HCI Blog

“You are too qualified for this position, unfortunately”.

You may have heard or given this response once applying for a job or selecting a potential employee.

Despite this actually sounding like a crazy justification, it is actually quite common in many interviews. There is a great fear that someone who is extremely qualified might underperform in a job which might demand less abilities than they possess.

However, there is no actual evidence to support this presumption. But there are advantages to hiring a highly qualified employee!

See here five different reasons to hire a highly qualified individual:

1. Not hiring a highly qualified individual will lower your chances of hiring your ideal employee – With high unemployment rates in most developed countries, qualified individuals are out in the market. You will be taking a shot in the dark if you keep waiting for the person with the perfect qualifications to show up at your doorstep. Take and grab the opportunity of having such a person in your company!

2. Stronger motivation to work – Highly qualified individuals have been in the market for some time already. They will want to show what they do best: their work! Little motivation will be needed to make them work at their peak performance once compared to new talents.

3. Getting more than you expect – Suppose you buy an apartment and you get for free its interior decoration for the same price. Would you possibly say no?

4. Even for a short stay, their contribution is immense! – Even if they stay for a short time, the contribution a high profile hire will make is immeasurable. The main reason why highly qualified individuals leave low qualification positions is the lack of challenge in their everyday life. Think: would you prefer to have a high profile individual stay for one year or a low performing person?

5. They can possibly climb the ladder – For now, your new highly qualified hire is in a position which might make him feel undermined. But, due to his high performance, he might get promoted to a function which will make him use his skills in their entirety! Keep this highly qualified person in your company to possibly be promoted.

BASED ON: TLNT