“You are overqualified”… that phrase -quoting Freddy Mercury now- sends shivers down my spine.
Companies thrive to get the best candidate for the job and the best job for the candidate, as one of HR’s maxims say. If you go by this perspective, yes, it could be an acceptable thing to say to those applicants who have “too much experience or too many qualifications” when matched against job requirements. But, is it that straightforward?
I don’t think so.
Discrimination
Jose Luis Bichara, President at Transacademia, calls this a form of labor discrimination. He states that in some cases, the candidate may even feel guilt for knowing too much or having too much experience and may resort to removing experience or qualifications from his resume in order to be considered.
A company’s focus -or lack of it- on talent development
Passing on candidates for being overqualified for a job can function as an indicator of a company’s stance with regards to talent development. If an organization has a carpe diem HR philosophy, where all that matters is the here and now, it’s probable that they will miss the big picture of talent acquisition. Think about this, when you are told that you are overqualified, does it sound like the company is thinking long term about you and your future in it?
On the contrary, if an organization’s philosophy is to attract talent to exploit and develop their potential, it may be willing to “take the risk” of hiring overqualified candidates because of what those people have to offer in the long run. You may be overqualified for a job today but I’d rather secure you because you have potential to be developed into more prominent roles within the organization, they may say.
A matter of time
Given, hiring overqualified people is a double edged sword.
When an overqualified candidate is hired, they will most probably perform above and beyond. The threat is that a few months after, that person may become too comfortable in his/her role, get frustrated and become a problem employee or feel that there are no challenges and thus, lose motivation and leave.
This is easily solved if the company has a structure in place where a career plan can be laid out from the get go and employees know what to expect and what’s in store for them.
A threat
Insecure or unqualified managers may opt out of hiring an overqualified candidate because he is perceived as a threat to them. This is a difficult obstacle to overcome, unless the manager understands that having an extraordinary individual below them could help them climb up the ladder lightning fast by “using them” as slingshots.
Something completely unexpected
I’ve been trying to come up with some of the most usual causes of people being rejected for being overqualified. But -this world is full of surprises- our very own Ioana just sent me a message with an anecdote that is hard to pass by. She’s got the mic now:
Enough said.
What do you think that being overqualified means?
Update: this post has started a healthy discussion on Linkedin. You can join it by clicking here.
Image credit, GoodNCrazy
Article by Fernando
The guy in charge of this blog - husband, Psychologist, former Manager, Blogger, Job Coach, Recruiter and Information Junkie. Yes, I am all that.
Fernando has written 254 awesome articles for us at FT Careers
Twitter: @ftarnogol | Facebook | Google+ | Blog → I'mpossible - Personal Blog
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s something that probably raises some question in the near future, mostly about remunerations. A person might get desperate and apply for a low job, but what happens in half a year when the market changes and he gets the possibility to get hired to a better company, somewhere where he’ll be able to show his talents and get the money he deserves? Simply put, he’ll take it in a heart beat.
The problem here is that the first company invested time and money in him, and now he’s leaving. Companies like to hire “forever”, they don’t like changing employees like socks.
Twitter: ftarnogol
November 19, 2011 at 1:09 pm
Hi Claire,
Thanks for the comment.
Actually, the post is not about being underpaid due to high qualifications: it´s about not being hired.
Fernando invites you to read..5 Things to Keep in Mind to Avoid Having a Bad Job Interview
Actually, companies only like to hire forever when they get to define what forever is. Hence, the state of the job market today.
You have a point Fernando. An overqualified person will never be contented on the role he/she is into. His/her ego is maybe a bit too big that he/she will always aim high and look down on other employees or in some cases his/her boss.
Suzanne invites you to read..how to get a girl to like you
Twitter: ftarnogol
November 21, 2011 at 6:07 pm
Yup, then I guess that portraying oneself as a modest team player with a controllable ego during the interview may help an overqualified candidate get the job
Fernando invites you to read..5 Things to Keep in Mind to Avoid Having a Bad Job Interview
Being a threat is one of the best reasons I know why other upper level management reject some applicants in their company. It actually makes why they are rejecting these applicants especially if they personally have that gut feeling that they could be threats for their promotions. As noted, some people tend to be insecure so no one can actually do something about it.
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Twitter: ftarnogol
December 1, 2011 at 9:47 am
True Adrian,
And on top of being insecure they usually don’t have the word teamwork in their dictionaries. If only they realized that having someone skilled under their wing would boost their chances of getting themselves a promotion. For managers, promotions also depend on the performance of their teams. By having a high achiever among their staff, chances of increased team productivity would be increased, let alone benefit from a possible slingshot promotion if the “overqualified” person gets the promotion before them… i.e.: I once became my boss’ boss, which later enabled me to set him up for a new position as my boss again. We both escalated positions by facilitating our reciprocal promotions.
It’s sad that many managers can’t see it this way.
Fernando invites you to read..Performance Reviews Are the Worst Moment to Discuss Things for the First Time
My dad also had the same experience like you before. He’s working in an auditing firm way back then and all because of his hardwork, he got his promotion under the supervision of his best friend! Funny that they changed their positions without affecting their friendship. If only people are all open minded, everybody will have an equal chance to achieve success.
Adrian invites you to read..Potting Sheds – The Conveniences of a Potting Shed
My brother used to work in an office and most of the time, he always had almost same experiences like that in his previous works. I’ve seen him totally disappointed at times because after he invested too much effort in his work, that will only be the result. But he’s fortunate enough now to be a part of a company who has great employees and superiors!
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December 7, 2011 at 5:54 pm
Hey James,
As people say over here, there’s no evil that last for a 100 years.
Sooner or later we gotta get lucky… don’t we?…
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Hi Fernando,
True, I always try to do the right thing and I hope for the best :)
James invites you to read..Velocity Fitness Magnetic Rower Review
I believe an over qualified employee can always pack up his bags and move to another company. He’s too good for the job, but you can’t pay him enough to stay because at those same money you can hire someone else to do the same job. His extra abilities don’t profit the company at all. And the first change he gets, he’ll leave for a better paid job, which is something no company wants after just having hirings.
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Twitter: ftarnogol
January 14, 2012 at 11:39 am
Hey Stan, I think that would be the smarter way to do things… unfortunately, the economic situation sometimes locks talent in positions where they are overqualified and makes it hard to jump ship and performance and productivity decrease turning high-performers into average workers (or worse)
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