You’re overqualified for the position, but do you care?
Of the many things the recession messed up — and I think we can all agree it really ruined a lot — plans were the biggest victim. Once the economy went kaput, your future suddenly became a little less certain. Could you afford to maintain your lifestyle? Was it the best time to switch jobs? Could you save enough for your upcoming wedding after pay cuts? The ramifications were endless.
In Sunday’s New York Times, writer Michael Luo touched on a phenomenon that is occurring throughout the country: overqualified workers who are satisfied just being employed. As Luo points out, many job postings give the basic requirements for candidates, but many applicants have experience and education that theoretically qualifies them for much higher positions. When these job seekers find themselves in these positions, they experience some insecurity but have some satisfaction that at least they’re working.
Academic research on the subject confirms that workers who perceive themselves as overqualified do, in fact, report lower job satisfaction and higher rates of turnover. But the studies also indicate that those workers tend to perform better. Moreover, there is evidence that many of the negatives that come with overqualified hires can be mitigated if they are given autonomy and made to feel valued and respected.
The new variable in all of this is the continuing grim economic climate. Many workers’ ambitions have evolved, after all, from climbing the ladder to simply holding on to a job, any job. Turnover would also seem to be less of a concern amid predictions that it could be years before unemployment returns to pre-recession levels.
As a result, Luo points out, many overqualified workers are struggling to accept their current situation without letting insecurity appear.
For his part, Mr. Carroll admitted that he had caught himself often trying to drop his credentials into conversations at his new workplace.
“Obviously that stems from maybe some embarrassment at the level that I’m at,” he said. “I do want people to know that, to some extent, this isn’t who I am.”
Have you found yourself in this situation in the last couple of years? How have you dealt with being overqualified? Some job seekers have said that “overqualified” is a useless term because all that matters is whether or not a person wants the job and is qualified for it. Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts.
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May 4th, 2010 at 11:17 am
Most employers today are taking advantage of this situation, this economic crisis. They offer very low salary rates and makes a long,long list of job description, meaning it’s suppose to be a job for 2 people instead of for 1. A good example is, in Boise, Idaho, they offer a salary of $7.00 to $9.00 per hour for an admin or accounting assistant position and then they have a lot of requirements. Employers have an edge now because they have more people to choose from. A person even if she is overqualified and gets a clerk or low position is treated the same way as an undergraduate, that’s why they feel they are not motivated at all. This is more depressing for an overqualified immigrant who is not Caucasian. She gets the least priority or she is never chosen at all.
May 4th, 2010 at 11:50 am
I totally agree with Mary – employers are taking advantage of the marketplace and are “combining” jobs and duties/tasks – for instance, I was laid off from a major law firm, working in the WP Department, when they decided to close down all but two departments nationwide (and halving the staff within at least one of those remaining departments); after I left, the remaining support staff had to work insane hours to do the work I was doing and had to pay them over-time, wherein, if they had retained me, it would have been basically the same cost to retain me as having paid the over-time and no one would have had to work the ridiculous and burdensome over-time which was required to get the work done
I hear many complaints from persons either looking for positions or just being hired for new positions, stating that they are doing at least twice the work (that is, at least 2 positions rolled into one) for half the pay – and are totally exhausted and stressed after the end of each day due to the tremendous workloads
May 4th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
When I was laid off last April, I didn’t go immediately to the unemployment or welfare lines, instead I took the opportunity to freelance consult, and over the last year supported myself quite well. But as the recession worsens, so have budgets tightened and the work has dried up. Just today I went to an employment agency to try and find – at the very least – some temp work. But looking at my resume, the employment office said that it’s frankly near impossible to place anyone who has had their own business because employers are afraid that when the economy picks up again, people like me will be gone. But that’s simply not true. I have a plan for (if) and when that happens. I created my own self-sustaining business out of necessity, not because I wanted to. If the placement agency feels I’m over qualified in my own field, why can’t they just put me in a field where I’d have to start from the ground up? I’d love the challenge and it would help me from feeling undervalued. I want to work. I need to work. I don’t NEED people to be pat on the back just because I was once successful in another field.
