What to do when you’re told you’re overqualified for a job
Being informed you’re overqualified for a job can feel like someone telling you you’re too awesome to date. Come again? You’ve got the experience from multiple jobs and years of workplace know-how under your belt, how could that possibly be an impediment to getting a job?
Sometimes having all the required experience and then some more extra can make it harder to land the position you want.
Recruiters may figure you’re using that job opportunity as a temporary gig until a more suitable position opens up elsewhere, or that you expect your earnings to commensurate with your experience. But just because a recruiter thinks you are overqualified on paper doesn’t mean you’re out of the race.
Overcome your overqualification with these tactics
Don’t tiptoe around it
In your cover letter, ensure you address your experience mismatch outrightly. “State that you know you have certain skills or tenure that are beyond what the position calls for, but that you are looking for an additional type of challenge or opportunity,” said by Alexandra Levit, a business speaker and author of Blind Spots: The 10 Business Myths You Can’t Afford to Believe.
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Avoidance of addressing the elephant in the room (your overqualification) is a mistake, Levit says. This is the cause “You aren’t making clear why the job in context is actually a good fit at this point in your life,” she says, “and all the employers can think is, ‘It doesn’t make sense that this person is applying.”
Elaborate on your interest in the job or company itself. Employers will be more willing to take a chance on you if you highlight why you’re passionate about the job rather than the fact that the job requires less travel or offers a shorter commute.
Emphasize your longevity
The false speculation with overqualified candidates is that they usually only take this job while they continue to search for the ‘right job, so you’ll be putting everyone’s mind at ease if you stress that you’re in it for the long haul.
Again, it’s important to use your cover letter or email introduction to explain why you want this exact job and be upfront with the employer during the interview process that you understand this might be a concern, but that it’s one they need not bother about.
Be flexible on salary
One of the barriers of bringing so much knowledge to the table is that employers expect you to want a commensurate paycheck. In most cases, they’d not increase the wage just because you have some extra experience and qualifications, so be ready to take a pay cut if you want a job you are overqualified for.
If the company enquires about salary expectations, make sure to indicate that you are flexible if the fixed salary is less than what you made previously, Never insinuate that the position is beneath you.
Tap your network
If you know someone who works for the company or someone who knows the interviewer, You’ve to use that to your advantage. Whenever there’s an imbalance between what a recruiter is looking for and what you have to offer whether it’s too much or too little experience, knowing someone inside the company could be the key to unlocking that door.
Severally, people have had to ask within their networks about certain jobs they’re either too or under-qualified for and in most cases, the internal recommendation works. It’s important to know that whatever you can use to your advantage while I’m searching for a job should be used and internal recommendations are such a big flex, as most employers would prefer someone who’s already had contact or more within the organization cause that’d lead to easier transitioning.
Sell the advantages
Just reflect upon what your years of experience could bring to the position, even if employers aren’t specifically looking for it. Instead of viewing yourself as “overqualified,” view yourself as “highly qualified” with a little extra to offer the company.
“My client positioned herself as bench strength for promotion when a next-level job opened up and reminded them that she would be there to train her replacement,” Svei says.
Emphasize that you are very capable of getting the job in question done perfectly and that your abundance of qualifications translates to you assuming greater responsibilities in less time than it would take to train someone else.
Tweak your resume
An employer might think a candidate with your level of experience will consider some of the tasks associated with the position to be beneath them. If it’s a supervisory role, one surefire way to address this is to take on tasks you might otherwise assign to others and list them on your resume.
That way, prospective employers will see that you aren’t so far removed from those responsibilities even if they’re lower level as they may have previously thought.
Highlighted above are six surefire steps you can use to address the issue of been overqualified for a position, I wish you good luck on your job search journey.
