How to hire and KEEP overqualified people

I read a Wall Street Journal article today, titled The New Résumé: Dumb and Dumber - Job Seekers Play Down Their Credentials to Avoid Looking Overqualified,” that really struck a nerve with me. This issue is not exclusive to Baby Boomer and reaches all the way into Generation X. We talk about how it is hard to find the right people for our companies, but we are not willing to think just a little bit outside of the box. Here is a novel idea, why don’t we stop forcing overqualified individuals to hide their qualifications and try to make a deal with them, while the demand is low.

Here is my recipe for hiring and keeping overqualified professionals:

1. Set the proper context in your mind. As a hiring manager, be appreciative that someone with superior skills is willing to take a position “beneath them.” This shows how well their ego is controlled. Keeping this context in mind will set you up to have a more successful conversation. Focus on making sure the candidate really fits the corporate culture and is genuinely interested in your company.

2. Show your excitement that you’re able to have someone with a high level of talent come in and help you solve your current needs and have them willingly take the compensation in line with their current value to the company. Reassure the candidate that as their value to the company increases, so will their compensation.

3. Invest time in showing “overqualified” candidates the roadmap and milestones you want to reach. Think about how this person could contribute to your team in the future, and how he/she could earn their way to the position and compensation more fit to their level. This is how you take care of your future today and ensure you have a good team member.

People have a very good memory. It is an absolute myth that top grade talent can always find a job. Usually this BS is sold by inexperienced recruiters who need to cover up the fact that their candidate pipelines are skimpy. Don’t believe the hype! Find that “overqualified” talent and do the best darn job you can selling them on joining you now! By helping someone in bad times, he/she is much more likely to be loyal to you. Just think about the money and resources you will save once things bounce back up and your competitors will not have the chance to grab that cream of the crop individual!

Photo credit: Kim Kreidler

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Dave
Good post! Do you know what also ticks me off about the "overqualified" term? It's the "You'll get bored" suggestion, meaning that you'll work very little and be bored silly for most of the day.

Well gee, Mr. Manager, why don't you figure out how to give me more work then? If I could do the work of several or more people, perhaps you could fire some laborers and push their responsibilities onto me! Ugh! That just shows how incompetent or lazy many managers really are.

laurie ruettimann
Apollo, I think managers forget the inherent value of loyalty. It's a capital investment and it goes a very long way with a new employee.

Great post!

<abbr>laurie ruettimann’s last blog post..Servant Leadership</abbr>

Apolinaras Sinkevicius
Absolutely! I remember when the first company I was in spiraled down to hell. That I got into another company where partners treated me like I was one of them (though I had zero equity in that business), invested in me, helped me mature as a businessman. I gave 4+ years to them, busted my behind every darn day on average 10-12 hours per day, and was blessed to be in a position to help them survive one of the most catastrophic downturns in that business. It was definitely not the money, why I stayed all those years with them. They earned my loyalty in so many other ways.

Rona
Apollo,
Bravo! Very important point about the benefits of hiring overqualified people.
One caveat: the manager's ego needs to be intact. Someone who is defensive doesn't have the integrity to supervise someone with higher levels of skill. So managers must look in the mirror if they want to see where the problem really comes from.

Apolinaras Sinkevicius
Thanks for the compliments, Rona! What I have found myself in my short (compared to many of my mentors) 12-year career is that the best managers surround themselves with people much smarter than they are. This is what keeps you on the edge of knowledge, because books and seminars don't cut it anymore. Best knowledge is the one gained through symbiotic relationship, because it "sticks".

GVT
I suspect, though it is difficult to be certain, that I have not been offered jobs due to some notion of "overqualification." It is at this point in the job search (i.e., when one encounters difficulty due to being "overqualified") that the valiant job hunter must accept that they are in a job hunting limbo without order or reason. Clearly, the OQ person already applied to and didn't the jobs more closely matching their skills so they've expanded their search. Now, if they can't get those jobs due to being OQ what then? Oddly enough, if one greatly expands the search and to include every job (minimum wage) suddenly that same person isn't OQ. If someone is applying for a job they probably need that job. I suspect that whatever fear employers experience when considering the OQ candidate is simply a reflection of their own priorities (that the person may be a heartless, self-serving, morally bankrupt pile of garbage with no sense of loyalty or honor).

Craig Fisher
Apollo, great post and great commentary on the current state of affairs in the job market. If I could get every one of my hiring managers to read this my job would be much easier! Well, I'm going to try. Well done!

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How to hire and KEEP overqualified people

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