Overqualified

Phone conversation:

"Yeah, both of them want the pilot job. <...pause...> Well, the first guy has about two thousand hours. He's exactly what we were looking for when we wrote the job spec. The other guy has over twenty thousand hours, and has flown commercially for almost 19 years. <...pause...> Well, the more experienced one says he doesn't want the hectic lifestyle that his commercial job gives him. So, he wants to do the corporate thing. <...pause...> Yeah, he knows it's less money, but he's OK with that. <...pause...> Well, he says he wants to spend more time with his wife and kids. <...pause...> No, nothing wrong. His background checks out. <...pause...> Well, my problem is that I think he's just overqualified for the job. I mean, think about it. You got this guy who's flown for the big guys, and now he's up in the front of a corporate jet. Our jet! Don't you see a problem here? <...pause...> The younger guy? What about him? <...pause...> Well, no, he hasn't flown internationally. And, he certainly doesn't have the background that the other guy does. But, he's just what we were looking for. <...pause...> Wel, the problem with the older guy is that he has way too much experience. <...pause...> Yep. The same money. <...pause...> Well, maybe he's going to want a big raise later. <...pause...> Of course, we discussed it. He says he's fine with the money. <...pause...> The point is he may get dissatisfied with the job. <...pause...> Yeah, he flew corporate for a while before moving up. <...pause...> Look, the other guy is what we were looking for. My mind's made up. I'm going to hire the guy with less experience."

Sounds pretty stupid when you're hiring a pilot, doesn't it?

Do you think it sounds any less stupid when you're hiring someone else?

Think about it.

If you're answer was NO, maybe the problem isn't that the person is overqualified to do the job. Maybe the problem is that you're underqualified to do the hiring.

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Previous Articles

Three Kinds of Engineers

Only Half Full

Taking a Sit

Making Decisions with Less Data

Temporal nature of success

Being overqualified

Defining what you're building

The real problem

Origins of the name