Hiring Overqualified Candidates: What to Know and be Aware of

While the question of hiring overqualified candidates may not seem like much of an issue (who wouldn’t want experienced and capable employees?), there are several reasons why hiring managers become weary when evaluating overqualified applicants.

You may, on one hand, find a passionate candidate capable of working independently and standing out as a team leader. On the other hand, however, you might be dealing with a candidate who, after two weeks of employment, demands a raise in payment and falls into a fit of boredom and apathy.

No one is saying that hiring overqualified candidates is always or, conversely, never the way to go as a hiring manager or recruiter. What recruiters need to be aware of, however, are the potential benefits, pitfalls, and nuances of overqualified candidates and how to effectively incorporate them into your hiring strategy.

Benefits of Hiring Overqualified Candidates

There are some clear benefits that come with hiring overqualified candidates. Overqualified candidates often come with a lot of experience in your field. They can apply that experience not only to act as an autonomous entity in your workforce, but also to provide feedback for their department’s short and long-term business goals.

With the right managing and hiring strategy, your organization can turn overqualified candidates into valuable assets.

Here are a few benefits to consider when reviewing an overqualified candidate.

Downsides of Hiring Overqualified Candidates

There are, conversely, a number compelling reasons why companies should avoid hiring overqualified candidates. Like with the benefits of hiring experienced candidates, how likely experienced candidates will thrive or falter in your company depends on the attitude of the candidate in question and the kind expectations/limitations that your company sets for them. In any case, there are some common and noteworthy reasons why hiring managers should be cautious when evaluating overqualified candidates.

 

 

What to be Aware of When Hiring Overqualified Candidates

None of what’s been mentioned should be a decisive indicator as to whether or not you should hire an overqualified candidate. What these points should indicate is that hiring managers and recruiters need to be aware of the precarity that comes with overqualified candidates. Here are some important questions you need to ask and be aware of before making the final decision on an overqualified candidate.

One of the most important ways to answer these questions is with open, transparent lines of communication. Communicating with your candidates and making sure expectations on both sides are understood will help avoid many of the above-mentioned hiring pitfalls.

One of the best ways to create a hiring strategy around qualified and overqualified candidates is through an organizational platform like a CRM. Loxo’s CRM+ATS platform will make communicating with, tracking, and storing candidates easier than ever. Try your Loxo demo today.

CEO at Loxo. Loxo is the #1 Talent Intelligence Platform and global leader in recruiting software. Loxo is a horizontally integrated suite of data-driven and AI-powered products designed to manage the full recruitment life cycle through a single system-of-record software platform. The platform includes a best-in-class ATS, an AI-driven Recruiting CRM, talent search engine of over 1.2 billion people, with contact information including verified mobile phone, personal and work emails. The instant AI sourcing, ranking and matching, and multi-channel outbound recruiting solution makes identifying, engaging and hiring the very best possible talent easier than ever before. More than 13,200 Executive Search, RPO, professional recruitment and talent acquisition teams across the globe are using Loxo to become hiring machines. Learn more at https://loxo.co/

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