I applied widely, carefully, and often with a genuine belief that I was capable of doing the roles well. Usually, this belief was based upon the reality that I have been successful doing roles similar to that in the past, or because I has strategically planned for the roles, written job descriptions for the role, and managed people doing that role. I only ever applied for roles where I was very familiar with the work.

What came back, more often than not, was nothing.

That is one of the most draining features of the modern job market: not even rejection, but absence. Application after application vanishes into the system, often without acknowledgement, let alone meaningful feedback. When you are carrying the pressure of a separated family and the ticking clock of a visa requirement, that silence becomes more than frustrating. It becomes demoralising.

Out of all those applications, I had only three interviews. All three were unsuccessful.

Only one employer offered any feedback at all. It was, in its own way, almost surreal: “The panel unanimously agrees, you bring more to the role than the job requires.”

On paper, that may sound flattering. In reality, it was hard to know what to do with it. Overqualified is a peculiar kind of rejection. It does not put food on the table. It does not satisfy the Minimum Income Requirement. It does not bring your wife and child any closer….and what can one do about it?

It simply leaves you wondering how experience, which is supposed to be an asset, can sometimes become a barrier.