Overqualified and office survivor
by Shadowmaster on 09/12/09 at 12:21 am
Office, the final frontier…
your second home, but still from time to time you find yourself wondering what if…? Well this article is just for you, you find out it's time to seek a better new 2nd home, as your current work holds you and doesn't allow you to advance in your survival path of the real life.
Everyone knows that there are 2 ways to get promoted:
the regular one is to be promoted inside your office – this is the best way and if you have this option go for it, but most of the times you find yourself sitting in the same place month after month doing your job.
I'm not going to get on how to find a new place of work as most of it was discussed in a previous article I have published (here) and there are regulars known ways of asking friends and etc… this articles is regarding being overqualified when you seek for a new position.
As an office survivor you did your magic and managed to find a position that suits you – the place sounds good, the position is superb, the money is ok, you decide to send your resume and after few days you get a phone asking you to come for an interview.
After a couple of days you are getting a message from that place saying that they are sorry but you are overqualified for the position.
Overqualified is a nice word that lately a lot of places has started to use , it has 2 meanings :
- it's the nice way to say "thanks but not thanks".
- secondly it might be the true.
if you know people in that office they could ask around and see if this is the reason or not. I'm going to deal with the second option (that you are really overqualified) in this article.
How can it be you think to yourself? You aren't doing something that entitled you this "title" nor your CV doesn't inflect something like that, and you know that you didn't empower yourself and tweak your job when you were interviewed – so where is the problem?
I'll tell you where the problem is, the problem is in your current office, it doesn't see you as who you really are, it doesn't allow you to progress, it provides you a working place and experience but it doesn't provide you what you want – to be promoted. What can I do?
Well don't be panic, there is no need to omit parts of your working experience, you work hard and deserve what you did, and you sure know you can handle a more responsible job.
- During the interview make sure you are asking about the nature of the position, as sometimes there is slight different from what is written in the ads to the actual position – you have to do this step twice, during the phone interview in order to learn about the position, and in the first frontal interview.
- You have pass the expectation phase regarding the nature of the position and here you are sitting at the entrance and waiting to be called in for the interview. This is a good to have a small talk with the receptionist, trying to understand about the position, company, what happened to the person before, etc… (This step doesn't work all the time as it depends on your charm and skills to get such information, and also about the receptionist will to share this kind of information). This small talk can let you know for example that you have all the qualification for the job but the boss loves "yes-man" or to be notified about each step you doing while working , in this case you should drop sentences as "I need my space when doing my work , I can't provide step by step each time" or "I'm asking questions and investigate before I'm starting with the mission" – even if it's you , don't say this as it will tag you as "overqualified" for the position.
- Its show time – you are being asked to enter the room and the interview starts. Pay attention to the interviewer's face reactions when you talk about yourself – face reactions can tell a lot, when you notice uncomfortable face reaction don't empower yourself as most chances you are getting into the "overqualified zone", some of the interviewers tell you that you are overqualified. So now you know you are overqualified in the eyes of the interviewers, don't tell him something like "if you paying me the amount I'll do the work" as this might show that you are desperate for the job. The best way to deal with this situation (if you weren't told yet that you are overqualified) is to rise is up by saying :
It seems I might be overqualified for the position, but I always wanted to have a position in a company like yours which allows me to learn new things and to use my expertise in a new field
On the other hand if you are being told by the interviewer that you are overqualified you can tell something like
"I'm looking for something less stress and to be able to spend some time with my family".
Using similar approach gives your future to be superior the option to give you a chance even if you seems (for him) overqualified.
In both cases if you want to make a strong impression that you want this job than you can offer an agreement which you'll sign for minimum a year at the present location – this act leaves a strong impression on your interviewers and chances are that even if you get accepted to that office, you'll have to sign such a contract.
Your mission is to find a new place of work in order that will promote you and help you to advance. When some sees you as overqualified most chances that others will too, overqualified isn't a bad word and there are approaches to deal with it as long you pay little bit attention to what's going on and being proactive about it. Remember – knowing how to deal a situation as "overqualified" allows you to overcome it and moving forward for your success.
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