Overqualifed for a Job (employee, degrees, degree, employer)

[PG77]

How can you tell if you are overqualified for a job when there are so many people with degrees who are overqualified but yet are getting the jobs that us regular folks would get? Or am I wrong about this?

[TracySam]

PG, I posted most of this in another thread, but here it is again:

I personally think "over qualified" is bull. If someone doesn't hire you and says you are over-qualified, it really means one of the following:

1. We don't think you would ever settle for what we are paying, and if you do, you will leave quickly as soon as another company decides they'll appreciate your experience and pay more than we do.

2. I can't hire you because you know more than I do, and you will realize that I don't know squat, and you'll out me to the rest of my company.

3. I can't hire you because you know more than I do, and you will likely take over my job in less than a year.

4. You seem older and we're afraid you will make our health insurance costs go up. (this one's illegal).


I really think that if a company doesn't hire you and actually uses "overqualified" as the reason, it's really one of the reasons above. Don't disqualify yourself from jobs because you might be overqualified. Give it a shot anyway. If it's something you'll really like, demonstrate that in the interview.

Also, a degree doesn't necessarily make someone "overqualified." There are plenty of useless degrees out there, and bad schools. Also, it doesn't take much to graduate at the bottom of one's class, and they get the same degree the good students get.

[PG77]

Originally Posted by TracySam

PG, I posted most of this in another thread, but here it is again:

I personally think "over qualified" is bull. If someone doesn't hire you and says you are over-qualified, it really means one of the following:

1. We don't think you would ever settle for what we are paying, and if you do, you will leave quickly as soon as another company decides they'll appreciate your experience and pay more than we do.

2. I can't hire you because you know more than I do, and you will realize that I don't know squat, and you'll out me to the rest of my company.

3. I can't hire you because you know more than I do, and you will likely take over my job in less than a year.

4. You seem older and we're afraid you will make our health insurance costs go up. (this one's illegal).


I really think that if a company doesn't hire you and actually uses "overqualified" as the reason, it's really one of the reasons above. Don't disqualify yourself from jobs because you might be overqualified. Give it a shot anyway. If it's something you'll really like, demonstrate that in the interview.

Also, a degree doesn't necessarily make someone "overqualified." There are plenty of useless degrees out there, and bad schools. Also, it doesn't take much to graduate at the bottom of one's class, and they get the same degree the good students get.

Thank you for your take on this. Much appreciated!

[Fnix]

4. You seem older and we're afraid you will make our health insurance costs go up. (this one's illegal).

Dont worry my other job covers my benefits, this job is for the money

[TracySam]

Great comeback for that one!

I personally love to find someone I consider "overqualified" who really wants a job with my organization! If they have benefits elsewhere and seem to want this position because it something they love and will be committed to, I say
"overqualified, schmoverqualified, when can you start?"

[jamesandveybe]

Originally Posted by PG77

How can you tell if you are overqualified for a job when there are so many people with degrees who are overqualified but yet are getting the jobs that us regular folks would get? Or am I wrong about this?

Overqualified individuals scare employers. They think you will take the job and leave when you find something more equal to your resume. Since you cannot influence an employer to NOT feel this way, you have two choices: 1) Dumb down your resume to fit the job description or 2) Lie on your resume to match the job description. I do not recommend lying.

Your question was more to why others equally overqualified were getting the jobs you applied and/or interviewed for, right? You will never know because the employer has no benefit in telling you. The best you can do is send them a 'thank you' card for the interview, then email out another hundred resumes.

[Racelady88]

Originally Posted by TracySam

PG, I posted most of this in another thread, but here it is again:

I personally think "over qualified" is bull. If someone doesn't hire you and says you are over-qualified, it really means one of the following:

1. We don't think you would ever settle for what we are paying, and if you do, you will leave quickly as soon as another company decides they'll appreciate your experience and pay more than we do.

2. I can't hire you because you know more than I do, and you will realize that I don't know squat, and you'll out me to the rest of my company.

3. I can't hire you because you know more than I do, and you will likely take over my job in less than a year.

4. You seem older and we're afraid you will make our health insurance costs go up. (this one's illegal).


I really think that if a company doesn't hire you and actually uses "overqualified" as the reason, it's really one of the reasons above. Don't disqualify yourself from jobs because you might be overqualified. Give it a shot anyway. If it's something you'll really like, demonstrate that in the interview.

Also, a degree doesn't necessarily make someone "overqualified." There are plenty of useless degrees out there, and bad schools. Also, it doesn't take much to graduate at the bottom of one's class, and they get the same degree the good students get.

This is absolutely the single most accurate thing I have ever read on a forum. Thank you for your honesty.

[b75]

Or they know you are overqualified for the job, need a paycheck now which is why you will take the position & will probably leave for a more suitable job that comes along which means they will have to go through the hiring process again.

[Sassberto]

"overqualified" means basically one of a few things:

- you will be bored by this job and leave in 2 years
- you want too much money for this job and we don't want to pay
- this job is a dead end and you will figure it out and leave in 2 years

[gardener34]

"They think you will take the job and leave when you find something more equal to your resume."

I honestly don't see why this would matter to a company, since they don't like keeping any employee around for longer than 5 years anyway. At 5 years you get one more week of vacation you know....