Sounds like he’s saying you’re overqualified for the position

I might be a bit late to this...it just happened to me a day ago and I am still trying to understand what they were on about. I too was certain that the interviews were great. More than great. They seemed to be very impressed and kept mentioning how nice and refreshing having me on board would be. I assured them multiple times that I am looking for a position for the long term. To remain within and further grow with the company. They literally said, and I quote "We liked you very, very much and think you have an amazing professional background, but we are afraid that you are overqualified for this position and will get bored since we know the company and what we do". And then I was literally told that they'd preffer someone who had just graduated or did not have that much experience, since the fact that I have so many "interests" that I want to develop further "concerns" them. So, in other words (at least from what I understood), they were basically telling me that they do not want someone who knows what they are doing and will demand a raise within a couple of years or leave as soon as they find a better opportunity...but honestly I don't even think they should have the right to make such assumtions. The world is just messed up. On the one hand you are supposed to have had at least 6 years of experience in a senior role by the time you've graduated uni, on the other hand they can just decide that you are "overambitious" and "overqualified" for a role you yourself clearly applied for because it interests you. So do you basically just want to hire someone who is dumb and loves following you around like a puppy dog? I should have seen it coming since they mentioned the "work family" and "work wife and work husband" bs....anyways, that's my story. I even called the manager personally and was like "give me a valid reason" regarding the decision. I would have understood "not enough experience", or " unfitting experience" or "we were looking for someone who is also fluent in x language" but "overqualified"? Get the heck outta here.

I hear that. I have been in maintenance for the last 3 years. And 25 years as a carpenter before that. And I just got turn down for a maintenance job with Squid Lip's. They said I didn't fall into the premature of what they are looking for. Say what

Totally not cool. I would send an email to the interviewer and ask him since he thought your resume was great and you were over qualified for that position can he place you in a position withing the company he feels would be appropriate for you.

Wow...that's totally f'd up. So they want someone who would be "challenged"??? They want to have to stand over this person and spoon-feed him/her in the positions responsibilities step-by-step as opposed to taking a more experienced person, pointing him/her at the position and letting them go??? Where did they go to find the "qualified" candidate, a grade-school play ground??? I wonder if they follow the same logic when it comes to hiring executives....and WHY did they call you in to interview in the first place and waste your time and theirs??? WTF???? I had a similar experience a few years back. I was applying for an accounting position at an Embassy in DC. I was trying to effect a career change from IT to accounting, had earned my Accounting degree and was looking for my first, entry-level accounting position. I knew the job wouldn't pay much. I also knew it would entail pretty dull and tedious work. But that's to be expected of any entry-level position. Well, like you, I hit a home-run on the panel interview but found out later that the person with the deciding vote felt that, based on my resume, I was too "intellectual" and would get bored quickly. Had I been able to respond, I would have said that a true intellectual can find something of interest in any position, regardless of monotony or tedium. Nevertheless, I was passed over in favor of someone "less intellectual", someone who was so impolitic and difficult to work with that she was fired after only a few months (something that the embassy, I've been told, rarely does). Now one of the things I subsequently learned about the embassy is that they typically hire people who have NO other work opportunities so that the embassy can keep them under their thumb, pay them low wages, etc., and never have to worry about the employees leaving for greener pastures. What a horrible managerial work ethic. All I can say to them is that in the end, you reap what you sow. And all I can say to you is that you probably dodged a bullet. The management of that company doesn't want someone who will grow and flourish, nor do they want an employee who will blossom into a valued contributor because management will have to find more meaningful work for that person later on or risk losing him/her to another company. The management of that company wants an automaton that they can forget about, one that will sit down at the desk at 8AM, leave at 5pm and will never ask for anything or need anything or go anywhere. Shameful.

They want to know they're hiring someone who's gonna stick around. They tend to not go with people right out of college cuz they're worried those people will just jump ship as soon as something better comes along. Wanna know their investment will be worth it and they won't need to re-train someone so soon. Sucks but that seems to be the thing

It's so amazing that so many hiring managers can tell the future! "This position is really beneath and as I gaze into my crystal ball, you will be bored in a few months and leave the company so I'm not going to waste resources hiring you." Yes, I have lots of great experience and skill set but I'm told that I must be looking for a "senior position." I'm like, no, I'm looking for something that matches my skill set so I can contribute. I'm not really old, but my days of growing a career are over. I want a position, even as a cog in the machine, that will be interesting, challenging and keep me busy!

I don't necessarily think they made the right choice, but I do understand the concern. Employers want to hire people they think are going to stick around for awhile. But with an admin assistant job, that's not really one that people generally stick with for more than a couple years. The good thing is you did well in the interviews, since you got so many. Send a nice letter back thanking them for their time and that you understand their decision. Let them know you hope to cross paths again in the future. This could be a company that comes back to you down the line, so don't burn any bridges.

Jason Shaw knows his stuff. That is the best approach to being "Over qualified" for a position. This is a tricky one, as I have supported some Executives over the years that have ruled out stellar candidates due to the potential for them to become "bored" and then leave. Hiring for companies is a tough and time consuming process. Most often, it is despised by everyone except for the Recruitment team supporting the business units. For this reason, any and all doubts that may arise around your willingness to stay in the role can be detrimental to you actually receiving the offer. The last thing companies want to do is find themselves in the same hiring position that they were in 4,6,10,16 months before. All of this being said, I know exactly how frustrated you must be with how this played out. I only mention these things to shed some insights as to how the company may have viewed your candidacy. Take all of this with a grain of salt. Best of luck to you ! :)

There worried about you being bored in the job quickly and then leaving to take another position. You should explain to them what you hope to learn in the position and how it will stretch/ improve your current skill sets. Also be ready to tell them how the position helps your career. By doing these things you show how the position is a good fit for you in addition to how you are a good fit for the position.