Advice on Hiring Overqualified People

yonah · Star Poster Joined: Jun 18, 2004 Posts: 57

I have just posted a job for a position that reports to me at my company. The resumes have started coming in, and although this job is for a candidate maybe looking for their second job out of school (1-3) years experience, I am getting resumes from people who have, in some cases, more and better experience than I do.

Our budget for this position is market-rated for a much junior individual, and even though these guys are applying, it is clear that they are overqulified, making them seem desperate.

I am torn - do I even suggest that we interview them knowing that they might be a)resentful of being in a lower-paying job than their qualified for, b) always looking for something better and better-paying or c) possibly after my job, considering their experience.

Any suggestions?

lijew · Guest

keep these people on file as a last resort. in a weak economy, such as we've seen, many overqualified people are desperate for anything - until they get warmed up, gain confidence and start looking for better opportunity within or without the current company. there are a lot of these people nowadays though so you may not have too much choice. if you do need them, clarify on the phone (or have HR do it) what exactly the position is and what it pays and who it reports to. most often, people apply blindly to jobs they have no intention of ever taking. they don't bother looking at titles, requirements, locations or pay. waiters from Omaha apply to be HR Directors in NY; former CEO's from NJ apply to be Customer Service Reps in California. If you choose them for interviews, clarify it all up front before wasting any more time. Another guideline to how desperate they are is how long they've been out of work. Be leary of people out of work for too long as they may be hiding a smaller job that didn't work out. However, if you have made sure that's not the case, they'll take anything and force themselves to like it.

Mort · Guest

Just interview those qualified individuals who last earn less than this position pays so this job will be seen as an advancement for them.

As far as others being desperate. Come on. You know there are 8 million people in the US unemployed. There are alot of desperate people out sending out hundreds of resumes to increase their chances.