What Should I Do If I Am Overqualified for the Job?
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
I want to apply for a job I am overqualified for? What do I do?
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Another question for me! I do this live in one take. No edits. We just go into the material. The question is, “What should I do if I’m overqualified for the job?”
I want you to look at things 1st, from the employer’s perspective because if you operate That way without considering it, you are talking to a wall. You need to be thinking of them. This is true of any interview. Unless you are thinking with them in mind and what their needs and concerns are, you are going to be dead in the water.
Understand that, from their perspective, they are fearful. They are fearful that if they hiring you that you will be disappointed, that you are going to leave after a short period of time and will have to hire someone else. They also have the concern that you are overqualified and will be looking for more money than they are willing to pay. If the role, with my 40-some-odd years of recruiting experience or going into coaching, it’s so common that people who are managers claim that they can do a staff position, even though they haven’t written code or done the relevant accounting work in years. They are confident that they can do it and they really can’t AND they are looking for more money that what is staff level person is making.
It’s like the difference between a $150,000 your person and a $100,000 per year person. One person manages people who do things; the other one does things.
These are your challenges walking in. The 1st, again, is the money thing. Are you really willing to be flexible to that level or is your intention to try to get them to go higher than they are willing to pay? The likelihood that you are going to be able to convert them is very small.
The 2nd thing is that, from a tactical standpoint, if were talking about someone who is overqualified, you can “dumb down” your experience a little bit and, secondly, don’t talk about your best and biggest accomplishments. Often, for people who are more senior than the jobs they are interviewing for,. They oversell themselves for what is going to be expected from them vis-à-vis the role they are interviewing for. Remember what I said a moment ago about how people need to think about the interviewer and what their needs are. If you helped an organization make or save (I just could pick a number at random) $100 million and they have a project that is worth $5 million in scope, they start thinking that you are bigger than this job so you can’t really talk about the big stuff that you have done. What you really need to do is scale it back. Remember what I talked about doubling it down a little bit. It’s not like you’re going to act stupid; you just not going to speak to the scale and experience that you’ve done before.
Let me also speak to discrimination here because, what were the other issues becomes is that you are older than your potential peers within the group. They become fearful that you’re going to be a pain in their rear because you are not going to fit in well with others. Your behavior needs to be congruent with someone who is at a staff level and not just simply a big person who is willing to condescend to something else.
It reminds me of so many times when I did search work where managers were going on interviews for staff of positions and would start overwhelming the interviewer and make it very clear that they were managers or directors who would consider taking something less but, “Don’t you have something more senior that fits me? Okay. I will consider this” That’s where the interview ends.
Eventually, it all comes down to your manner and how you carry yourself that is going to demonstrate your fit. Again, it is important to organizations. If your arrogance shines through, trust me, they will never see it again.
That’s today show. I hope you found it helpful. If you did, this is my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us, there is a lot of information there that you can watch, listen to or read that is going to help you find work more quickly. Also, connect with me on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/thebiggamehunter.
By the way, while you are at my website, I still have a few positions available, but it don’t really do recruiting. I coach people (notice the hat). . I coach people into new roles. If you are interested my coaching you, you can find out more about the services that I offer from 1 of the tabs on the website. Again, my website is www.TheBigGameHunter.us.
I hope you enjoyed this and hope you have a great day. Take care.
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ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. He is hired to provide No BS Career Advice globally. That can involve job search, hiring staff, management, leadership, career transition and advice about resolving workplace issues. Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2500 episodes.
Website: www.TheBigGameHunter.us (schedule a paid coaching session, a free discovery call or ask questions using my Trusted Adviser Services)
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