There are two kinds of applicants that hiring managers dread: the unqualified applicant and the overqualified applicant. The unqualified applicant wastes your time, while the overqualified applicant just … leaves you scratching your head. Why would someone with this applicant’s qualifications bother to apply? Before you disregard those seemingly overqualified candidates, though, consider a few reasons why overqualified candidates might apply.

Tough Times, Tough Options

When jobs are difficult to come by, applicants often find themselves applying for positions that are seemingly beneath their education and experience. It’s easy to dismiss these applicants as only looking for employment for the short term (i.e., until something better comes along), but don’t be so hasty. That something better might be right in your own organization. If opportunities for advancement are available at your organization, the applicant may have a long-term career strategy in mind. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing!

Roads Less Traveled

A resume is somewhat like a road map, but that doesn’t mean that it shows you how long an applicant took to get from each stage in life. Education and job experiences that give the impression of an applicant that is too advanced for the job may be inadvertently misleading. That overqualified applicant may actually be an applicant who is re-entering the job market late in life, who took time off to stay home with the children, or who had her career interrupted for other reasons.

Career Transitions

Like the candidate who’s had her career interrupted, the candidate who is the midst of a career transition may have educational and job experiences that make him or her seem too far along in his career for the job for which he has applied. But a closer look may reveal that those experiences are in a slightly different position or field. These applicants deserve a second look – they may be coming to the job with enthusiasm and out-of-the-ordinary experiences that make them excellent candidates.
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