By Sue Shellenbarger Aug. 19, 2019 5:30 am ET A 39-year-old executive with a successful record as a senior vice president has been job-hunting since she was laid off a few months ago. She doesn’t care about matching her former title. She just wants a challenging job where she can learn and grow.
Many people wrongly assume a power-packed résumé is a ticket to a job, says Oliver Hahl, an assistant professor of organization theory and strategy at Carnegie Mellon University. “Decisions are often much more nuanced than that,” he says. Labeling a candidate as overqualified is often a pretext for age discrimination. But younger workers also face this obstacle.
Some people have legitimate reasons for applying for jobs beneath their capabilities, such as gaining more time for family-care duties or recovering from burnout. Employers still worry that such applicants overestimate their own willingness to live with the losses that come with reduced status, says Mark Phillips, chief executive of Sanford Rose Associates/HireEducation, a Boulder, Colo., recruiting firm. He’s skeptical of candidates who say they’re willing to take a 25% pay cut, for example.
Lorraine Vargas Townsend held senior human-resources leadership posts at several companies ranging from 5,000 to 150,000 employees before deciding last year to take some time off with her wife and baby. A recruiter soon approached her about an opening at a 600-employee company, saying, “I have this job, but it’s too small for you,” Ms. Townsend says.
This happens all the time: Procrustean Bed.
Don't interview with the under-qualified affirm action HR employee. Talk to the one you expect to work for.
I love how it's always the job seeker that needs to adjust to the nitwits they pick to do the interviews. Clue: People apply for jobs because they want $$$. If the person is qualified, and not an obvious psycho, even if they don't have a magic resume, they should get hired.
You take a deep breath, close your eyes, smile, open your eyes, make eye contact, smile even more, get closer to interviewer, now you are an inch from their face, still smiling and say, 'can I have about tree-fiddy?'
No, I've been labeled under-qualified for job 😂
I spent a ton for my degrees and studied my ass off so I can pretend to be a dumb blonde in order to make an employer feel more educated than me? Not likely. My employers were grateful to have me on staff BECAUSE I was smart.
Yes, i applied to write for the wsj.
I am frequently called both UnderEducated and OverQualified because I lack a degree or certification but still have proven my skills time and time again due to self-teaching and being tutored by others. My LinkedIn profile says it all.
Companies are reluctant to hire workers who've had a high level job for a lower-level position at any age.
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