It was about 1 year ago, a great job advert, a great role, making me think, this one is for me, it’s me!

>> CV & Cover letter sent. References sent.

1 phone interview, 2 skype interviews, 2 face to face interviews, all the job aspects was agreed, I was waiting for a feedback and an offer, everything seemed to be really positive.

2 weeks waiting for a feedback to receive an email like:

Hello, blabla… impressive background, but actually we’re sorry to inform you we decided internally that you’re overqualified for this role… we will not pursue with your application as we just found candidates that match more closely with the role.

(I still have the email – My first thought was: Wow, Seriously? Is it a JOKE? Am only 37!!!

HOW FRUSTRATING! The worst lost is to not know WHY you’ve lost. When you’re not qualified, you know what you need to do to get it, but in that kind of situation, it’s just like you fall in love at first sight with a beautiful woman who had the same crush on you but as soon as you get to know each other; imagine that she tells you, no am sorry but you’re too good for me.

(you: “No, no but wait” that’s all you can say… L )

Asking myself what are they really thinking? Being under the forties brought me a bunch of doubts:

You’re going to get bored and live a few month? You’re too expensive? There’s no evolution in this role? They don’t know how to manage you compare to other colleagues? They are maybe afraid that you build contact with their customers and risk to see leave with them? Over-qualified? Compared to who? Compared to your next managers? Why How come? After 5 interviews? The job advert was clear and confirmed on the interviews as well as my motivations…

I’ve checked on Google then other experiences like this one:

Being told that a business needs someone less experienced or less talented can be hard to take.

After all, you’ve done everything they require and have been doing it for quite some time. You offer everything they’ve listed in the job description – and more!

If you’ve found a position that really appeals to you but believe your resume may trigger the “overqualified” response – particularly if you are an experienced candidate and/or coming from a different field – it may be best to anticipate rejection and dispel concerns before the recruiter or hiring manager has an opportunity to reflexively disqualify you. A carefully-written cover letter or having talking points on hand for an initial interview can help to nip rejection in the bud.

What do employers really mean when they say you’re overqualified?

Here are a few things employers may really be thinking when they say “Sorry, but you’re overqualified” – and some thoughts as to how you may avoid or counter those dreaded words.

How to handle:

• Consider emphasizing your true enthusiasm for the position;
• Itemize the qualifications required and how your experience would enable to take them on while hitting the ground, running, rather than requiring lengthy – and costly – training.
• If appropriate, spotlight longevity in positions you’ve previously held so they know you’re not a job-hopper.
• If push comes to shove, ask them if they’d prefer to have an average performer for three years or an overqualified superstar for one.

• Be candid and emphasize how the job closely matches your present professional goal; you have no interest in climbing the corporate ladder, but rather want to apply your skills and experience doing what you do best and enjoy most.
• The fact that you know more may enable the hiring manager to use you to cover vacationing employees in the department without losing productivity – quite a wise ROI.

What they’re really thinking: “You’ll be stuck in your ways and hard to train.”

How to handle:

• Mention achievements in new positions in your career, your flexibility and thrill of keeping up with a rapidly-changing workplace which keeps you motivated and keen to learn.

What they’re really thinking: “Other employees will feel belittled.”

How to handle:

• Include your skill and experience mentoring previous staff and/or successes collaborating.

What they’re really thinking: “You’re simply overqualified.”

How to handle:

Emphasize how much you’ll bring to the table:

• Experience so you can hit the ground running;
• Experience working or managing others – proof you know how to fit it;
• The hiring company will get far more skill from you than from a less-qualified candidate – all for the same amount of money!

“Despite (their) efforts, Biringer again faced a worker shortage and typically drew fewer than 60 of the roughly 100 employees it needed on harvest days.” Much of their produce rotted, which may result in higher prices eventually being passed along to the consumer.

What can be learnt?

Are there parallels between delicious fruit withering on the vine and older job candidates being neglected for being overqualified? No, although such a metaphor may be tempting.

But recruiters and hiring managers know that the job market today has changed dramatically during the past few years, and candidates can afford to be choosy. Finding a qualified candidate is tougher than ever.

So perhaps they just need a little help recognizing that hiring an overqualified candidate may prove to be a really smart decision.

