Job Interview Tips for the Overqualified Candidate

• In the interview, focus on alleviating concerns that you are overqualified. Group of business people working together in the office. image by Andrey Kiselev from Fotolia.com

  According to career specialist and author Dr. Randall S. Hansen, the term "overqualified" is code for "will not fit the current position." This could be for any number of reasons. While these reasons may include unstated age bias, especially if your potential supervisor and workmates are significantly younger, there may also be concerns that you will demand too much money or authority, will be inflexible and not a team player, have outdated skills, are desperate for work, or will leave as soon as a better offer comes along. Here are some tips to confront and alleviate these doubts.

Draw Out Concerns

• Before you can address any apprehensions about your being overqualified for a position, you need to know specifically what they are. Don't make assumptions. A concern about age differences can mask insecurities about whether you can be a team player, or that you might demand a higher salary than less experienced applicants they are considering.

Accomplishments

• An effective way to draw attention away from your former job title or salary is to describe what you accomplished materially for former employers. If you innovated an idea, brought in new technology to address a problem, streamlined a process, or were part of a team effort that bumped up the bottom line, use this to demonstrate your effectiveness as an employee.

Focus on Skills

• Put the emphasis on your abilities, not on your former level of authority. What skills and knowledge do you have that would benefit your new employer? Show your interest in the company's business, your enthusiasm for its success and how your skill set will contribute to team efforts to solve problems and build profit.

Flexibility on Salary

• Let your interviewer know that salary is not your first concern, but that it comes after your interest in the position and in the company's potential for growth. Express your enthusiasm and willingness to grow with the company, and that you don't expect to rise up the ranks until you have proven your worth.

Team Player

• Not enough can be said about the importance of illustrating your commitment to being a team player. Show how you have effectively supported team efforts and goals in the past. Describe how you gave recognition, encouragement and support to other team members. You want to alleviate any concern that your impressive resume is going to make you aloof from your teammates.

Longevity

• A major concern about overqualified candidates is that they will cut and run as soon as a better, higher paying position opens up. You can answer this concern directly with an offer to sign a hiring contract for a year and by showing past longevity with employers. Emphasize your interest in facing the challenges and opportunities offered by the position they are offering.

Don't Sell Yourself Short

• There are employers out there who will appreciate what you can bring to the table as an experienced and accomplished member of their team. While you should give due respect to their concerns that you may be overqualified for a position, it's important to recognize when you have reached your own limits in terms of compensation offered, conditions of employment, company culture, and the compatibility of the new position with your own personal and professional goals.