Older job seekers become familiar with feedback that they are “overqualified” for a given position.
True, this response from an employer may be nothing more than a lazy euphemism for age discrimination. Hiring managers and recruiters may label as overqualified someone who simply seems older than who they had envisioned.
Yet the objection to hiring a candidate who offers excessive experience often is grounded in more practical reasons or psychological concerns. In addition to typical age discrimination, hiring managers and recruiters will sometimes avoid highly experienced candidates because they fear that they will leave the job at the first opportunity to find a more appropriate or better position. It is a reasonable concern in any employment market but especially in today’s vibrant economy.
On a deeper, psychological level, a hiring manager may also feel that the highly qualified new worker may outshine him or her or expose gaps in ability or experience. The adage “A’s hire A’s and B’s hire C’s” is apposite in that weaker leaders will avoid the discomfort of supervising a more qualified candidate even if that person is likely to be more effective.
The skilled and experienced job seeker will learn how to turn overqualification into an asset by adopting an intentional communications strategy that addresses the issue directly and resolves the challenge from the perspective of the employer.
[See: 4 Reasons to Work Longer.]
Focus on the employer’s needs.
The job seeker must make a clear and direct case for how his or her skills and experience fit the employer’s needs. Employers seek several virtues in their team members, but chief among these is productivity. Defined simply as creating more value than one’s cost, productivity can take many forms.
Most jobs involve some combination of making, selling or counting. A prepared job seeker will ascertain and understand the true job description or what the employer is really seeking. That need may or may not directly correlate to the written job posting or description. For example, that an employer seeks a manager of marketing with 25 defined skills is sometimes less relevant than wanting “someone who works hard like Stacy but is much better with database technology and email campaigns.” These insights are obtained by good interviews and relentless networking.
Articulate your job fit thesis.
The job search process is painful and laborious for candidate and employer alike. Both sides ultimately seek to establish the right fit. The rhetorical process for establishing that connection is the job fit thesis. The candidate must explain why the position is a good fit for her ambitions and how it fits into the narrative of her career. The tighter this logic, the clearer it may be to the hiring manager that the fit applies.
When the fit for the job includes excess qualifications, the candidate can make the case for how the additional experience applies. Here’s an example: “At first blush, my 10 years as a store manager may not seem relevant to this warehouse manager role, but it did teach me the importance of accuracy, detail and efficient workflow design, which will help me excel as a logistics manager.”
[Read: How to Find a Bridge Job or Second Career Before Retirement.]
Think here and now.
While it is true that employers should think a step or two ahead in the career progression of any new hire, the onus is on the candidate to emphasize his or her value in the here and now. Candidates should avoid questions like “Where does this position lead?”
Likewise, the overqualified candidate must avoid appearances and impressions of overconfidence. “I could do this job in my sleep” levels of cockiness will work against an experienced candidate and reinforce the idea that the fit is lacking.
[See: Browsing Your Boss’s Bookshelf.]
Get your story straight.
Along with a job fit thesis, the highly qualified candidate needs to articulate why he or she would be content with the position. One way to reinforce this position is to make sure that your references or the person who referred you to the opening are coordinated with your narrative. Sometimes an offer can be derailed when a reference check reveals a dissenting view regarding whether the position would be “enough” for the candidate. Likewise, every communication with the hiring manager or recruiter must be consistent with a narrative of fit and ability.
Being told that one is overqualified can frustrate even the most optimistic job seeker. Of course, it certainly beats the alternative of being underqualified. Older job seekers must anticipate the assumption that they are overqualified and utilize a communication strategy that turns that circumstance into a competitive advantage.
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Make ‘Overqualified’ an Advantage originally appeared on usnews.com