Don’t let the fear that you’re “overqualified” keep you from going after that job. Even if it means sending a couple of tickets to “The Intern” to the hiring manager, carpe diem!

Author: Lewis Lustman the UndercoverRecruiter

Yeah ok, I was not in those cases as they’ve been all anticipated, let’s try another one :

Being rejected is never fun.

Being rejected for a job you wanted is not even close to being fun.

But being rejected for a job you wanted because they said you’re overqualified is a special kind of aggravation. You can clearly do the job, and you’re available, and willing, and yet… and yet… yet they still don’t want you.

Why?

As it turns out, there are many reasons why. Annoyingly but also fortunately, they don’t usually have anything to do with you.

Here are real reasons why employers are so quick to pull out the ‘overqualified’ rejection.

‘IT’S NOT YOU, IT’S ME’: 9 REASONS TO REJECT YOU

1. Employer concern about being able to pay you ‘fairly’

Before starting a recruitment process, employers usually know roughly how much they can afford to pay the new hire. Having more experience and skills than other candidates, employers recognize that you bring more value and are perceived as needing higher pay even if your salary requirements haven’t even been discussed yet in interviews. (we were ok on this one, still not meJ)

If that perceived higher salary is higher than their budget for the position, ‘you’re overqualified.’

2. Employer concern about being able to keep you long enough

You’ll leave as soon as a better opportunity comes along, because “you have so many options” with your extra skills and experience compared to other candidates. Recruitment is expensive, so employers want the most return on their investment.

If employers think you’ll get recruited elsewhere sooner than later, ‘you’re overqualified.’ (Ok maybe, but that’s an easy belief, that’s too easy, because the risk is the same with someone cheaper for example, still not convinced J )

3. Employer concern you’ll be unwilling to do tasks ‘beneath you’

“You might be willing to do whatever the job requires, but if you’ve held equivalent or higher positions in the past, maybe there are some tasks you just won’t touch because you see your time as too valuable…” thinks a hiring manager who often themselves is unwilling to do tasks ‘beneath them.’

If employers think there’s any aspect of the job you might not do, ‘you’re overqualified.’

4. Employer concern you’ll be bored

Suppose you really are willing to do whatever the job requires. Who’s to say that you won’t ultimately find the job too easy and unchallenging, going sour and bringing down the mood at work and your colleagues with it?

If employers think you’ll get bored quickly, ‘you’re overqualified.’

5. Employer concern about younger people managing older people

If your potential boss is younger, especially if they’re much younger, they might be anxious about how you’d respond to their authority. It doesn’t even matter how old you are, or if you’ve even been in a similar situation before.

If employers think your relationship with their younger manager might be a problem, ‘you’re overqualified.’ (Here we are, maybe!)

6. Manager views you as a potential internal competitor

Many bosses and managers are insecure in their roles, regardless of whether they merit them or not. But when along comes a candidate like you who might deserve their role even more – even if that’s not the job you’re currently being considered for – their forward-looking inferiority complex will push them to push you far, far away.

Maybe too

A job seeker once related this:

… I’ve had 2 interviews – 1 with a guy who told me I was overqualified (because he wasn’t comfortable when I asked why they were doing everything manually instead of creating a database and queries to process hundreds of applications per day) and the other offered me the job before the end of the day

If a potential boss sees you as a future threat, ‘you’re overqualified.’

7. Recruiter laziness

There’s a lot you can say in a job interview to allay frankly all of the above concerns, but only if recruiters take the time to express them to you and give you a chance to respond. The reality is that for an overwhelmed, tired or lazy recruiter, it’s just so much easier to dismiss you out of hand than to bother.

8. Recruiter excuses for other reasons they can’t or won’t give you

In Why Recruiters Lie When Rejecting You, the Recruiting Animal says:

No recruiter gives substantial feedback. We can’t. If you’re missing specific skills and someone else has them we can tell you that because it is a matter of fact. But we can’t tell you that the hiring manager doesn’t like you because you look a bit frumpy or because you’re a drip.

And there are a lot of reasons why (over)qualified candidates can be rejected: poor cultural fit, bad interviews, etc., but if you qualify for one of those, it’s just easier to say you’re overqualified.

