What to do when you are overqualified for a job

Being too qualified for a particular position sounds like a good thing until you are desperate to find a job after a month-long job search. If you can tick off almost all the requirements on a job listing, you might become very confident in winning the job offer.

However, hiring managers don't necessarily consider being overqualified for the job a good thing. Oftentimes, resumes get rejected because they are too qualified for the advertised position. Read this article to find out how to deal with being overqualified for a job.

Why do hiring managers consider being overqualified as a problem?

Hearing that you are overqualified for a position is a thrilling experience during an interview. You might even wonder what problem there could be when you can clearly handle all the responsibilities of the job and more. But hiring managers are wary of candidates who are too qualified for several reasons. Some of these are:

• They assume you have high salary expectations
• They believe that you are using the job as a temporary fix
• They are concerned that the lack of challenge will get you bored pretty quickly
• They might assume that you have trouble completing tasks
• They will be concerned that you are not good at taking directions from a superior

Hiring managers are tasked with finding the right employees for their vacancies who will stay with the company for a long time. Employers often allocate a good sum of money and resources for hiring. Therefore, they want to select the best candidates.

How to tell if you're overqualified for a job

You should have a clear understanding of whether you are actually overqualified for a position before you start applying. An overqualified candidate will meet and exceed all the requirements listed in the job description. One way of knowing whether you are overqualified for a job is to find the base salary for the job that you're applying to. If it pays less than your current role, you might be overqualified for it.

If you manage to breeze through the interview process, it might be a sign that you are overqualified for the job. If the coding assessment took you only 10 minutes out of the allocated one hour to complete, there's a chance that you're qualified.

Most of the time, an overqualified candidate feels that the interview is extremely easy. If you felt entirely comfortable during an interview, it's a sure sign that you were overqualified for the job. You can also use LinkedIn to gauge the qualifications of employees in the same role. If their experience does not match up to yours, it's a sure sign of your overqualification.

Tips to address being overqualified on your resume

1. Tailor your resume to the job description

This will allow you to highlight your skills that align with those mentioned in the job description. You can even omit certain leadership or managerial positions from the work experience section. If the position that you are applying for is a low or mid-level one, you can even choose to avoid mentioning your years of experience on the resume.

2. Use your resume summary to make the case

Your elevator pitch should highlight the relevant qualifications you have and how you are the right fit for the position. You can even provide a reason why you are transitioning into the new role.

3. Omit dates from your education section

Mentioning the years that you graduated from college oftentimes gets you discriminated against for age. Sometimes hiring managers to write off candidates as overqualified because they graduated years ago.

4. Write a strong cover letter

The cover letter can help you explain why you are applying for a job for which you are too qualified. You don't need to mention that the new job is beneath your qualifications outright. However, you should emphasize the importance of the new job for your career.