Article By Kevin L. DeWitt

 

For the past few years during her job search, David Knox-Jones has been told, in not so many words, that he’s overqualified.  At 48, he is a former hospital administrator and state Medicaid Commissioner.  He is a recent law school graduate and has experience in healthcare and marketing. 

 

“When I’m speaking with a potential employer, many times their opposition to my being overqualified is in the tone of voice rather than their choice of words,” Know-Jones says.  “An employer will say, ‘We’re hoping to find someone who will make a career here’ or ‘Why would you want this job after doing such-and-such?’  Another series of questions has to do with whether I could be a ‘team player’ after being in leadership positions.”

 

Knox-Jones responds to potential employers in plain language: “If I weren’t willing to do the work, I wouldn’t be applying for the job,” he says.

 

A great many job seekers wonder how being qualified can be a bad thing, but it’s a Catch-22 in today’s employment market.  They can’t get hired for positions relevant to their experience so they apply for jobs at lower levels.  But they can’t get hired for those positions, either, because they’re overqualified.  The high volume of job seekers makes it possible for employers to hold out for their ideal candidates.  And in today’s market, you’re not an ideal candidate if you have held a more senior position in the past … because employers assume you will leave as soon as you find something at your normal level.

 

Worry about you jumping ship when the economy turns around is only one of the objections employers have to hiring overqualified candidates.  And unfortunately, the assumption that job seekers have that their high credentials automatically mean they are skilled for a more junior job is simply not true.  Just because a position is less senior than the one you previously held does not mean that you have the appropriate skills to succeed in that role.

 

Whether they are right or wrong, other assumptions hiring managers might have about hiring overqualified candidates include:

 

· You’ll be bored and unmotivated

· The salary will be too low for you

· You’ll be unhappy

· You’ll leave the minute something better comes along

· You could possibly steal his/her job

· You won’t be able to step down from a leadership role

 

Hiring managers take overqualified candidates seriously only if they are convincing about a valid reason they want to take a more junior-level job.  The best reason is saying you have decided that you don’t want to work crazy schedules and are interested in a better balance between work and your personal life.  If that’s the truth and you’re seriously not continuing to look for a more senior-level job, employers will be more likely consider you for a more junior job.

 

If you feel like you are seen as over-qualified in your job search, the following are seven ways to convince your potential employer otherwise:

 

Put the issue out there
Ask the interviewer if he or she sees any positives or negatives to your candidacy based on your higher qualifications.  Get the issue on the table so it can be addressed.

 

Show willingness to walk away
Tell the hiring manager that you are also concerned that it might not be a fit.  Promise that if at any point during the hiring process you think the job appears too low or not one where you will bring the full engagement needed to excel in the position, you will withdraw your candidacy.  Your willingness to walk away tells potential employers you are motivated if you stay in the game.

 

Neutralize salary as an issue
Make it clear that you’re flexible about salary and that your previous earnings are not relevant to your current job search.  Tell the hiring manager that you work for both dollars and balance in your personal life.

 

Focus on accomplishments and contributions
Tell the hiring manager that you’re proud of your accomplishments and you have proven to yourself that you can perform at a more senior level.  And now, at this stage in your career, you’re not interested in chasing titles and promotions … You simply want to make a contribution at a compelling company.

 

Play down higher qualifications
Sympathize with the hiring manager and his or her job.  Let them know that you have a clearer understanding of what a manager needs from his people because of your experience.  For example, tell the hiring manager that you are looking for a job that would give you more hands-on technical work and give you a break from the people management and corporate politics.

 

Focus on learning
If you’ve held more senior positions at a different kind of company or in a different industry, tell the hiring manager that the best way to really learn about a new industry is from a more junior position … and focus on the positives about why you are interested in the new industry.

 

Committing
Tell the employer that you know that job hopping is a major no-no in the business world.  Let them know that, barring unforeseen circumstances, you are ready to make at least a three-year (or more) commitment to the company.

 

“Let every man be occupied, and occupied in the highest employment of which his nature is capable, and die with the consciousness that he has done his best.”
-Sydney Smith

 

“The real minimum wage is zero [unemployment].”
-Thomas Sowell

 

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