9. Recruiter manipulation

You never had a chance, even before you came through the door. The recruiter already knows who they want to hire, but an interview quota needed to be filled. Your overqualified resume made you easy to spot as a candidate who could help fill that quota and ‘legitimately’ be rejected without raising any eyebrows from superiors.

THE SAD TRUTH ABOUT BEING OVERQUALIFIED

The ‘overqualified’ rejection is usually avoidable.

The reality is that if you get rejected this way, it’s almost always because you applied for the wrong job.

Had you done your homework, you could have applied to a company that had a history of hiring people like you, and would have been much less likely to give you that ‘overqualified’ label.

Had you done your homework, you would have valued your qualities more accurately and instead been able to find an employer who does the same.

Getting a job doesn’t mean you need to compromise dramatically.

Author: Lewis Lustman the UndercoverRecruiter

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Fighting the Overqualified Label: 10 Tactics for a Successful Job-Search

There’s a dirty little secret in job-hunting, and if you’re a job-seeker with several years of experience — or worse, in middle management — you may have been exposed to it without even being aware. What is it? It’s the label hiring managers put on mid-career job-seekers who appear to have one of three flaws: too many years of experience, too much education, too highly paid in current or previous job. Yes, it’s the label many job-seekers fear: being overqualified.

Overqualified is code for “will not fit the current position” — and be forewarned that it is a difficult label to overcome.

Frequently, you will not even be aware of being labeled as overqualified because you’ll simply never hear back from the prospective employer. And before we get too much farther along in this article, let me release some guilt and confess my sins. Yes, when I was a hiring manager, I most certainly had a pile for applicants seen as overqualified — and those applicants files were placed directly into the trash. In my mind, these job-seekers could be classified as one of several types:

• The out-of work-desperate-for-any-job applicant.This job-seeker failed to explain why someone who worked at this level years ago would be again applying for a position at this lower level — and is seen as someone who leave as soon as s/he got a better offer.
• The totally incompetent applicant.This job-seeker had worked at the same level for more years than anyone should without giving a reason why s/he never has sought a promotion – and is seen as a liability.
• The too-full-of-myself applicant.This job-seeker, often older than the hiring manager, comes off as having way too many years of experience — and sounding as though s/he was responsible for every major accomplishment in the field.
• The way-too-expensive-fool applicant.This job-seeker was currently earning a significant amount more than the very top of our salary range and was seen as someone completely out of touch with reality.
• The been-there, done-that applicant.This job-seeker passed this level years ago, and for whatever reasons wishes to return to that level — but without explanation and could be perceived as washed-up, burnt-out, and in the worst cases, too old.

What should you do if you — on paper — fit one of the types above? Perhaps you absolutely love what you do and refuse to get promoted out of it? Or what if you are such a revenue g enerator or cost saver that you will easily earn the higher salary? The key for any job-seeker who thinks that the “Big O” label will be applied during his or her job-search is to attack the perception head-on — before the hiring manager even has a chance to think it herself. This advice is counter to career experts’ usual advice to avoid mentioning negatives until the employer raises them, but with the overqualified label, you must be proactive if you ever want a chance to make your case in a job interview.

Develop a two-part strategy. The first part focuses on your job-search correspondence tools, where you will need to develop a short statement explaining exactly why you are seeking the position given your background. The second part focuses on your sales pitch during the job interview, where you can elaborate on why your experience, skills, accomplishments, and enthusiasm make you perfect for the job.

Tactics for Helping Job-Seekers Overcome the Overqualified Label

As you develop your strategy, here are 10 specific tactics to consider:

