Avoid Overqualified Applicants? Really?

Today I was reading one of the many e-newsletters that I get every day. And there was a snippet that caught my eye. It was about how to avoid overqualified candidates applying for your positions.

Now, I know there are reasons that overqualified people are traditionally not considered for jobs:

• They'll expect to be paid more than the position warrants
• They'll expect to be promoted right away
• They'll be bored and end up performing poorly

While those things may indeed be true, I don't believe that you should discount these applicants based solely on their resumes. That doesn't give them much credit for being intelligent human beings, does it? They did apply for the position, after all. They must have had a reason. Maybe you should ask what the reason was. You might be surprised.

In my capacity as a recruiter, some of the hires I'm most proud of are the ones that were overqualified for the position. Why? Lots of reasons. Here are a few:

• I want to switch industries and understand that I need to step back in rank in order to do that and learn what I need to learn.
• I am making a life choice: simplifying, reducing stress, changing focus.
• My spouse got a nice promotion and I now have the luxury of not worrying about climbing the career ladder any more.
• I am extremely interested in your company and would like to work here in any capacity.
• (and don't forget in today's market: I'm qualified and I need a job to support my family. I'm happy to work in this position)

Sure, you have to talk to these people and ask a lot of questions to determine what their objectives really are. But, if you give them an accurate view of what the job is, what the work environment will be like, and what the realistic advancement opportunities are, then they should be able to make an informed decision about the job. If they choose to move forward with the recruitment process, then you may have just hit the skills and experience jackpot.

My advice is not to avoid overqualified applicants, but embrace them.