The Myth of the Overqualified Candidate

The more qualified the applicant, the bigger the risk? Photo by voltamax/pixabay.com, modified by the author

The premise of this article: Applicants judged to be overqualified are routinely disqualified without the employer knowing anything about them. The assumption is they’ll perform poorly, leave quickly or expect a “more appropriate” position. That thinking is wrong. Overqualified people are an undervalued resource. Yes, their motivation and attitude need to be tested, but the effort is worthwhile. “Overqualified” can also mean “transformative”.

Some years ago I was unemployed for 18 months, submitting 274 buyer applications before receiving an offer. The reason was clear: I had left my procurement career 13 years earlier to work as an IT analyst.

When I returned to procurement I was competing against candidates already in the field. After 13 years it was logical to apply for junior and entry-level positions, but “senior buyer” and “Certified Purchasing Manager” on my resume marked me as overqualified.

The result: I wasn’t qualified for anything. My absence from the profession disqualified me from roles needing experience, and my previous titles and certifications disqualified me from junior positions. Years of experience, credentials and documented contributions meant nothing.

The belief that overqualified candidates will underperform or leave quickly is prevalent and powerful. Hiring managers have stated it outright as a deal-breaker. Yet it’s irrational, and employers who make those assumptions are missing tremendous opportunities.

I am not suggesting every such applicant is a good choice. Like any potential issue it needs to be explored and tested. That’s being responsible. Assuming the outcome in advance is not.

How To Assess the “Overqualified” Candidate

When assessing the overqualified candidate explore three things:

·         What brought them to this point in life and the decision to apply for your position?

·         How do they balance career with other priorities?

·         What is their overall attitude towards employment?

A fourth question, not present with all candidates, can also be revealing:

·         Have they “reset” their career path before, and how did that work out?

All of these tests converge on one theme: attitude.

This Point in Life

My greatest inspiration is my father. At 59, with two pre-teen kids, he changed direction from a life in sales to become a minister. He attended university full time four days a week while serving two rural congregations three days a week for four years. My parents raised a family on part-time pay.

Graduating and starting a new career at 63, he might have felt frustration and regret. Instead, he was thrilled. He’d found where he was meant to be and served full time until age 85 and part time until 91.

When assessing an overqualified candidate you have to know why they’re applying for your position and what has brought them to you. Are they delighted to have arrived at this place, like my dad was? Or do they feel life has pushed them backward? Do they see your position as the next logical step forward, or as a demotion? Their outlook tells you what kind of employee they’ll be.

Balancing Career and “Other”

Some candidates arrive at this point through a deliberate balance of priorities.

After ten successful years in procurement in San Diego I moved to a small Canadian city to be near my parents, then 91 and 75. Career prospects were uncertain, but I wanted time with them while they were still vibrant.

I achieved that goal, and more. I owned a beautiful home with a magazine-worthy back yard of granite and forest. I commuted to work in eight minutes. A cedar strip canoe rested in a rack on the back of the house with a lake close enough to carry it to the shore. That time was invaluable.

After 11 years a layoff prompted my return to San Diego and procurement. Was I resentful of the twists and turns in life that brought me there? Not at all. Like my dad I was thrilled that the next step had presented itself.

I wouldn’t have missed those 11 years with my family for anything. Moving to Canada was a step forward for balance, perspective and family, and its ending another step forward, returning me to San Diego’s endless sunshine, year-round motorcycling, and a business culture that fit my pace and mindset.

Did I “move down” to entry-level procurement? No, I moved forward because I had achieved balance with everything that mattered to me.

A person focused solely on title and hierarchy may react negatively to a setback. A person balancing career with other priorities sees progress measured in a fuller life. They see a net win.

Rejecting the overqualified out of hand assumes they’re chasing only the next rung on the ladder, an unreasonable assumption that deprives you of some of your best potential hires.

Overall Attitude

There’s no universal definition of the “right” attitude, and not every outlook fits every situation. The person with a laser focus on CEO and a $10 million annual salary with any series of employers that achieves that probably won’t react well to career detours.

Look for someone with a genuine focus on the work and the company, not just themselves. This doesn’t mean they lack ambition and drive. I have plenty of both but I believe I will succeed not through “personal branding” and a company-hopping career path that optimizes the moment, but rather through aligning myself with an employer’s mission. When they succeed through my efforts, so will I.

An overqualified candidate who focuses on the work rather than titles and optics will likely be more than “okay.” They’ll probably be exceptional.

Previous Career Resets

A candidate pursuing a career reset may have done so before. Although I’m not an adherent to the concept, behavioral interviewing explores past behavior to predict future behavior – a match for this situation.

When I moved to Canada I went from senior buyer to temporary data entry clerk. I could have viewed that as a big demotion. Instead, over a weekend I wrote a program that eliminated the function, removing 400 hours of labor from my assignment and 800 more from permanent staff with an immediate labor savings of $50,000 annually. The function had been performed manually for eight years. I eliminated it in six weeks. The eventual annual cost savings was equivalent to a full-time position.

This was not unusual in my career. Job descriptions as we currently write them are lists of duties without vision, not anticipating the unexpected or the employee’s unique spark of creativity. They document what is, not what can be. I turned data entry into systems design. At another employer I turned receptionist into SAP implementation supplier liaison. Not through dissatisfaction with what I had been assigned – because the employers needed more than the job description and I provided the missing pieces.

If you believe in behavioral interviewing, then by its own logic someone who has already delivered exceptional value as an overqualified employee is likely to do it again – this time for you.

“Overqualified” isn’t a warning sign. It’s an invitation to look closer.

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