1. Let your network speak for you.Nothing you could say about yourself is stronger than a recommendation from someone who knows you and can recommend you. The ideal scenario is for you to use your network to find someone within the organization and let that person make the first pitch for you.
2. Focus more on skills and accomplishments than job titles.Use the employer’s own words — from the job description — to show how your skills match perfectly while at the same time downplaying skills not required for this job.
3. Take salary off the table.Make it clear from the beginning that you are completely flexible about salary — and that your previous salary is of no relevance to your current job-search.
4. Reveal financial advantages of hiring you.If you suspect salary will be a concern, use specific examples from your past experiences to show how you increased revenue generation and/or cut costs/realized increased savings.
5. Emphasize teamwork and personality.Demonstrate that you are a team player — that the success of the team is more important than any of the individual team members.
6. Showcase current or cutting-edge knowledge.Discuss recent training or skill-building that shows that you adaptable and up-to-date — not stuck in the ways of old.
7. Demonstrate loyalty.One method to attempt to overcome the fear that you will leave as soon as a better offers comes along is to point to your longevity with previous employers.
8. Do what it takes to get the interview.Be prepared to deal with the overqualified issue when you call to follow-up your application — and sell the hiring manager on at least giving you a “meeting” if not an interview so that you can make your case in person.
9. Everything in moderation.You should illustrate how you are the perfect candidate for the position without overwhelming the hiring manager with your experience — or your ego. Avoid intimidating a younger hiring manager.

• Express interest, admiration, and enthusiasm.Nothing wins over a hiring manager more than a positive attitude and a passion for the job — and the employer.

Final Thoughts on the Overqualified Label for Job-Seekers

If all else fails, if you have followed the guidelines in this article and are still getting the overqualified label, the one last option you have is to ask the direct question of the hiring manager. Be as blunt and direct as possible — and ask for the same in the answer — by asking something along the lines of: “What can I do to convince you that I am the best candidate for the job?”

And by all means, stay as positive and upbeat as possible. If you are not having success, evaluate your performance. And if you have been fired or downsized, review your actions and attitudes to be sure you are not emitting any negative (or self-doubting) vibes.

Courtesy of Dr. Randall S. Hansen

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What to Do When You’re Stuck in a Job You’re Overqualified For

You were so excited to land your job. You aced the interview, gladly accepted the offer, and started with high hopes and lots of enthusiasm.

But now, a few months in, things aren’t so great. It’s not that you’re struggling—in fact, it’s the opposite: You’re overqualified.

Maybe you misunderstood what the job entailed, or maybe you’ve just outgrown it more quickly than you expected. Either way, there’s one thing you know for sure: You’re not being challenged anymore.

But with only a few weeks under your belt, what you can you do? Well, you may have more options than you think. In fact, here are four:

Option #1: Move Up

The first option to evaluate is whether you’re qualified enough to move up a level into a position that actually would challenge you. Maybe, for example, you were hired as a sales assistant who helps process sales for other associates, but doesn’t deal with any clients directly—even though you have plenty of experience working with customer accounts and landing sales.

Talk with your manager about the disparity between your current position and the experience you have, then ask about the possibility of bumping up your title and responsibilities to the next level.

Your manager will likely be able to help get your request heard—whether that means pushing it through HR or giving you a realistic timeline of how quickly a promotion could happen (and maybe even give you a few more challenging responsibilities to tide you over while you wait).

Option #2: Move Outward

Depending on the scale and flexibility of your company, you may have the option to start looking for another role within the organization.

For example, the software company I currently work for has a standard practice of hiring professionals into their entry-level support team—whether an individual has five years of experience or just graduated college. While this isn’t the ideal situation for everyone, the company provides a stipulation that if the individual stays in that initial role for one year, he or she is then eligible to move into another department or role.

Maybe your company has a similar rule, or maybe you’re eligible to make an internal move from day one. Either way, it’s worth looking into if there are other roles available within the organization that you’d be interested in—and that would be a better fit.

Option #3: Move On

If you’ve only been in the role for a few months, panic can set in. On one hand, you want to get out completely—but that means you’ll have to list a three- or four-month stint on your resume, which doesn’t always look good to potential employers.

On the other hand, if the thought of sticking it out for an entire year (or longer, depending on your idea of an acceptable job timeframe on your resume) makes you cringe, rest assured that the “one year rule” isn’t set in stone.

As Sara McCord explains, there are certain reasons that you can justify staying at a job for less than a year—including if you’re underutilized, even after you’ve tried to resolve the situation with your boss.

So if it’s that bad, by all means, start looking elsewhere. Just make sure the next job you commit to is a good fit.

Option #4: Make the Most of It

Of course, none of these options may be quite right for your unique situation. Maybe you’re not qualified for a promotion, don’t want another role within the company, and don’t want to list a short-term job on your resume.

