A 40-year-old woman in Switzerland, Donia M., with two doctorates, seven languages, six educations, 17 certificates, 100 skills, and 16 publications, is struggling to find employment after being laid off from her role at an international agricultural firm in Basel. Despite sending out over 180 applications in the past year and attending approximately 25 interviews, she has not received any job offers. Donia M. feels her extensive qualifications are perceived as overqualification, acting as a barrier rather than an advantage, with one career advisor suggesting she remove her doctoral titles from her CV. She is not alone in this struggle, as a 33-year-old named Adriana also faces similar difficulties finding a job despite her academic background. This trend of increasing numbers of academics seeking employment is also observed in Germany, where around 290,000 individuals with academic degrees were registered as unemployed on average in 2024, attributed to a "double effect" of more graduates and fewer entry-level positions, with companies favoring experienced candidates.