What to do when you are overqualified?

We recently discussed the challenge of meeting minimum qualifications for international development jobs. But some professionals have the opposite problem — being too qualified. “Sometimes there is another frequent ‘frustration’ answer: ‘overqualified,’” wrote Sandro R. from Lima recently. “Clients could understand that sometimes job seeker are not looking only for money?” This is a common refrain I hear from professionals working in international development; particularly those that are trying to transition from another sector or area of development. Even when they are willing to take a pay cut or step back in their career they get the same answer: Sorry, you are overqualified. So how to deal with this? Well, to start, let’s look at why employers are so hesitant to hire someone who exceeds the qualifications. 1. Fears about salary expectations. When recruiters see candidates that are far more educated or have far more work experience than the job requires, they think: expensive. Even if you state you are willing to take a pay cut, they may still be hesitant based on past experience. When job seekers are desperate for a job, they are often willing to take a pay cut to just stay employed. But, what if something better comes along soon? A lot of employers have been burned before when they hired someone who took a pay cut, and then left shortly thereafter when a better-paying job presented itself. 2. Expectations of the role. Much like the salary issue, employers may be concerned that while you say in the interview you understand the roles and responsibilities, what it comes down to is, you will be unsatisfied in the role. I know a lot of development organizations that actively do not hire Masters graduates for entry-level roles. The nature of entry-level jobs like program assistants is typically very administrative, and does not require the training of a graduate program. Their experience hiring “overqualified” candidates in these roles is often an employee who becomes quickly disgruntled with the day-to-day and anxious to move on to more substantive work, often times neglecting the core duties they were hired to perform. 3. They may not take your application seriously. When an employer receives an application from someone who is overqualified for the position, they often assume the candidate is just applying to a bunch of jobs without giving it much thought. They might assume because of the factors mentioned above, salary and expectations of the role, you wouldn’t really be interested in the position. 4. Highly qualified in the wrong areas. Someone can be extremely qualified with a high level of expertise yet not have the skills or experience for a lower level job. Think of the CEOs who have no idea how to make a powerpoint, or still type with two fingers. Would you hire one of them for an administrative assistant job? Despite their advanced degree and years’ experience running a business; they would likely be terrible at basic admin tasks. Sometimes overqualified candidates are actually not qualified for the core responsibilities of the job. So let’s say these perceived issues on the employer side are legitimately not a factor for you. You would be happy with the salary and are fully aware of the expectations of the role. How do you get this across? First, this is where a well-written cover letter can be a powerful tool. You can use this space to describe your motivations for the role including why you are willing to take a step back in your career or a pay cut. Acknowledge your qualifications are above what is required in the role, but also that you have both the skills and motivation to be an asset to this position. Focus your language on why you are a great fit for this specific position, not the organization in general so you do not give the appearance of wanting this role as a stepping stone to a different position within the organization. Not all recruiters read cover letters, and most look at a CV first before deciding to read a cover letter and may even dismiss you before even looking at it. One way to encourage a recruiter to read the cover letter is to combine it into one document with your CV. Make a pdf with your cover letter the first page and your resume following. This will force the recruiter to read through your cover letter — or at least actively skip over it — before getting to your CV. A well-crafted cover letter is not enough. You also need to think strategically about how you write your CV. If you are applying to a job that backstops a project in the field, do not focus on your policy research experience. Often job seekers try to puff up their experience in resumes to make their work sound as impressive as they can. But in this case, playing down that experience is a better strategy. Focus on your experiences that most closely match the job, not the ones that sound the most impressive. Consider omitting publications, or if you have a PhD, putting it towards the end of your resume. I am typically very against objective statements — I feel like they waste valuable real estate on non-compelling information. In the case of someone applying to jobs they are overqualified for, however, you may consider a carefully worded objective statement explaining the kinds of positions you seek and citing your core skills that would make you a good fit. For example, a technical expert looking to transition from the field to a home office program management job might say: Objective: Seeking a home office project management position where I can leverage my field experience and technical expertise to effectively back-stop programs from a headquarters environment. If you make it past this stage and get to an interview, again, focus on your experience that matches the job — or can be easily transferred. You may have negotiated a peace treaty in the Middle East, but if you are interviewing for a business development position, this is unlikely to impress the hiring manager. Instead, focus on how that experience will make you uniquely qualified to perform this job. You could say, “In my experience negotiating peace treaties, I’ve learned the persuasive power of effective communication and the art of building strategic partnerships for mutual gain. I would use these skills to help build and grow business opportunities for your organization.” At the end of the day, the international development field is one that truly values experience and expertise. If you are frequently hearing that you are overqualified you should first look at the jobs you are applying to — you may be selling yourself short. And then look at how you are communicating your expertise. Looking to make a career move? Visit our career center for expert advice on how to navigate your job search - all you need is a Devex Career Account to get started.