When an employer says "your're over qualified" for the job, is that a bad thing or good thing?

As an employer, when I interview someone who is way over qualified for the house or office cleaning position I am offering, my concern is that they are wanting this job just to get by until they get their real job. I'm going to spend a sizeable sum of my revenue and a lot of time to train my employees to provide the most excellent standard of service possible. It is crushing when I spend all those resources on a great employee and have to say goodbye after only a month or two. It hurts the team that has bonded with that person and has come to rely on him/her, and it hurts the pocket book because I have to start all over again--place the ad, sift through the applicants, interview, hire, train, integrate into the company culture. In my small business, bringing a new person on is like taking on a new family member, and it can be heartbreaking when they leave. It can also throw the company into a tailspin when an employee takes off for greener pastures--service can get interrupted, deadlines pushed back, etc.

So, when you are applying for that position that you are overqualified for, ask yourself if it's just to tide you over until your 'real' job comes open, or if you are truly committed to the team or company you are about to bond with. If you aren't committed, then keep looking for something more appropriate or at least be honest with that company. Some companies may not care because they just want a seasonal hire anyway.

About the only answer that I'm okay with is, "I did not enjoy the career field I was in or the level I had reached (better not be because of sour grapes...hate those stories too). I have a passion for cleaning, and really want to work for your company because of X, Y, and Z." And then expect some follow up questions about how passionate you are and where, specifically, your passions lie!

I think it's a good point to mention that if you're consistantly being told that, then maybe you need to revise your job search. You might ask "what job do you see me being successful in with this company?" Often times being over-qualified means that the company has a payroll budget for the advertised job. If you come in with skills beyond what are required, then they have to pay you commensurate with experience and education. So I guess it's a good thing because it serves to help you refocus your efforts.

Don't confuse training with experience. As a previous hiring manager, I focused on experience more than formal training. After all, most "training" is based on theory and the basics.... An individual can go to the rifle range a hundred times and score marksmanship each time but when you put them in a real firefight, does their training mean they are qualified for the task or that they will peform with the same proficiency? If given a choice, I would choose experience!

In my personal experience, I have learned that when a employer says. That you over qualified for a position that you are applying for is there way of letting you know that position has been filled, or they are afraid of hiring a military personnel cause of the time they have to hold your position if you have a deployment.

SSG Gregg Ouellette this is a great question and the answers provided below seem to be following a trend of the employer potentially being worried that you will only stay in that role until a better offer comes along and that they will not be able to compensate you well enough to stay. If that is what you hear then set yourself the challenge that for every interview you go with you are not going to leave the room without the contact information for someone new and the suggestion of a role or a company that is a good fit. Challenge your interviewer. If they tell you that you are too qualified then thank them and ask them to suggest a different role in that same company or a different company that they think would be a good fit. Ask them why they think that and then ask if they can connect you with someone there so that you can continue your job search. This way the interviewer will know that you are serious about your job search and if they liked you enough to interview you then they hopefully will like you enough to help with next steps too!

I find that "over-qualified" means one of two things.

1. "We are concerned that you are interviewing with us as just a temporary job, and when something different / more challenging / higher paying / in your specific field comes along, we're going to lose you."

OR

2. "We cannot think of a good reason not to hire you, so this is our cop-out."

A good interviewer will do their due diligence and dig into your reasons for wanting a job. If they do all of that and still think you're overqualified, ask yourself - is that a company you want to work for anyway?

during one of my breaks in service I was looking for a job and was told that they felt with my skill set I was over qualified for the job I was interviewing for and they were afraid that if I was hired there that I would receive a better job opportunity and leave them so I then proceeded to explain to her that while I have qualifications that I could use for another job with better pay that nobody was hiring in those fields at the time and that if hired I would not just up and leave the company since they were willing to give me a job when there were hardly any available. I sat there and sold myself for about a half an hour and ended up getting the job and also rising through the company fairly quickly until the small business went out of business. So my suggestion is if a company tells you your over qualified explain to them how they would be getting a steal getting you then since they believe and you know you can excel at the job at a price where they could be getting somebody less qualified. when they try closing the door on you by telling you your over qualified throw your foot in the door and show them what a great opportunity they have before them. Learn to sell yourself and you can talk your way into getting your foot in the door.

Well, if you do not get the job because of over-qualification, yes, it could be a bad thing.