How to Land a Job When You Are Overqualified
In today´s episode of the Professional Success Podcast, host Sheila Boysen-Rotelli, Master Certified Career Coach, Recruiter, and Talent Development Leader, talks about how to navigate a job search conversation, interview, or process when you are perceived as being overqualified for the job.
Episode Highlights:
- Think about why you are overqualified from the employer's point of view.
- WIll overqualified candidates get hired and then leave soon?
- What concerns do employers often have regarding overqualified job candidates?
- What are some of the common reasons people take positions that are perceived as a step down for them?
- Employment turnover is expensive.
- Your resume tells the story of your career and can be tailored to the direction of what you want from this new job.
- Why should you remove the word "objective" from your resume and put in "summary?"
- Create a transition pitch as a compelling story for why this is the move you want to and why you want to be there long-term.
- Which red flags should you avoid when applying for a job?
- Scale back slowly, job by job.
- Small organizations need good talent and may have a more open-minded hiring process.
3 Key Points:
- Employers are afraid that overqualified candidates will get bored and not want to do the work very long.
- Employers are concerned that an overqualified candidate will look at the job as a stopgap or an intentionally temporary stop until they find a better job.
- Employers fear that overqualified candidates won't be able to take direction or be managed.
Tweetable Quotes:
- "Is there anything that feels more unfair than being overqualified for a job? I mean, if you think about it, why would we be penalized for that? Isn't that a good thing?" – Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
- "An overqualified candidate might not want to linger very long in that position, and employers definitely want to avoid turnover." – Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
- "There might be lots of reasons why you're looking for a job that is a step back, a step down, or maybe going back to something that you used to do." – Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
Resources Mentioned:
