Overqualified and Unemployed?

Intuitively, employers should want to hire the most skilled and experienced candidates. But that’s not always the reality.

On the face of it, being over-qualified for a job might appear to be a good thing. For an employer, hiring a worker who surpasses the job requirements would seemingly be a coup.

However, that’s not how it works out; in fact, being over-qualified can sometimes be a reason for employers to rule candidates out.

As workers’ careers progress, they typically ascend into more senior roles. However, the higher employees go, the fewer the alternative jobs. As people gain greater experience, there’s usually less breadth in terms of opportunities, so trying something different would require scaling back. In some instances, employees want to take a step back to move forwards. This could be for a career change, personal reasons, or because an experienced worker opts for a lateral or downwards move for longer-term gain.

These circumstances are good reasons to candidates, but recruiters often see workers applying for positions ‘below’ their current career level as a red flag and cause for suspicion. If someone has already achieved what the role offers, then recruiters may question their motivation. Another concern is that the over-qualified worker will soon find themselves unchallenged, bored, and searching for their next move. So,unless there are excellent internal progression opportunities, someone ‘too good’ for the role will be only an asset in the short term. 

For workers keen to move, it can be tempting to deliberately downplay skills or omit experience from resumes, but career professionals strongly advise against this. While it is acceptable to craft a resume with the focus on the most important skill needed for the job, it’s never a clever idea to completely scale back a resume. A candidate’s career history will be discussed in a job interview, and dishonesty will be uncovered in the recruitment process. 

In the end, while patience and a determined job hunt can be rewarded, some experienced candidates can find themselves stuck through no fault of their own. The scourge of being over-qualified can affect anyone. It’s a difficult reality check without a quick solution. But the tide is slowly changing, as employers are beginning to see how senior skills can truly enrich a role.

Delve into our Virtual Resource Room at Calgary Career Hub. Plan your job hunt to align with your experience. Check out the categories on Labour Market Information, Career Planning and Community Resources. Here is the link: Resource Room Register — Calgary Career Hub