Overqualified?

[Jeraly 4]

I can understand - it does cost money to train and they probably want someone who will stay. I know that if I was looking for a job just for a job's sake then I would take anything then carry on looking for something that was better - I mean you'd be a fool not to!

But there are some industries that have such a high staff turnover that they must spend fortunes on staff training - no wonder the training is so poor in certain places!

I guess I haven't come across it here either but then I am working as a temp so there are no-strings as such You must also consider that if it is anything like the UK (at least in teaching) then even if they intend to employ an internal applicant, they have to advertise publicly for equal opportunities... you find that there are many teaching jobs that go to internal applicants yet they interview externals just for the show of it

[mox 298]

Hmm....Underqualified? I don't think so. Very funny you are. Trying to cause problems in this forum? Trying to make a smart #### remark. Yeah, whatever.

Don't be such a fragile flower, it was a joke. That's why the happy faces.

[tucson_chick 0]

I can understand - it does cost money to train and they probably want someone who will stay. I know that if I was looking for a job just for a job's sake then I would take anything then carry on looking for something that was better - I mean you'd be a fool not to!

But there are some industries that have such a high staff turnover that they must spend fortunes on staff training - no wonder the training is so poor in certain places!

I guess I haven't come across it here either but then I am working as a temp so there are no-strings as such You must also consider that if it is anything like the UK (at least in teaching) then even if they intend to employ an internal applicant, they have to advertise publicly for equal opportunities... you find that there are many teaching jobs that go to internal applicants yet they interview externals just for the show of it

well - i heard the overqualified thing several times, too.

then a company stopped the interview yesterday because they would want me to work EVERY weekend and holiday, and i don't want to do that.

the economy is a nightmare at the moment, plus it's election year. i talked to my mentor the other day, and she told me to be prepared for 6 months plus jobhunt due to economy. they are laying people off all over the place.

i hold a masters degree in management, did my graduate exchange year at a top30 university business college in the MBA program and can't find a job. *sigh*

[Jeraly 4]

*hugs* You'll get there Agnes... it might take a while but at least you're together now, right?

[greeneyedgirlfl 0]

Makes me glad to be a tenured public servant!!! But I'm probably still overqualified for most jobs in my tourist town....

Edited March 19, 2008 by greeneyedgirlfl

[Nessa 23]

Sometimes I fear that employers are not calling me for an interview because I'm overqualified. I'm purposely applying for a way lower position than my highest position in Brazil, for several reasons.

At this time, I could never handle being a manager or supervisor and deal with all the stress in a different language. Yes, my written english is very good, and I can always cheat, I have the internet if I can't remember a word, how something is spelled, google is my friend. But if I'm talking to someone and I can't remember something, I get extremely nervous and then nothing comes right, I can't make sense at all. That didn't happen in Brazil, because since I had great knowledge on how things work and it's my language, I know how everything is called, I was very confident I could do my job right. And I'm still getting used to how things work here. The laws are different. Even banking is different. I don't have near the same business knowledge I had in Brazil. When I studied business administration and marketing I studied the way it works in Brazil, not USA.

So I believe it's better to start from the bottom doing the same job I used to do when I was 17 than getting a stressful job I'm not sure I can handle due to all the barriers. Yes, it's frustrating, but that's the conclusion I ended up coming to.

So on my resume I put my working experience, being corporate sales supervisor, etc, what am I supposed to say? Lie? Tell them I had less experience? Job search just sucks.

[milimelo 4,477]

Thank you all for your responses

I am very happy to report that after my final interview yesterday I just received an offer for the big company job which I gladly took. My written offer is in the mail and I will be starting work on April 7.

[mox 298]

Thank you all for your responses

I am very happy to report that after my final interview yesterday I just received an offer for the big company job which I gladly took. My written offer is in the mail and I will be starting work on April 7.

Congratulations, that's great news!

[*JG* 2]

Overqualified usually means they don't want to pay you the salary you are worth.

Entry level is another good phrase for that.

[Jeraly 4]

Great news on the job!

[mox 298]

Overqualified usually means they don't want to pay you the salary you are worth.

Entry level is another good phrase for that.

Eh...they have a position to fill, and that position is budgeted at a certain salary range. It has nothing to do with personal worth. Someone who is over-qualified is very likely to be unhappy with a lower salary, and bored with the work. It sucks if you need work, but if you look at it from the employer perspective, they really want someone in the position that will be challenged and interested. Businesses are in business to put the right people in the right jobs, not to provide jobs.

I took a job once that I was over-qualified for. They were very happy with me, but dear god I was *SO* friggin' bored. I wound up leaving for a more suitable job in just over a year. This is what employers want to avoid, and rightly so.

[Jeraly 4]

I do agree to an extent but at the same time people who have qualifications might not want to spend three years looking for a job that they are qualified for - especially when there are bills to pay and mouths to feed. I know that I am well qualified but I will take any job to start with just so I can bring in some money. Of course I will look for something better while I am there but I don't want to sit around looking for the perfect job right away or we wikll get even more poor very quickly

Obviously from an employer's POV this isn't great because they waste time and money on training so you can understand why they don't want to employ better qualified people. But on the flip side it certainly isn't going to stop me from applying for anything I can get - obviously I know myself what I can and can't stand in terms of boredom And who knows - I might surprise myself!!

[athena_ny 1]

Overqualified usually means they don't want to pay you the salary you are worth.

Entry level is another good phrase for that.

Eh...they have a position to fill, and that position is budgeted at a certain salary range. It has nothing to do with personal worth. Someone who is over-qualified is very likely to be unhappy with a lower salary, and bored with the work. It sucks if you need work, but if you look at it from the employer perspective, they really want someone in the position that will be challenged and interested. Businesses are in business to put the right people in the right jobs, not to provide jobs.

I took a job once that I was over-qualified for. They were very happy with me, but dear god I was *SO* friggin' bored. I wound up leaving for a more suitable job in just over a year. This is what employers want to avoid, and rightly so.

Yep. With my company, they pay you starting at X. They literally cannot start me at more than the limit set by the company, so it's not so much personal worth.

[Nessa 23]

congrats on the job

[Agentes 0]

I was going to throw in my 2 cents on being overqualified, and I see the OP got the job, so now I just want to say Congratulations!!!

I can relate to the being "overqualified" frustration. I only had it officially happen once, and it was for a job that I really wanted. What sucks is that usually the companies will put you through 2, 3 and 4 interviews before telling you this. I once went through 5 formal interviews and tests. Then I got a letter saying I was not the right person for the position. The worst part was that the letter was dated 2 days before my last interview.

Now I just down play myself and it seems to work for me.