Am I Over Qualified For The Position?

When you are looking for a new job or career there can be times when you become discouraged because you aren't getting responses to positions you feel qualified for. Unfortunately, many times we see people applying for jobs they think they are over qualified for when they are actually under qualified. This is due to some basic misconceptions about job postings and what is required of the position. Just the other day we came across this amazing advice from LinkedIn Member Debbie Mastel on what employers expect when considering qualifications during the hiring process: 

"Oh I do love the question about over qualification. I won't speak specifically about your application as this is an open forum, but I will share what I have noticed with some applicants. It has been my experience that when an individual asks me to check and see if they'll be considered for a position that they feel they are "overqualified" for, in actuality, they are "underqualified" for the role. 

You may have seen other comments from me that if you don't have the first & or second bullet under "Qualifications" then you aren't qualified for the role and you should move on to the next posting. For example, I've seen lots of people who are looking to get their foot in the door so although they may be an Engineer, they apply for an administrative role, feeling that they're "overqualified". Yet the first bullet on the posting will read that you must have "7-10 years of experience in an administrative role", and they don't have this, then really, they aren't over qualified, they're underqualified! In certain instances, companies may also be looking at someone with __ years of experience. This number isn't just one they make up, but it's one that has to take in to consideration the group that the person will be joining. For instance, if the hiring manager is thinking about succession planning and realizes members of her group are thinking about retirement, she would want to bring in some younger members so would be requesting only a few years of experience. Another team may be really young and so they need to bringing on some experience so will be looking for the 10+ year guy. So again, it depends on the dynamics of the group. It would be difficult for a manager to bring someone on that doesn't fit in to their long term plans for the group."