Probably Good's Quick takes

We've heard from a lot of people who feel they're getting rejected from jobs for being overqualified, which can be pretty frustrating. One thing that can help with this is to think about overqualification as an issue with poor fit for a particular role. Essentially, what feels like a general penalty for past success is usually about more specific concerns that your hiring manager might have, like:

• Will you actually be good at this work? You might have years of experience in senior roles, or other impressive credentials, but this doesn’t always mean you’ll be able to perform well in a more junior role. For instance, if you've been managing teams for years, they may worry you lack recent hands-on experience and don't know current best practices.
• Will you stick around? If you've been leading large teams but are applying for an individual contributor role, they might wonder if you'll actually find the work engaging or get bored without the higher-stakes responsibilities. They may worry you're just using this as a stepping stone until something better comes along. Hiring is costly and time-consuming, so they don't want to invest in someone who'll be gone in a few months.
• Will you expect more than they can offer? If you've worked in more senior roles, an organization might think you’ll be looking for opportunities for growth, benefits, and a salary beyond what the organization is able to offer. If you’re likely to demand more than they’re able to give, they won’t want to waste time advancing you through the process.

If you're genuinely excited about a role, but are worried about being perceived as overqualified, the good news is that you can address these concerns in your application (especially your cover letter or application answers). For instance, if you're stepping down in seniority, explain why you actually want to do this work. If you’ve worked in management and are wanting a return to the hands-on work you’re really passionate about, then mention this. 

You should also make sure to emphasize the parts of your background that are most relevant to the role, rather than the ones that seem most impressive in general. Your PhD might be impressive, for example, but unless it’s closely connected to the role you’re applying for, you might want to highlight other parts of your CV instead (like your operational experience if you're applying for an ops role).

The important takeaway is to think about your fit for a specific role rather than your qualification level. Having more experience in a certain area isn't necessarily better if it doesn't help with the type of work you'd actually be doing, or if it implies you’ll have expectations that an organization won’t be able to match. 

If you want to learn more about this, you can read our full article on overqualification.