Monica Aggarwal 
struggling to find a job
Global – Education, internships, and courses completed – all this we need to be competitive in the tough world of recruiting. We gain theoretical and practical experience so that in the end we are still refused with the words “you are too qualified for us”. What do we do if we are too qualified for the initial position, but still do not have enough experience to compete with a higher position?
At first glance, it might seem that being overqualified for a job is a good thing. A candidate with more experience will logically be placed at the top of the list of applicants. And for an employer, hiring an employee who exceeds the requirements for the job would seem like a coup.
Paradoxically, employers often reject candidates because of excess skills and experience, even in a market where talent is hard to come by. Therefore, sometimes high qualification plays against us.
“Good” is not always good. As they move up the career ladder, candidates tend to move into higher positions, gradually moving up to executive positions. However, the higher the number of employees rises, the fewer alternative jobs. As they gain experience, the breadth of possibilities decreases: to try something else, you need to go down the pyramid.
In some cases, employees want to take a step back in order to move forward. This could be due to a career change, or a seasoned worker struggling to get to the next rung of the ladder chooses to move sideways or down in order to reap long-term gains.
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However, while these circumstances may seem like good reasons to candidates, recruiters may view workers applying for positions clearly “below” their current career level as a red flag. The problem is that the over-skilled worker will soon find himself bored and eager to take the next step.
When someone joins a company, it can take three months to a year for them to become fully productive. Even if someone is too qualified for this role, they cannot just come in and do the job: they need to understand the culture, processes, and technologies. Thus, wasting so much time on someone only to have them leave after six months is not the wisest choice when applying for a job.
Employees in leadership positions in industries where the corporate ladder is well established, such as management consulting, may be particularly vulnerable to the dangers of overskilling.
Of course, some nimble employers may use these overskilled workers. Smaller companies, less constrained by corporate structures and hierarchies, have more opportunities to hire overqualified employees. For example, Startups are mobile and flexible. They may hire an overly qualified candidate and justify it with a job title and a salary that matches their experience.
Flexible employers may also be able to hire super-skilled workers and, by quickly promoting them, prevent any feeling of boredom. In this way, companies capitalize on the experience of workers while keeping them motivated and engaged in the long term.