May 4th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
There are as many circumstances as there are people looking to fill positions with companies. The way a company conducts itself in response to a changing enviornment speaks directly to its values and how it treats people after they begin working. ‘ Taking advantage ‘ on the front end leads to problems on the back end: bringing that ‘ back end ‘ event ( turnover ) faster = higher cost. Unethical behavior always drives costs higher.
May 4th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
I have been out of work for over a year now. I have two college degrees and have been told ‘to my face’ during interviews that I am “overqualified” !!! All I want is a half-decent job with benefits. It seems that I will never get a ‘real’ job again
May 4th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
My mathematical reality: B.A. + J.D. = “not among highest qualified candidates” x >150.
The reality is that school these days means nothing without (1) experience,(2) the statistically unlikely event of graduating at or very near the top of the class, and/or (3) the right connections to the right people (so arbitrary). I have education up the yin-yang, but if I can’t show solid experience (of 3+ years, it seems), I’m a nobody. My only successes in the job hunt have come from AmeriCorps – public service positions with pay at the poverty level. Am I glad to have something to do as an AmeriCorps member? Sure. Do I enjoy helping people? Sure. Have I seen convincing evidence that AmeriCorps experience is valued outside of other AmeriCorps experiences? Not yet. We’ll see what happens. Honestly and at the risk of sounding completely selfish, I still feel underpaid, underutilized, and without too much control to change my situation.
May 4th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
It is not the matter that you feel bad becauce you are underpaid, it is the matter that no one wants to hire you because you are overqualified even if you are willing to take lower paid job. I think everything has messed up and it will not be fixed for a long time.
May 5th, 2010 at 9:07 am
I’ve been job hunting for some time now and applied for a multitude of positions, many paying much less than my salary range with less responsibility. Employers don’t care that they can get someone with years of experience for less money, they want someone fresh out of school. I don’t see this trend ever changing.
May 5th, 2010 at 11:45 am
I too have been job hunting with very little response. Most of the on-line applications require that you put in past salaries and at that point it seems they just “rule you out”. Yes, I’m willing to take less….I too need to work and need benefits. Unfortunately, with all the apps being online and many not letting you do anything but “fill in their blanks”. You can’t add to it anywhere to say what you will accept. It’s frustrating.
May 5th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
I am a 58 yr old who has taught myself everything from computers to bookkeeping to being a legal secretary. In the present economy, these employers now want degrees and do not take experience into consideration. I have been in the work force for 40 years and now I can’t even get a part-time job with a decent wage. I have been out of work for 18 months and believe me that certainly does not look good on a resume. When are these employers going to wake up and start to use people who are experienced (without degrees) who could be an asset to their companies.
May 6th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
Matt: Americorps needs to publicize its accomplishments and successes. So that way they will build their reputation. Some of the problem is that they have limited funds and some of the problems that they attempt to solve are very challenging. This makes it difficult to demonstrate their accomplishments. They may need more realistic goals.
Due to the desire to make a difference and/or lack of job opportunities, many skilled and qualified young (and not so young!) people work for Americorps. If I were an employer, I would seriously consider a person who has volunteered for Americorps. It offers valuable experience.
There are way too many lawyers than the job market can absorb. Some law schools need to close or decrease their class sizes.
May 7th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
The problem is two fold. First, companies in this economic environment have learned they can do more with less, secondly the pressure for public companies to perform as it relates to stock prices has overidden the demand to be ethical as the decision makers could be next on the chopping blocks.
May 7th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
I’ve been job hunting for at least three years now, taking what jobs I could even if I was actually paying more to work than I was being paid. Experience or school? Which do you choose? Can’t do both. I was a project manager at age 21 with no degree at all. Now years later I can’t even get my resume glanced over.
May 14th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Add age (60) to the over-qualified scenario and there seems to be no hope. I’ve been job hunting for over 2 years. I was told to limit my resume to the last 10 years so that my age would not be so apparent. At least that way I got interviews. But the results are the same – when they meet you, they then know that you are not in your 30′s or 40′s. Trying to keep the “Never give up, never surrender” attitude is very very hard to do many days.