Have you been disqualified for being overqualified?

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Dear Joan:
I am in the job market and have heard more than once that based on my experience, I am overqualified for the position. It has been said a few different ways but the meaning is the same. If I really enjoy what I’ve heard and read about an organization with an opening at a lesser level than I have performed at for the past 5 years, what can I say, or do, that will overcome a barrier like this?

I have more than 20 years experience in accounting/financial analysis. I am unemployed and I have returned to school for an MBA. I have completed about 25 percent of the course material and would like to continue this goal while working and attending classes in the evening.

Answer:
The only way to understand the barriers in your situation is to put yourself in the shoes of the employer. Here’s how it plays out:

The employer wants to hire someone who has the skills and motivation to fill their open position. Their ideal candidate will be someone who has worked in lower level positions and is ready to take on this new challenge, or someone who has already done this job but is looking for a better company, a bigger company or a better growth opportunity.

Now they take a look at your qualifications and see someone who has done work at this level as well as at a higher level. Rather than viewing you as an eager candidate who would be perfect for the position, they worry:

Why isn’t he looking for jobs that are more suited to his experience? Wasn’t he successful in his last job?

He’ll be bored within a year if we offer him a job. His boss isn’t going to be promoted anytime soon, so he’ll leave.

He will be too expensive. He will be pressuring us for more money and we can’t justify paying him what he used to earn.

He says he wants to work here because he has heard good things about the company but that will wear off and he will be discontent.

I hate to disappoint you but I think you are going to lose this one. You would be better off going for jobs that are more of a lateral move or a step up in company size or responsibility.

The only way around it is to have a good reason for taking a job at a lower level. For instance, I know people who have done this successfully by explaining that the travel was just too much for their family situation. Another good reason was that the person wanted to get some experience in a different industry and was willing to take a step down to get it.  In another case, people have said they wanted to work for a non-profit because it suited their personal values or wanted to work for a smaller company because they were tired of big company cultures. In each case the job they took was smaller and paid less than the one they left. Without a good reason the employer can related to, I’m afraid you will continue to be disappointed.

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