Posted this down in the café but am also interested in my fellow Marchers' input:
When you're looking for work out of sheer desperation and for which you are obviously overqualified and have no recent background experience (or ANY experience) --how do you handle that?
I'm talking about retail/cashier/receptionist positions when I have a B.A. and many years of experience as a writer/editor and a fairly recent job that required me to have a top secret security clearance. As soon as I share pretty much any information about my work experience potential employers are going to know I'm not looking to make a career move and may logically conclude that I won't be around long (even though it could take me many months to find a suitable position in my field).
I feel like a potential employer will see right through any attempt to spin things as though I really want to work as a supermarket cashier now even though I've been working as an editor the rest of my career. So is the best policy just to be upfront about it -- "I know that my background is completely inconsistent with the position I'm applying for, but I'll do a great job for as long as I'm here"?
Ugh.