Hiring the Overqualified — Tip of the Week

Being overqualified used to be a reason applicants were given for failing to get a job offer. It was assumed that someone overqualified wouldn’t be happy in the job and would be looking to leave as soon as a more suitable job could be found. It’s finally sinking in that times have changed, if not for the long term, then for a long short term.

We are said to be in a jobless economic recovery, a term my head still won’t fit around. How can anything be called a recovery with 10% of potential employees out of work? It would seem to make more sense to continue to call it the recession it is.

The huge, constant unemployment rate means the overqualified numbers have swelled. If the captains of industry hold steady on their course of not rehiring because they’ve discovered they can get work done by allowing a reduced number of employees to be perpetually overworked, there’s a veritable treasure trove of talented (overqualified) unemployed people.

According to a report in the New York Times, we now have a “nice free-agent market,” which unlike the free-agent market in the sports world, means overqualified, really good employees can be paid a lot less than was the case a couple of years ago. These new free-agents can’t afford to hold out for more money. They need jobs and will accept them for less money, resigned to use their overqualifications as best they can and endure the long wait for a real economic recovery.

Employers that don’t hire the large number of overqualified candidates will miss the unique chance to broaden and deepen the quality of their talent. Being able to hire such folks on the cheap will provide a basis for creating even more efficiency, leading to better products and services.