What Hiring Managers Ask When You Are Too Qualified for the Job
How many times have you seen job advertisements that made you say, “Wow, this looks interesting, but I’m too experienced?” This used to happen to me often, especially when I started moving up the corporate ladder in a sales organization.
This post was originally published on the Muse website .
I wanted to write full time and allowed myself to daydream by looking at companies that hire entry-level writers . But I never took any action because I resigned myself to the fact that I had “too much” professional experience to ever be hired.
However, when I became a recruiter, I realized that I was looking at the situation in the wrong way. Employers have a lot of debate when they have a good but technically overqualified candidate on their hands. And often they don’t just ask themselves, “What is the meanest way we can say no to this person?”
Instead, they ask a few questions.
1. Is this person trying to change careers?
While you might look at your resume and think that you are overly qualified, the hiring manager may not necessarily do the same. Why? Let’s say you want to switch from marketing to financial; Obviously, you have a lot to learn at work. Sure, you have more professional experience than any other applicant applying, but you can still have the exact same industry credentials.
And the fact that you are applying shows that you are aware of this fact. You can make it clear to hiring managers that you are actively trying to change the industry by setting out your position in your cover letter .
2. Does this person’s current rank accurately reflect his or her role?
One of the biggest surprises for me as a recruiter was that a lot of people have jobs that look older on paper but don’t indicate what they are being asked to do on a daily basis. In fact, the biggest mistake I made early on was to assume that each individual “manager” role meant that the candidate had a dozen direct reports and made high-level decisions on a daily basis. And I have learned my lesson the hard way by nominating some underqualified candidates for phone interviews.
So what should you learn from this? There are actually two things. First, when you look at jobs, you shouldn’t pay too much attention to titles. Obviously, there is a difference between a senior VP and an intern, but don’t be afraid to apply for a position that holds a junior title just because you haven’t been in college for several years.
Second, for anyone worried that his or her “top tier” title will disable the hiring manager. Use your resume and cover letter to explain what you actually do every day in the office – this information is far more valuable to a recruiter than what is written on business cards.
3. Will this person be comfortable with obeying their boss?
One thing we were trying to figure out when considering someone “overqualified” was whether the candidate would be okay with reporting to the person who would be her boss. Because sometimes it meant having a manager with a lower rank than the candidate in their previous job. On other occasions, I wondered if a candidate would be comfortable working with a handful of people with the same title – and not supervising anyone.
That didn’t necessarily deter me from inviting someone. But we definitely thought about it. If a person made it clear that he or she was not interested in being a team player, we passed by.
So, so as not to repeat this, use the application materials to make it clear that the current experience will not stop you; Emphasize that you are a team player and that your ego will not interfere with your work.
There is no hard science to know if you are too qualified for the job you want. However, there is also no hard and fast hiring rule that states that employers are only allowed to hire people who meet each qualification. Submitting an application can seem like a waste of time if you think the company will satisfy it. But knowing what they’re discussing will (hopefully) help you leap forward and hopefully get you the perfect position for you – damn the title.
3 Questions Recruiter Asks When Overly Qualified Applies To | Muse