Dear SafetyXChange Members:

It seems so unfair not to get a job because you're over-qualified - to be rejected because you're too good. If you really want the job, why should the employer care if the position is beneath you? Indeed, shouldn't employers embrace the idea of bringing in the extra firepower you can provide?

Sadly, this is not the way things usually work. Getting tabbed as "over-qualified" is hard to overcome. Hard but not impossible. Here's a question I got from an ExecuNet member who's wrestling with this problem and how one of our "Career Coaches" answered it. Although the job-seeker in this case is a software executive, his situation and the advice he received apply equally well to safety professionals.

Question

I've had interviews in which I've been told that I'm "over-qualified" and have "too much experience." In some cases, I've agreed with the assessment. But what happened to me during an interview yesterday was particularly annoying. What made it so hard to take was that it really seemed to me that my skills and experience were an excellent match for the company. And it felt like my dream job - or pretty close to it. The person who interviewed me sent me an e-mail after the meeting saying: "Given the level of experience you have gained to date, I thought the Director role may not be sufficiently challenging for you."

I'm a little bewildered. I'm actually fairly young, 33. But through the dot-com years, I had a good bit of career compression in which I was in positions of relatively high responsibility. I did many interesting things, albeit for a relatively short period of time, a couple of years in each position. I've gotten my marketing campaign (CV, cover letters, elevator pitches and interviewing stories) down and polished.

Is there such thing as too strong a sell? And even if I am over-qualified, as long as I'm motivated, why wouldn't employers want me? After all, they'd be getting more bang for their buck.

Answer

Here's how ExecuNet "Coach" Walt Kuchinski, founder of Diversitas, a broad-scale human capital solutions provider based in Charlotte, NC, answered:

This is always an interesting question. It's hard to know what's on the mind of the person who tells you you're over-qualified. Sometimes over-qualification is simply a convenient excuse that recruiters and employers use to disqualify candidates they don't like for reasons they prefer not to express. At other times it expresses a genuine concern that the position does not represent a significant challenge for the candidate.

In any case, if you're labeled as over-qualified, it's perfectly OK and, in fact, encouraged to push back, probe and challenge the statement. I have seen instances where that question is really more of a "test" than anything else. So if you believe the job is a good fit, then by all means fight for it to the extent that you can. Sell your experience, the value-add you bring and your willingness to "take a step back" for the chance to work in a position which offers the advantages this one does, e.g., in terms of culture, organization size, growth opportunity, learning opportunity, different business, etc.

The key is to be convincing in your sincerity and willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed. Keep in mind that your presence at the company might be perceived as a threat to the interviewer, the person to whom you'd be expected to report or somebody else more senior. It is therefore incumbent on you to assure people that you will leave your ego at the door and be a consummate team-player.

As a final note, since you're still young, I think it's reasonable to pursue positions which may in fact appear on the surface to be of a lower level than your last role. But you also have to be realistic. Don't go for jobs which are too junior for you. You will likely wind up miserable and frustrated. And the astute recruiter/employer who can size up a job candidate's credentials and fit for the position will recognize that all too well.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it. I hope you experienced safety professionals out there will take Coach Kuchinski's advice to heart when and if you seek more junior positions with a new company.

Wishing you career success and holiday cheer,

Lauryn Franzoni
ExecuNet
www.execunet.com

CASTING A NEW LIGHT ON THE TURKEY BONUS

Before we get to this week's contest, I would like to apologize for being insensitive about the frozen turkey bonus in last week's issue of SafetyXChange. When I was younger, I got one of these things as a bonus and it made me feel angry and unappreciated. Maybe in my situation, those feelings were justified; maybe I'm just an ingrate. But what I failed to appreciate is that in certain parts of North America, including Atlantic Canada, there exists a rich and proud tradition of turkey giving for the holidays. Getting a turkey from one's employer is as much a part of the holiday as opening the presents on Christmas Day. And, in recent years, the tradition has evolved into a charitable practice with many employees donating their turkeys to food banks for the less fortunate.

I want to thank Mr. James Vaughan of Prince Edward Island, Canada, for pointing this out to me.

Glenn Demby
Editor-in-Chief
SafetyXChange

SAFETYXCHANGE CONTEST
The Worst Bonus I Ever Got

Note: All of these are actual notes from SafetyXChange members. We took the liberty of adding our own titles above each item.

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FIRST PRIZE

For the Birds

I don't know if it was the worst bonus I ever got, but one year I did win the Thanksgiving Turkey raffle and later on in the day I received my pink slip. I made light of the situation stating that, "My company gave me the bird twice in one day!"

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SECOND PRIZE

Glad She Doesn't Work at a Manure Plant

I used to work for a major snack food manufacturing firm before I went into construction. One year we were given a small box of this company's products - some chips, peanuts, crackers - stuff we could buy really cheap at the company store. Needless to say the employees were less than impressed and this was not done again.

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THIRD PRIZE

A Cut Below

In my former job, our organization attained a significant milestone without ANY injuries. To recognize this achievement someone from management decided (alone) to purchase a token of recognition and have them distributed. That something was a pocket knife. That pocket knife was distributed to the employees and was so substandard that 70% of them broke within the 1st week. Worse than that, one broke to the point that it severely sliced a co-workers hand that it became our record-breaking accident. When I moved to my present place of employment I was told that they had also purchased these same cheap knives for their recognition with the exact same results.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS
A Bird in Hand

Hey, a turkey isn't so bad. My worst bonus was a $20 coupon toward the purchase of a turkey.

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Raising a Bracket

I received a $500 bonus which, of course, had taxes to be taken out. This came up to roughly an added $283 in my paycheck. At the end of the year, I had to show this $500 as additional income to the IRS. Well, this $500 put me in another tax bracket and cost me $150 in additional taxes.  After all the taxations, my bonus was $133.

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God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. . . But Not You

For my first Christmas after getting married, my wife's first Christmas away from her family, my first Christmas in three years with my parents and my brother, and my first year working at a new assignment within my organization, I was in the office 'manning the phones' for a 24-hour shift that started at 8:00 AM on Christmas Eve. I received that assignment after being assigned a 12-hour field inspection task that started at 8:00 AM on Christmas Day.

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Fruit of the Gloom

I worked at a window manufacturer and received a smoked turkey, 1/2 a box of grapefruit and 1/2 box of oranges. Most of the fruit was bruised and some pieces were frozen solid.

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Baker's Dozen

I worked at a pharmacy that gave bonus checks. I worked there for 5 years and received a $25.00 check. But after taxes I got around $13.  Made me feel wanted!!!!

We'll save the best bonuses for next week. So there's still time to submit your best bonus?glennd@bongarde.com.

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