Some managers think they shouldn’t hire overqualified candidates for a role because they assume:
- The person will get bored and leave.
- The candidate might be using this job as stepping stone or a gap filler while they look for another better suited role.
- Giving this opportunity to an overqualified person means someone else will miss out on this growth opportunity.
Friends – if you are interviewing a person who is clearly overqualified for the role, do not assume that they are not suitable. Let the candidate decide if they want this role.
Sometimes, overqualified candidates apply for roles because:
- They want a less stressful role.
- They are in the phase of life where they are not ready to take on challenging roles.
- They are more interested in other aspects of the roles eg the connections and networks.
So people leaders, here are the benefits from hiring overqualified people:
- Immediate impact – reduction in the time it takes for the candidate to learn the role.
- Reduced training time – reduction in overall training requirements for this candidate.
- Increased productivity – from efficiencies the candidate will bring into the role because of their experience.
- The value add from the time efficiency demonstrated by the candidate – allowing them to take on additional challenges like coaching and mentoring
- Innovation and creative problem solving – yes, they have probably seen it before.
- An opportunity for you to delegate some of your tasks to this overqualified candidate – freeing you up to focus on what you want.
- A suitable candidate for your succession plan – meaning you can take those days off or holidays.
People leaders – change your thinking around hiring overqualified candidates – and you will reap the benefits from this.
#talentmanagement #productivity #recruitment
