Of course denial hurts, but to tell your associates, intimates and yourself that you were turned down for the reason that you were too capable or too experienced is much less hurting on the self-esteem than the other. For corporations considering to disregard applicants, using the term “overqualified” may take some of the sting and dread of reprisal out of the rejection. But is it factual?

Think about this situation for a second. You are trying to hire a new employee and you guess that somebody with minimum four years of experience should be capable to handle the duties efficiently. An applicant is offered with fifteen years of knowledge that has all the characteristics you are seeking. This individual should hypothetically perform the tasks faster and even take on some extra workload. Do you really believe a company would not hire that individual merely because he/she has those extra years of experience? I would debate that is hardly the case.

What term overqualified truly mean?

Overpaid

If your knowledge is greater than what is required, it usually becomes an issue when your wage necessities are above what is planned. It’s not that you are categorized as overpaid in your existing role, but that you would be overpaid for the level of duty at the new job. I grade this as the most likely culprit because I habitually see corporations originally discard an applicant as overqualified, then hire that same person because of an absence of less knowledgeable quality talent.

Stagnant

Applicants who have worked for many years in a theoretically immobile and controlled environment will often not flourish in less controlled, more precisely diverse firms. The conventional understanding, right or wrong, is that you can’t discharge the zoo lions back into the wilderness once they’ve been disciplined.

Over-skilled

If your expertise are greater than what is required for the job, an employer may fear that the lack of challenges delivered will bore you into considering for more stimulating work in the future. Employing a tech lead to do bug repairs could lead to a short stint. There is emerging evidence that indicates skilled workers do not withdraws less challenging jobs rapidly or in high numbers, but hiring executives are not quite ready to leave the old-fashioned line of thinking.

Threatening

If your knowledge is greater than those directing the interviews, there could be some fear that you could be an opponent for future occasions for promotion. If a start-up is yet to hire a CTO, the main geek on that firm’s food chain may be competing for the role. This may sound a bit like a unreasonable conspiracy theory, but I sincerely believe it is dominant enough to mention.

Age

Ageism is a real issue, but in my experience, ageism is also generally over-diagnosed by applicants who believes the problem is their age when in reality it is their work history. Most of the self-diagnosed claims of ageism that I perceive are from applicants who spent possibly 20+ years working for the same company and have not been attentive on keeping their expertise up to date (see stagnant above). I can’t say that I’ve ever perceived a claim of ageism from an applicant that has moved around in their career and remained current with technology. The problem usually is not age, it is relevance.

So if you are an energetic job seeker that is endlessly complimented as you are overqualified, what can you do to advance your standing?

1. Rethink: Try to examine which of the meanings of overqualified you are hearing the most often. Is your Pay in line with what businesses are disbursing for your set of qualifications? Do you present yourself in interviews as somebody who might become easily bored when your work is less challenging? Are you making it clear in interviews that you want the job, and you clarify why you want the job?
2. Retool: Make sure your expertise are applicable and being wanted by companies. Devote some extra time to study an emerging technology and/or developing some niche specialty that isn’t presently expires.
3. Remarket: Write down the main reasons you think a company should hire you, and then check to see if those reasons are characterized in your job search materials (resume, email application, cover letters). Discover what was effective for your peers in their job search and attempt to implement new self-promotion tactics.
4. Reboot and refresh: Take a new look at your opportunities beyond the outdated career paths. Have you considered referring or contracting roles where your leadership and mentoring skills could be reasonable and valued for temporary periods? Are there emerging markets that interest you?

Terms like ‘overqualified’ are regrettably the sluggish, informal, and safest ways that companies can discard you for a position, and they almost always mean something else. Realizing the real reason you were passed up is essential to make the appropriate adjustments so you can get less denials and more proposals.