Want to know why nearly 10% of America is unemployed?
According to business owners who are loving this buyers' market the reasons range from lazy work force to uncertainty about the future.
These phony excuses are being used to keep the numbers in the workforce low, the level of work per worker high and the owners' profits higher.
But one excuse an interviewer may use as a reason not to hire a prospective worker is partially true and used over and over again.
"You’re overqualified."
What a delightful term and one I am tired of hearing.
Businesses have the luxury of choosing to hire, or not from the most diverse worker pool since the 1930s. But just like a child in a well-stocked candy store they are overwhelmed by the abundance of choice and unable to act. That is a terrible tragedy for those of us quite qualified for so many different jobs especially on Long Island .
As for the overqualified label what business would hire someone who's under-qualified? It would seem that the position being filled by that type of worker would have no future or room to grow. So why do so many interviews end with the old, ‘don’t call us, we’ll call you’ blow off?
After so many nibbles without a bite I feel like a teenager dialing the number of someone I met at a singles bar only to hear a recorded weather report from Akron , Ohio
When an unemployed person visits a job fair or goes on an interview they are not doing so to boost their morale. They are hopeful of gaining gainful employment. They are seeking positions with challenges and growth potential that will benefit both themselves and their employer. And given the current economic climate these workers will be among the most loyal ever hired.
Unless the gap between the talent and skill of the interviewee and the job for which they are applying is the size of that between a brain surgeon and a supermarket cashier then telling them they are overqualified is foolish. If I owned a business I would hire people who were more qualified than what the available job needed in the hopes they would lift those around them and help the company in other areas.
For my first job years ago I was in fact overqualified. As a result I finished my daily required work by early afternoon. Some co-workers were upset as my abilities seemed to reflect poorly on them. But rather than flaunt my free time I used it to help them become more efficient. As a result we all finished our days with less stress and felt better about ourselves. In the end I rose through the organization and was in a small but key way responsible for its growth.
My fellow unemployed Americans and I are looking for just that type of opportunity once again. We do not want to hear that we are overqualified just that our skills are needed and welcome. Put us to work and let us make your companies better.
Being told you’re overqualified is troublesome. How or why should we become less so?
If being overqualified means:
You can do the job;
The business secured a quality worker;
The company got more than it bargained for!
Then it's a win-win for all involved.
What we in America need to start hearing is, “Gee, you’re overqualified. When can you start?”
