You’re Not Overqualified — You’re Underbranded

Ever been told you're “too experienced” or “overqualified”? That’s not a compliment — it’s a warning sign. It means decision-makers can’t place you. They don’t understand your value, or worse, they assume you’re going to be a problem. Too expensive. Too difficult. Too stuck in your ways. But the real issue isn’t your qualifications. It’s your positioning.

You’re not overqualified. You’re underbranded.

The Problem They Won’t Say Out Loud

Most professionals with 15, 20, even 30 years under their belt hit this wall eventually. You’ve led teams. Saved failing projects. Mentored future leaders. Navigated entire industries through transformation. And still — your CV lands flat. Your LinkedIn presence doesn’t reflect your gravitas. You feel invisible. Or worse… misunderstood.

That’s not because you’re “too senior.” It’s because the tools you’re using to represent yourself haven’t evolved with your experience. You’re using junior templates to tell an advanced story.

You’ve moved into the high-trust, high-impact space — but your brand is stuck explaining past job titles like you’re applying for an assistant manager role in 2011.

The Moment I Saw the Gap

I started developing what would eventually become the Bigger Fish Executive Branding Framework back in 2006. At the time, I’d just left the military. As a British Army instructor, I’d trained in psychology, mindset, communication under pressure, and performance coaching — long before I ever realised that knowledge would shape the rest of my career.

Later, I moved into the oil and gas world, working as a project engineer managing multi-million-pound operations across some of the toughest environments on earth. High-risk, high-stakes, no margin for error. I learned the power of clarity. Of structure. Of making sure people understand exactly what’s happening — and why it matters.

And that’s where it clicked. People don’t fail to progress in their careers because they lack experience. They fail because they’re not telling the right story — or telling it to the wrong audience.

The Hidden Skill Nobody Teaches You

I didn’t set out to become a branding consultant. I just started helping friends and colleagues write stronger CVs. But soon, I saw the pattern.

They weren’t bad candidates. They were badly packaged.

Too many relied on flat job descriptions. Too many tried to sound humble when they should’ve sounded valuable. Too many were so deep in the technical weeds that they forgot to highlight the one thing people are really hiring for: impact.

So I began to refine a method — drawing from everything I knew:

• The psychological discipline from the Army

• The technical accuracy of engineering writing

• The persuasive flow I learned onboarding customers and selling ideas across the table

• The language of marketing: positioning, tone, emotional resonance, clarity

I poured all of it into my writing.

And people started getting hired. Senior roles. International contracts. Board-level invites. All because their story finally landed.

You’re Not Overqualified. You’ve Just Outgrown the Frame.

Let me reframe it for you.

“Overqualified” is just a symptom of being branded too low for your value.

It means people don’t know where to put you — not because you’re too good, but because you’re not clear enough. And when clarity is absent, fear takes its place. That’s why they hesitate. That’s why they reject. That’s why they label you as a risk.

But it doesn’t have to stay that way.

When we elevate your brand — when we reshape how your experience is perceived — everything shifts.

You’re no longer explaining yourself. You’re no longer justifying gaps or defending seniority. You’re owning your narrative. You’re positioning yourself not as a job-seeker… but as a leader with leverage.

This Is What a Rebrand Looks Like

At Bigger Fish, we don’t just write CVs. We build executive presence on paper.

That means no templates. No clichés. No bullet-point lists of responsibilities that sound like 100 other applicants.

We draw out your career in four dimensions:

1. Strategic Value — What did you fix, solve, lead, or grow?

2. Narrative Clarity — What’s the throughline of your career?

3. Positioning — Are you framed for where you’re going, not just where you’ve been?

4. Emotional Connection — Can they feel what you bring?

We apply everything I’ve learned since 2006:

• NLP and persuasive writing techniques

• Technical language precision

• Storytelling frameworks

• Marketing copy strategies

• Emotional anchoring and call-to-action language

This isn’t copywriting. It’s reputation engineering.

What Happens When You Get It Right?

Let me paint the picture.

Imagine walking into your next interview with full alignment. You’re not reading from a script. You’re speaking from your core narrative. They’re not confused about your CV — they’re impressed by your clarity. They don’t ask “Are you willing to take a step back?” — because your brand makes it clear that you’re already a step ahead.

Or imagine launching a consultancy after leaving corporate — and your LinkedIn starts generating inbound leads within weeks because your profile now speaks directly to decision-makers in their language.

Or being offered board-level advisory roles… not because you applied, but because someone shared your profile after being impressed by your strategic brand.

Your Experience Has Weight — But Are You Showing It?

This is the question I ask every client:

“If I stripped away your job titles and just looked at what you’ve actually done — would I still understand your power?”

And if the answer is no… we fix it.

Because here’s the truth: You're not too old. You're not too senior. You're not too experienced.

You're just not being understood at the level you operate. And that’s a branding problem.

5 Things You Can Do Today to Reframe Yourself

1. Stop listing tasks. Focus on transformations, outcomes, strategic input.

2. Start with power. Your CV and LinkedIn need strong openers — not generic summaries.

3. Use numbers. Results with proof are 10x more persuasive.

4. Tell a coherent story. Make sure your past aligns with where you're going.

5. Invest in presentation. Design, language, layout — they all speak for you before you do.

You’ve Already Done the Hard Part

Let’s be honest — surviving 20 years in a tough industry, leading people, solving problems, burning out and bouncing back... that’s the hard bit.

Writing a CV shouldn’t be.

Telling your story shouldn’t be. Finding alignment shouldn’t feel like climbing Everest.

But most people try to do it alone. They grab outdated templates. Copy their old format. Hope for the best.

And they wonder why it falls flat.

Here’s the Truth: You Are the Product

In today’s market, your brand walks into the room before you do. It’s what makes people lean in… or move on. It’s what turns cold applications into warm introductions. It’s what gets you seen, heard, and respected — not just considered.

You’ve already built something incredible. Let’s make sure it gets recognised.

Let’s Finish Where We Started

You’re not overqualified. You’re just underbranded.

You don’t need to reinvent yourself. You need to reintroduce yourself — to the world, to the market, and sometimes… to yourself.

If you’re ready to do that properly — with a framework built over 18+ years of executive branding, career psychology, persuasive writing, and strategic storytelling — We would love to help.

No fluff. No gimmicks. Just clarity, credibility, and a brand that reflects who you’ve actually become.

Contact the team here - executive.branding@bigger-fish.co.uk

Visit the website here - www.bigger-fish.co.uk 

#ExecutiveBranding #CareerGrowth #LeadershipBrand #CareerChange #Reinvention #MidCareer #SeniorLeadership #CareerStrategy #ProfessionalBranding #CVWriting