I was in this exact situation when I landed my first job out of college as the general manager of a bakery. I thought my role would be glamorous and fun—meeting with clients to coordinate weddings and events, creating new marketing strategies, strategizing about new locations, and, in general, growing the business.

In reality, I spent about 95% of my time running the front counter—ringing up customers, boxing up baked goods, and spouting off a robotic explanation of everything in the bakery case.

I was bored out of my mind, but I couldn’t move up (considering the owner was the only person above me) and I wasn’t ready to give up on my first post-college job.

So, I talked to the owner and came up with a few additional responsibilities I could add that could help me grow my skills and keep me challenged. I ended up learning the ins and out of maintaining inventory, calculating daily production, and even baking and decorating with the back-of-house staff. It still wasn’t my dream job, but it kept me challenged until I felt comfortable quitting to pursue something better.

You may not be in an ideal situation, either. So, take the initiative to talk with your manager for suggestions to improve your role, or take the initiative to provide some recommendations. Career expert Lily Zhang says, “Try suggesting a new project to your supervisor for you to tackle or innovate on your current responsibilities by reevaluating how they’re carried out.”

If you’re not being challenged, don’t just endure it. Take a proactive step to change the situation and get on track for a stimulating, rewarding career.

Courtesy of Avery Augustine

About The Author, As a full-time manager at a tech company, Avery is constantly finding (and writing about!) new ways to better encourage, lead, and motivate her team.

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LAZY ANSWER or MATTER OF FACTS ?

When you’re applying for jobs, being told that you’re being dismissed because you’re “overqualified” for a job you know you could do well is incredibly frustrating. After all, having higher qualifications than what a job requires should be a good thing, shouldn’t it? To job seekers, being told they’re overqualified can feel like being told by a date that they’re too funny or good-looking – and leaves them wondering why it’s a deal-breaker.

So why is being overqualified so often seen as a bad thing? It’s understandable to be rejected if you’re not qualified enough, but what’s the concern about the overqualified?

When hiring managers label job candidates overqualified, here’s what they are thinking.

1. We can’t pay you enough. Employers will often assume that if you have more experience or education than the job requires, your salary expectationsare probably higher than the role pays too.
2. You don’t really understand what the job is.Hiring managers will worry that in your quest to get hired somewhere, you’re being overly optimistic about what the work will be like – for instance, that you think you’ll be doing high-level office administration when what they need is someone to run the front desk. Or that the ad might say data entry, but you assume that surely you’ll be able to quickly prove yourself and take on more interesting work – when they really just need someone who will do data entry and be happy with it. Related to that…
3. If you take this job, you’ll be bored.Hiring managers often thinkthat someone who used to do higher-level or more interesting work can’t possibly be happy with less challenging responsibilities, and they assume that you’ll quickly get bored, then frustrated and then want to leave.
4. You won’t be happy working for a manager with less experience than you.If you have significantly more experience than the hiring manager, she may worry that you won’t be happy or comfortable taking direction from her, and that you’ll think you know better. What’s more, if the hiring manager isn’t entirely secure in her skills, she might worry that you do know better and that you’ll be judging her decisions – which can lead to her passing on your candidacy altogether.
5. You’ll leave as soon as something better comes around.Because hiring managers often can’t understand why someone would want a lower position than what his or her background might qualify him or her for, they often assume that you’re only interested in the job because you’re feeling desperate. They figure you’ll take it for the paycheck, but that you’ll leaveas soon as something more suited to your background comes along.

So what do you do if you’re hearing that you’re overqualified for jobs you actually want? The best thing you can do is to understand the concerns above and address them head-on. You can do that by explaining why you’re genuinely interested in the position. For instance, you might explain that while your kids are in school, you want a job with stable hours that doesn’t require the level of responsibility you’ve had in the past – or whatever is really true for you. (And that’s key – it needs to ring true for you; don’t make something up.)

If you know hiring managers are likely to worry about your salary expectations, you can also say explicitly that you’re clear about the lower pay that comes with the position, and that it’s fine with you.

Ideally, you’d address this in the cover letter, to avoid having your application discarded before you’ve even had an interview. But once you get to the interview stage, be prepared to discuss it again, and probably in more detail.

