What To Do When You're Overqualified...
When you fear being deemed overqualified for a position you wish to apply for, avoid down playing your experience. The focus will be on highlighting the exact reasons you are a perfect fit for the position - and this would apply whether you were under or overqualified for the role.
The most important part is to represent your best self as it would apply to the position. The hiring manager needs to imagine you in the role and you can truly sell yourself when you have examples, metrics, stories and accomplishments to prove how you're their ideal candidate.
For each position that you apply, you need to tailor your resume, application, cover letter, etc. to highlight the skills and accomplishments that are most relevant.
For example - it would be best to list accomplishments that prove your skills in management, and leadership, when you apply for jobs that require management experience. While some positions will be looking for experience in customer support and working as a team. So you would then focus on your accomplishments as a support role, and what you achieved as a team.
Getting deemed as overqualified, usually means the interviewer/hiring manager has some underlying fear: Maybe you want too much money, or they think you will walk off the job for a better one. They might fear that you'll get bored and not care about fulfilling the role, or perhaps the boss feels threatened by you.
We understand the challenge - when you are unintentionally threatening the security of the hiring manager's job based on the level of your experience. The interviewer may feel that your depth of skills threatens his or her job, and say to themselves, “This person is after my title, and if I hire him, I could find myself unemployed”, which requires that you proactively address this concern during the interview.
If you seem like a hungry, hard-working person, gunning for their job, the best defense in this situation is to show that you are a team player who supports those you work for.
Consider saying something like:
"I know I bring a lot to the table, more than perhaps all the other candidates. That means that I will be able to contribute more from the first day on the job. I know this background will make me a truly top performer. And I am very passionate about this work."
Then maybe ask:
"It seems something made you feel uncomfortable and perhaps made you deem me overqualified. Is there anything specific that you are concerned about?"
In reality, you may actually want your boss’s job, but you plan to accomplish this by helping your boss get promoted. So another great question to consider asking is, “How can I help you earn an A+ in your next performance review?”
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