Despicable Overqualified You
Somebody Tell HR to Leave This Word Behind in 2024
This week—a guest post from Emily Bosscher, who’s worked in the pre-professional training space for years now. Her career path’s been a wild ride, but she knows how to turn crises into practical counsel. Especially when it comes to flipping boneheaded hiring scripts. -craig
When I First Met the Dreaded Word
Ten years ago, creatively approaching a career change, I got turned down for a job due to being “overqualified.” The manager informed me that I surely wouldn’t want the salary that was offered. In a sense, she was right. The salary was less than I had been making, and I had more degrees than necessary. But I was crushed, as I was very interested and excited about the work.
Imagine her surprise when, a few months later, we ran into each other at a company event, where she discovered that I had been hired for a different job within the same organization for an even lower salary—and I was still overqualified.
Why This Word Is So Wrong
This designation has long disconcerted me. I have a growth mindset. I collect degrees for fun—or I did until the government stopped heedlessly handing out money at low interest rates. I have learned so much from each degree, and even though my current job does not, on the surface, look like I would need any of them, they have shaped how I approach my work and who I am in my role.
But at some point in the last 10 years, I started to look, on paper, like an undesirable candidate for many jobs I’ve wanted to pursue. All this education must mean that I expect higher pay and advancement, right?
Let’s just say that, over time, I have grown very suspicious about that designation overqualified. And judging by the number of articles on the web right now about being rejected for being overqualified, I’m not alone.
“To job seekers, being told they're overqualified can feel like being told by a date that they're too funny or good-looking.”
- Alison Green, U. S. News & World Report
What Does the Word Mean Anyway?
There is validity in rejection for under-qualification. If I’m under-qualified, I don’t have the skills needed to do the job well, or I’m missing a necessary certification or training. (Don’t hire me to be a CPA, for example.)
But being overqualified, to me, means that I have all the qualifications necessary PLUS so much more! (When did we throw out “Shoot for the Moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars” as a mantra?) Telling candidates that they are overqualified is a lazy catch-all for unclear job descriptions. It’s also an excuse not to see people as people.
I declare 2024 as the year we stop over-qualifying people.
I recently came across an article on by Ben Forstag called “What Employers Really Mean When They Say You’re Overqualified (And What You Can Do About It)” that clarified how this term is a form of laziness. Forstag explains that this term is most often used as a proxy for other concerns (ahem, assumptions) an employer has about a candidate who allegedly…
doesn’t really want the job, only a stepping stone to leave quickly,
will be unhappy, too expensive, and hard to manage due to previous roles,
will want to grow and there’s not a lot of room for growth beyond this position, or they’re too old (not just lazy…illegal).
Two Mode-Switches Worth Making
For employers, it’s time to shift from catch-all laziness to clarity and generosity.
· Verbalize concerns in the interview process rather than inserting assumptions. Forstag’s article states that “employers will label you as overqualified when there’s an unexplained disconnect between your professional past and the job at hand. If you don’t explain this ‘why’ the hiring manager will find an answer in their imagination.” Employers could be more generous in seeing the candidate as a whole person with a complex history and reasons for applying for this particular job bay asking better questions, rather than assuming.
· Recognize that many workers are looking for less right now. Over the past few years, people have downshifted towards less mentally demanding or less stressful work—as we all bounce back from burnout or a global pandemic or certain stages of life. It’s time to stop assuming that everyone always wants to move up or take on more. More generosity in listening to the journey and story of a candidate may lead to a surprisingly qualified hire.
For employees, shift from frustration to shrewdness.
Don’t overqualify yourself. (Ever heard of death by a thousand qualifications?) This may seem counterintuitive, but be savvy about how and when to add degrees or certifications. Is additional schooling or a Master’s degree in your field truly necessary right now? Wait on that program or degree until you are ready to move up or it becomes something that will strategically gain you an advantage. Bonus? Your company might even pay for it!
Make it clear why you’re not overqualified. Go into the interview anticipating the assumptions, prepared to explain (and sell) why you want this job. Preempt the employer by using the term in your cover letter and interview answers. Be specific in your counterarguments: here’s what you might assume, and here’s why I want this job anyway. Beat them at their game!
What I Shoulda Done (And What You Can Do Now)
I regret not being clearer or fighting harder when I got turned down 10 years ago. Granted, I didn’t know the salary would be almost $40k less than my previous job because they had not disclosed the salary on the job posting (don’t get me started on this one), but I knew that leaving my previous field (completely burned out and disenfranchised and ready to start over in a totally new field) was going to mean a pay cut. I was specifically looking for a way to use a different side of my brain, be more creative, and utilize latent skills. I should have explained that better. I should have been more honest about leaving my previous profession and what I was looking for in the next stage of my career. I should have prepared my counterarguments better.
Even if I had, I may have still been labeled “overqualified” and that’s a shame. They missed out on a pretty awesome employee, if I do say so myself!
-emily
Hey, thanks to Emily for this week’s newsletter and to the rest of you for stopping by! And don’t forget—in your next interview—you’re the friggin’ Goldilocks Candidate, got that? Just right.
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