Liz Christianson
We’ve heard from many job seekers that they’ve been turned down for work because they’re overqualified for the job. But what does that mean? Is this yet another buzzword to hide ageism in the workplace? This week, Jobhunter examines the implications of being labeled “overqualified.”
Let’s not bury the lead here. Employers will often use the term “overqualified” when they believe an applicant’s skills and experience exceed the requirements for the job they are applying for. And let’s be honest: companies don’t want to pay a salary commensurate with those higher skills and experiences. But is it always a matter of salary, or are there legitimate reasons to turn down a highly-skilled applicant? Let’s unpack the hidden meaning of labeling candidates as overqualified.
Based on how we’ve defined “overqualified”, we will show you a few reasons why it is justified to dismiss a candidate on these grounds, and a few reasons why it’s a copout on the part of hiring managers.
Three Reasons To Dismiss An Overqualified Candidate
One reason a recruiter or hiring manager may dismiss a candidate with more experience and a higher-than-needed skill set is that the company fears the candidate will be bored in the role. Not every job is a stepping stone to more responsibility or a higher salary. When there’s no growth potential for the incumbent, the candidate has likely already outgrown the position before applying. The company assumes the candidate will become dissatisfied with the job sooner rather than later, quit the job, and the company will be back to square one with recruiting a new employee.
The second reason on our list is managerial issues. An overqualified candidate had to have accumulated their skills and experience over an extended period of time, meaning the candidate may be a bit older than the expected candidate pool for a low- to mid-level position. Human Resources may be concerned that there will be conflicts with a new employee reporting to a manager who is several years their junior. We’ve discussed ageism in an earlier blog post, and one of the concerns we noted with companies hiring older workers is the attitude of “I’m set in my ways,” as an excuse to avoid growth. While it would be discrimination to dismiss a candidate solely based on their age, one can’t fault a company for not wanting to hire a person who will refuse to take direction from anyone younger than they are. Another aspect of this situation is a person with a lot of experience may be perceived as less flexible about learning new processes. This is a potential pitfall for a manager when the employee refuses to take direction based on, “but I’ve always done it this way and it’s worked just fine.”
The third reason on our list is salary considerations. A person with more skills and experience will also command a higher salary. Companies may bypass such a candidate when there’s no wiggle room in the compensation package for the role. If Bob, the Software Engineer with 20+ years of experience, with supervisory and team lead experience all over his resume, submits his application, the recruiter is going to guess that Bob was earning quite a bit more in his last role than what this job pays. The company may feel it’s a waste of both their time and Bob’s to go through the entire interview process only to find the salary is too low and non-negotiable.
We’ve demonstrated a few reasons why a company could (and in the instance of a low, non-negotiable salary, should) bypass an overqualified candidate. But when is labeling a job seeker “overqualified” just a copout on the part of the hiring company? Let’s examine a few instances.
The Copout Factor
As we mentioned earlier, using a candidate’s age to decide whether to interview or hire a candidate walks a fine line between a prudent long-term staffing strategy and age discrimination. Dismissing a candidate based on their age and false assumptions that an older worker won’t take direction from younger managers, or will find tasks ‘beneath them’, is a copout. In this situation, the hiring manager may not be taking into consideration that the worker is burned out as a supervisor and just wants to focus on work and not the additional responsibilities.
Dishonesty
The ultimate copout is telling a candidate they were rejected due to being overqualified when other factors were involved. Perhaps the manager and the candidate just didn’t click, or another candidate was a better fit for the role. In this instance, the company seems to be trying to spare the candidate’s feelings rather than being honest. Considering most companies currently don’t bother to give a candidate a reason why they didn’t make the cut, we don’t know why a company would choose the copout.
You Know What They Say About Assumptions
The third instance where “overqualified” is a copout is based on assumptions. The company assumes that because you can do more than what the role requires, you should be applying for something else. They assume you won’t be happy with the workload, the management structure, or the salary.
Next Steps
Here at Jobhunter, our opinion is that the term “overqualified” is an excuse to dismiss a potentially great employee, with or without valid reasons. But the reality is, recruiters and hiring managers are doing this regularly. So what can you do about it? How can you still land the job?
Knowledge is power. And you know yourself, your skills, your talents, and what you bring to their table. Use their assumptions to your advantage by addressing them head-on. Demonstrate your enthusiasm for the role and the company and highlight why your skills are an asset. You would do this in any application process, not just for the senior-level jobs you’ve applied for. And if you’re applying for a role with less demand, explain your reasons. Maybe managing people took a toll on you, so you just want to get back to the technical side of the job. Reframe this by showing why your skills are just what the company needs.
Some parts of the application process are universal, so we won’t spend too much of your time reiterating them. But we will hopefully reinforce the basics: personalizing your cover letter to show how you’re a great fit for the role, tweaking your resume to highlight the skills you have that match the language of the job posting, and having confidence in yourself and your experience. Applying for a job that is in a different field or a lower-level role than your most recent role requires a strategy that promotes your transferable skills, ability to learn and adapt, and your flexibility.
One final thought. Overqualified means you have every qualification needed for the job, with a little extra. That extra is an advantage for the employer. It’s your task in the hiring process to show them why. Good hunting.