Are you Over-Qualified?

One of my students recently asked how recruiters handle candidates who are overqualified.  As with most things, I said ‘that depends.’

Often a recruiter will never see a resume of someone who is over-qualified as  today’s applicant tracking systems will undoubtedly rule out that applicant as not being a ‘match’ or fit to the requirements of the role.  If the recruiter does see the resume (through normal channels or through a referral), a few things might happen:

The recruiter will determine if the candidate is truly overqualified.  Just because the titles may not align, does not mean the roles and responsibilities aren’t the same.   The levels at one company may not be the same as at another. 

The recruiter will need to determine if the significant experience the candidate has is in a comparable role or industry.  Perhaps the candidate has extensive qualifications, but they do not match the requirements of this role.  In that instance, the candidate – while having significant qualifications – may not necessarily be overqualified for this particular.  A good recruiter will then explore whey the candidate wants to move into this role (a new industry perhaps or new field). 

The candidate may truly be overqualified for the role – having current responsibilities over and above those required for this role.  The candidate might still be worth a further look to determine why he or she is interested in this role: 

1. Is the experience from outside Canada and not readily transferable?  Or is the experience from another country and the candidate is having difficulty find a role more suited to his level in Canada?  Caution:  Will the candidate be satisfied in this role or will he move into something else once he has the experience from your company on his resume? 
2. Is the market such that the candidate couldn’t a role at her level?  Caution:  Will the candidate continue to search for a job even after taking your open role?  Will the candidate be bored and only go through the motions of the role?  Will the candidate be looking for a quick promotion? 
3. Is the candidate looking to take a step back in order to focus on work/life balance or because of current personal circumstances?  This might just be a windfall for you as you would get a full-qualified (even over-qualified) individual who can step into the role and hit the group running.  Caution:  Will he be easily bored in the role?  Will be he be able to commit 100% to the role?

What if you are the over-qualified candidate?  How you do you get that job?  Well, you need to first explore why you want it.  Then you need to find an advocate (at the company; in your network) to get you in front of HR or the hiring manager to convince them to see you.  Finally, you need to convince the decision makers to hire you – bringing them a level of confidence in you reason for wanting the job and why you are the best person for the job.  You need to convince them that:

1. You are not just looking at this role until something more suitable comes along
2. That your reasons for wanting this role are sound
3. That you will give 100+% to the role and that they are getting a full committed person who can come in, ramp up quickly and contribute immediately.

But…why do you want the role for which you are overqualified in the first place?  Id’ like to hear from you and read your comments if you’ve ever been either the candidate or the hiring manager in this situation.