What they mean by 'Overqualified'
Once you’ve been on the job search for awhile, you may have gotten rejected from a position or two because you are ‘overqualified’. Here’s what they mean by that:
They don’t think you’ll stick around Part of the appeal of a new job is that you’ll be able to learn new things, and if you have tons of experience for a entry to mid-level job, the employer is likely concerned you won’t stick around after the ramp-up process and honeymoon period.
They think you’re too expensive If you’re changing careers, you should acknowledge that since you have less experience in the field, you’ll need to take a pay cut. This will often be much lower than expected, so be sure you lay out your salary range at the appropriate point in the interview process if you’re serious about the career change.
They think your skills aren’t current If you have decades of experience in a field, chances are that field has undergone changes while you’ve been in it. You need to show them that you are able to adapt and learn new things constantly. If you are able to display that you’ve done this in the past, it’s even better for you.
If this was helpful to you, or you have something to say about it, let me know by commenting below!
Hi Matt! And that should be a crime that should get reported to "The Dept. of Labor and OSHA".
Hi Matt! In my opinion "Overqualified" means the company doesn't want to pay a new employee the salary that they you are worth. And it's also justified their reason(s) for hiring a "Under-qualified" or a recent college graduate the salary @ what the company wants to pay for new hires. Or a low salary!
That’s helpful Matt. I’m one of those long timers and I will be sure to let them know that every company I worked for in the past has had their own custom language that I had to learn each time and did so successfully
I've been job searching for over 5 years now and while I've never been told I'm overqualified, I do get 'In spite of your superior qualifications and impressive resume,' quite a bit and if you look at who's looking at your LinkedIn profile (where you sort of have to put down complete dates,) you know when you get that kind of response that it's a way for them to pussy-foot around saying 'you're too old.'
OK this is what over qualified means to me. I am a HR Director. There are at least 6 disciplines in HR that an HR Director needs to know. If I end up with a Specialist job in just one of the disciplines I will be bored to death. Who wants an employee that is bored with their job?
You have summarized the situation very well.
If employers are telling you that you are overqualified, then maybe you should not list all of your qualifications, education and experience on your resume and job applications. If they are looking to hire just an entry level worker, then you need to look like someone who doesn't think that he or she is too good to do that type of work! There is no rule that says you have to list everything.
I am currently in this position and I'm getting hits on my resume but no contact whatsoever. Is it acceptable to mention something to realizing I may be over qualified and am not expecting the salary I had previously.
This was extremely informative to my situation. Also, do you have any tips for interviewing? It appears interviewers don't want all the details when they ask a question such as "what is your definition of customer service "
They are also afraid you advancing to a higher position and might become their boss.
Good observations and points! Another word for overqualified is "old." They supposedly can't age discriminate, but they do.