an employer is that you're motivated, competent and able to work well with colleagues/interact with the public. A degree doesn't prove that, unfortunately. captainkath

? Being a school governor shows potential for rising up the ladder, particularly with foundation trust hospitals showing a similar governance structure with patient/public involvement as a school may. fatguy

Lack of experience is hampering my search for a careers advice job

I am a careers adviser looking for work in the education sector. Over recent years, and more so since requalifying in 2008, I have become concerned about the way my sector is changing. More importantly, I wonder if I am failing to keep pace with these changes.

Two years ago I considered myself invincible: alongside my degree I held postgraduate qualifications in post-compulsory teaching (PGCE-QTLS) and careers guidance (PgDipCG and QCG). With work-based learning ? NVQs 3 and 4 in advice and guidance ? I held most, if not all, qualifications required for this line of work. Within a year or two the MEd in guidance studies will complete the collection.

But two years on and with dozens of close-run or flawed interviews to my name I am no nearer to a permanent professional situation. I have interviewed the length and breadth of the country. Although I have interviewed well and the feedback (when offered) has been uniformly positive, what has been made obvious is the difference between experience and qualifications/training.

I am painfully aware my career needs a little more high-quality experience to bring things into equilibrium, but we all know there is only one way for that to be achieved.

Jeremy says

You may find some part of my answer to the first letter of relevance to your own case. The reasons given by employers for the rejection of a candidate may or may not be the whole truth. However well qualified an applicant may be, "inadequate experience" sometimes provides a welcome basis for an otherwise instinctive decision on the employer's part.

But in fact, when times are as tough as they are, experience is likely to be valued even more highly than usual. Employers will be looking for an instant contribution; they won't have much time for people to learn on the job. And this can lead them not so much to despise qualifications as to be wary of those who parade them.

Two years ago, when you were feeling invincible, you may have been guilty of a bit of that. It's understandable ? for quite a long time, the right qualifications were regarded as a guaranteed passport to gainful employment. As you've painfully discovered, that certainty has long gone.

You've already had some close-run interviews. So continue to show dogged persistence, don't overplay those qualifications, be willing to take on just about anything and you should be back on that ladder again before too long. I wish you luck.

Readers say

? Careers advising is a dying industry ? people can help themselves these days to all the information they need online without having to be counselled through the process. But have you thought about becoming a corporate recruiter, a university recruiter of student intake, or a corporate headhunter? Your qualifications signify that you're qualified to steer people to the right industries and roles ? so you can probably be at the other end of that process, sorting out which people would be the right ones for given companies and roles. londonsupergirl

For Jeremy Bullmore's advice on a work issue, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@guardian.co.uk. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or reply personally.

Read next week's problems on the Money blog from Monday and post your advice ? we'll run the best of it alongside Jeremy's in next Saturday's column.

Jeremy Bullmore

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