Overall, the idea is to understand what worries managers about overqualified candidates and address their concerns head-on, proactively and genuinely.

Courtesy of Alison Green

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6 Ways to Rock the “Overqualified” Job Interview Question

If you’re a manager or other high-level job seeker applying to lower-level positions, chances are you’ve come across the situation of being asked in for a job interview—sometimes the second or third interview—only to have the manager ask, “Aren’t you overqualified for this job?” It may seem frustrating, but here is what the “overqualified” interview question tells me: it tells me the company has interest in you.

Think about it. They probably already know you’re overqualified. In most cases, they can tell from your resume. So if you’re asked that question at some point in the process, don’t automatically assume you’re being rejected for being overqualified—it’s probably more about something you said.

As an overqualified candidate, you need to convince the hiring manager how your situation will benefit them if they hire you, instead of focusing so much on why it would good for you to take this job. How you handle this question determines if you will advance through the process.

Here are the best ways to answer the “overqualified” question:

1. “I have managed ‘bad’ overqualified people, and I simply won’t perform that way if hired.”

Expanded version: I have managed talented, overqualified people who seemed to bring in their Mr. Hyde side upon starting work and acted badly on the job: bossing others, undermining management, taking on initiatives without communicating, usurping duties from others resulting in redundancies of efforts, taking credit for other people’s work, not being a team player since they clearly were above it all. In hiring me, I can ensure you you would be benefiting from what I learned from these examples.

2. “I have managed ‘good’ overqualified staff. I will clearly emulate the good, if hired.”

Expanded version: I’ve been lucky to have managed fabulously overqualified talent who saw themselves as someone with a job to do who was part of a team. They realized early on that they can’t lose if they do the work to exceed company or department goals without drama. That is the person I will be, if hired.

3. “I want work that interests me and keeps my hands dirty, so to speak.”

Expanded version: The one not-so-great thing about rising up through the ranks is that you get to a point where you’re managing managers who manage other managers. Executives can sometimes get far removed from the sales process, client interaction and the operations line or field. By taking on this role, I can resume working with the [sales, client, operations or field] team again. That type of work really excited me in my career, and I would be thrilled to get back to it. I want to be challenged in a different way now.”

4. “If hired, I believe it is my job to make my management team look good. If you look good, I look good.”

Expanded version: I’ve had great staff working for me, and I would conduct myself in the same manner working for you. I would hope you can benefit from my experience when applicable and know that I would give generously to the group’s efforts however I can.

5. “I know it’s important to follow direction at times and just run with it at times. I have developed the judgment through my experience to know which action is appropriate at which times.”

Expanded version: As a previous manager, I know that there were times when I wanted my team to simply run with a project and leave me out of the minutiae of decision-making. On the flip side, I remember instances where I wanted to remain in the loop or even give direction. The employees who had the judgment to know when to run with it and when to bring me in became my go-to people. I would aspire to be that person for you.

6. “I would never take a job I wasn’t interested in or one where felt I would not make a long-term contribution to the job.”

Expanded version: To be blunt, I have made hires who weren’t the best match before, and it was because I didn’t thoroughly ask them what they needed and so they just focused on what I needed throughout the interview. I’m glad we’re discussing this, and I appreciate that you’re asking me about what I need in evaluating whether this would be a good match. I really don’t want to be a bad hire for a company. With that said, I am interested and very much able to do this job as offered. I feel it would benefit us both greatly if you hired me.

Like Everything Else in Interviewing, It’s About Being Genuine and Motivated

No manager can make an employee be genuine or motivate that employee to perform. That is what every job seeker needs to approach an interview with when discussing how they are under-, over- or perfectly qualified for the job.

If you don’t get moved on to the next step after the “overqualified” question, it’s because the hiring manager wasn’t convinced you would be a good match for them. Whether they are right or wrong is not the issue;it’s the job seeker’s duty to convey the message that they are properly qualified for the job. If you show the hiring manager how they will benefit from hiring you, you increase your chances of moving on to the next level of interviewing. Good luck!

Courtesy of Lisa Rangel

I hope this will help. Personally, after a while, I was pretty much overwhelmed to get this refusal. I moved on, and and still striving to be always Over-qualified.