Have you ever been rejected for a job because of being ‘over qualified’?
Increasingly, prospective employee’s are being told that they are not suited for the job because their qualifications exceed the expectations of employers. Recently, a vetinary student from Bristol was rejected for a summer job at Tesco’s because she was told that her A-level grades and Masters Degree were “much more than the store was expecting from their applicants”.
Is this a deliberate attempt by managers to implement a system that encourages people only of a certain ‘calibre’ to work in their stores?
From an employers perspective, it is often true that applicants whose qualifications exceed the job specification leave the post quicker and seek employment elsewhere. However, it is also true that employees who are satisfied with their work surroundings, ease of getting to work and the fact that they have some stability to pay their rent will become long serving and loyal to the company they work for.
Qualifications therefore do provide some insight into an applicants ability, but they don’t provide insight into the individual situation. There are many examples of teachers giving up their teaching profession for whatever reason and returning as Teaching Assistants simply because they would rather work on an individual basis with children rather than take responsibility for a whole class.
Sometimes the most qualified people do want a job with set hours 9 to 5 so that they can come home every night to their family, or get more involved in voluntary community work.
