Recently, I conducted an experiment to learn if overqualification might affect job application responses. The outcomes shed light on a few complexities of applying to jobs, and often overlooked biases in the recruitment process.
I embarked on a journey to investigate the results of a candidate in the job market. Two resumes were crafted for the same applicant (who had very top-notch experience and educational): one showcasing the candidate’s full accomplishments and contributions and the other—a dramatically paired down version that aligned strictly to the job requirements. With these resumes, I applied to 75 different positions across various industries in large cities.
The findings were enlightening. I hypothesized that the candidate’s accomplishments as they were achieved, would land them more requests to interview than the basic level resume. The resume depicting ‘overqualification” received just an 18% response rate.
Conversely, the basic resume aligned to job description garnered more requests to interview (38%) . This suggests that alignment with job-specific criteria significantly influences hiring decisions.
Additionally, four myths were debunked during this study.
Myth 1: Prestigious Companies on Your Resume Guarantee Interviews
Contrary to popular belief, our study revealed that having big-name organizations like Social Security Administration on your resume does not automatically lead to more job interviews. The overqualified resume, despite impressive credentials, was rejected in 32% of cases without a single interview offer. Some employers have stated they were not interested in brand name organizations. In some cases, brand is relative. If you are coming from a top brand name company in the non-profit industry, an oil industry recruiter will not see the same value. Also, recruiters I have worked with often go based on the desires of the hiring managers who will have had their own experiences and perceptions.
Myth 2: Overqualification Will Attract More Job Offers
Many assume that higher qualifications would naturally lead to more job offers. However, our results clearly show that overqualified candidates face significant rejection due to potential overqualification. Recruiters often bypass these candidates, likely due to concerns about their fit, satisfaction, and longevity in the role. Many times, recruiters are getting hundreds of applications for job openings-in the first 24 hours. Just take a look at LinkedIn jobs. Where 1 posting will have over a thousand applicants in the first week or by the time you see it. In an ideal world one would expect each to be read thoroughly and equally scrutinized. However, that does not appear to be the case with recruiters to whom we reached out. They do simply do not have time. Resumes have to be concise and precisely meet the job description demands.
Myth 3: The Job Market Welcomes Diverse Experiences
Contrary to popular belief, the notion that a competitive job market values diverse and extensive experiences was challenged by our study. Candidates tailored to fit the specific requirements of a job received more positive responses, highlighting a preference for exact matches over broad experience. One recruitment expert we spoke to about an accounting position only wanted to see accounting roles in the applicant’s past history, even though the candidate (career switcher) had an excellent grasp on the accounting process, but held operations management roles in the past. In another ideal reality, one would hope that recruiters may spend time making mental connections to how the persons transferrable skills would to make the position a success with the added benefit of reduced learning time. However, this does not appear to be the case, at least in the initial review of resume batches.
Myth 4: The Renaissance Resume Will Land An Interview
Sure you are fluent in three languages, have led high impact projects, ran startups and volunteer on a consistent basis. However, let’s face it, if the hiring manager or recruiting manager cannot make the connection to how you can get the job done, you’ve wasted your time. Form some a ‘renaissance resume’ is too complicated already and will go straight into the rejection bin. We all want to showcase our skills and accomplishments and be rewarded with new opportunities, based on our past achievements. However, we must keep in mind that everyone does not have the same drive as you and it may affect how are you perceived in some circles. Unless you are applying to top management consulting firms like Bain, KPMG, or the Googles of the world, it may be imperative to stick to the key elements of the job descriptions only.
Final thoughts
This study provided some interesting insights and led to several myths being debunked about how seemingly overqualified candidates are perceived. It also led to a new hypothesis regarding the regional differences that we may explore at some point. For example, if you are “overqualified” in a smaller town with minimal opportunities to do the work you really want, would that help or hurt your chances given the pool that recruiters have to choose from. These findings emphasize the importance of aligning your resume closely with job descriptions and understanding the nuances of recruiter preferences. It further goes to show the power of connections and building industry relationships.
