When you find yourself sitting across the interview desk from an overqualified applicant, how should you move forward? Should you evaluate these candidates based on their future potential and their ability to take on increasing levels of responsibility? Or should you keep things simple and focus your decision on the needs of the position at hand?
The answer will vary depending on the size of your organization and the nature of your business model, but as a general rule, you’ll want to clarify your goals before the session begins and build the script of your interview around these goals. Here are a few considerations to keep in mind as you move forward.
Be Honest About Growth Opportunities
If you’re sure you can position this employee on a pipeline to future advancement, let them know. Use your interview conversation to explain that this job will feed directly into a management/senior level role within a few years if all goes well. But if you aren’t sure this will happen, don’t make promises you can’t keep. Overqualifed candidates often leave the company as soon as they find a position better suited to their high level of skill and ambition, and if you can’t send this worker to the next rung of the ladder, they may find an employer who can.
Is this Position Difficult to Staff?
If you need a programmer who’s familiar with the XYZ software system, and this candidate has a higher level of skill than the project will require, you can pass them over and choose a junior level candidate who will work for a lower salary. But what happens if that junior level candidate takes weeks or even months to find? Consider the rarity of the skill set in question before you reject a candidate based on her salary expectations and overqualification.
Ask Direct and Pointed Questions
If you feel the candidate might be bored in this position, don’t mince words. Simply explain the most boring aspect of the role and ask directly how they’re likely to handle this challenge. It’s perfectly acceptable to use phrases like, “Will you be okay with that?” Listen carefully to the candidate’s response (including non-verbal cues) and read between the lines.
Share your Vision of the Company’s Future
In order to find out how this candidate might fit into the company’s future plans, describe these plans honestly. Again, ask the candidate if they can see themselves finding a place in this description. Negotiate in good faith and you’ll be more likely to elicit a direct and straightforward answer.
For more information on how to handle overqualified candidates, reach out to the experienced staffing professionals at Expert Staffing.