Dealing with overqualified candidates is tricky. Recruiters often think that overqualified applicants can be a threat to the business which can affect the company’s bottom line and overall employee morale. However, looking on the bright side, overqualified candidates can also be your greatest asset. For example, they are experienced professionals who can offer exceptional skills for your team so your team collaboration might improve with their presence.
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A study by Kerstin Alfes suggested that a good partnership can happen if you place the overqualified individuals within teams where other employees are also high performers. Therefore, when you already have high performers in your organisation, there is a good chance that you will create a better team by hiring the overqualified individuals.
So, will you give the overqualified candidate the chance or you are still struggling with your dilemma?
If you are still having the dilemma of whether to hire or dismiss an overqualified candidate, let’s us give you further insight. Amy Gallo in her research suggested that you should not do a quick screening based on a candidate’s credential alone. Having more experience does not qualify a candidate – same as having more educational backgrounds. If the person’s prior positions are not directly related to the job in question, wrote Gallo, there might be another reason why they want the job. So, between an asset and liability of overqualified candidates, these are more considerations you can think of.
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