How To Deal With The Over-Qualified Issue When Job Seeking

How To Deal With The Over-Qualified Issue When Job Seeking Picture the scene; when looking for a new job, you spot an opportunity that catches your eye and guess what? You think youd be pretty perfect for it. OK, so its a little different to what youve done in the past but a change is definitely appealing and so you apply. You must have done a pretty good job with your application because you get invited in for an interview (hurrah!). That goes pretty well and you let a little bit of hope slip into your consciousness but then you get the bad news  you havent got it. And the reason? Youre too over-qualified for the job in question. Now, the above scenario isnt a rare occurrence in fact, its extremely common and its happening every day and if youre the candidate in question, its fair to say its more than a little frustrating, particularly if it keeps happening. What Does Over-Qualified Mean? To try and work out how to deal with this kind of scenario, first we need to look at what the issue actually is and needless to say, it all comes down to the role and candidate in question. Whether its your education, your experience or your employment history, there are lots of factors which can affect an employers decision regarding how qualified you are for a particular role and at the end of the day, it all just comes down to personal opinion as to where the line lies between qualified and over-qualified. In terms of what over-qualified actually means, like I said earlier, it all comes down to three factors education, experience and employment history. Nine times out of ten; the higher the quality and the quantity of your education, experience and work history, the more likely an employer is to see you as being over-qualified for a particular role. Now, this could be because youve got more education and experience than theyd like which could then impact negatively on the role in question one realistic scenario is that if youve already got experience in a particular industry or role, youll already have pre-conceived ideas of how to approach particular tasks which might clash with the employers own opinion and attitude. Fair? No but does it happen? Yes! Why Is Over-Qualified An Issue? In addition to the issue I just mentioned, an employer could be more likely to discount a candidate who they deem to be over-qualified because theyre concerned the candidate wouldnt stick with the job for long and theyre worried theyd only take the job to bridge the gap until something better comes along. I suppose with this scenario, its all about minimising the potential risk, especially if the business is small and cant afford to re-advertise the role and train a new employee after a couple of months. Whats The Solution? When it comes to getting around the whole over-qualified issue, it all comes down to convincing the employer that youre not the flight-risk they could potentially see you as and that youre keen to make this particular job work for you not just for the next two months, but for the next year or so. Firstly, you need to make it clear on both your CV and cover letter why youre applying for this role. At this stage, Id even say its OK to actually say out loud that you might not be the most obvious candidate for the role (hey, I did when I applied for Bubble and two years on Im still here!) but that you are keen to learn, looking for a new challenge, open to new ideas, hard working and willing and able to transfer your existing skills to the new role. Consider all the reasons an employer would have to discount you based on your experience and education and try and address these from the off in your cover letter (thats what its there for after all!). When it comes to your CV, weve said it before and well say it again, its all about tailoring it to the role in question. Yes, you might be proud of your First degree in History, but if that isnt what theyre after, Id suggest bumping it down your CV and placing the skills they are looking for and that you possess further up. When it comes to the interview, if the employer doesnt bring up the whole over-qualified issue, you might want to consider addressing it yourself. While this can be a risky move, it can also give you the opportunity to convince them that while you might be technically over-qualified for the role, that doesnt mean youre not the right candidate. In this situation, its worth listening to their concerns and then addressing them as best you can. This is your opportunity to change their mind so dont waste it! As ever, Im keen to hear what you guys think about this issue. Have you missed out on a job because the employer has said you were too over-qualified? Employers; how can candidates get around the whole over-qualified issue? Feel free to leave a comment below.