“You are overqualified for this role.” As the job market tightens, an increasing number of my clients aged 45+ are rejected with this statement.
As a result, some of them are asking me if it is a good idea to seek a lower paying job in the same field?
In my experience, telling someone they are overqualified is ageism. Employers often consider senior employees to be privileged with wage inflation–they have acquired a significant six-figure salary and benefits package through promotions based on seniority and have lost their productive edge.
Many employers assume an older candidate is too expensive, or s/he won’t be happy, or s/he is a flight risk ready to leave as soon as they get a better offer, or s/he will not work for a younger manager, or s/he will undermine their new manager with an ‘I-know-better’ attitude.
In other words, for many employers, the risk is too high for hiring a senior person into a lower pay scale. In fact, many of my senior clients admit to the same mindset when they were hiring managers.
Think like a hiring manager
I asked them to think like a hiring manager again–what would make them change their minds about hiring a senior person into a lower paying role? Here are a few arguments they offered:
– Does this company have a high turnover rate? Everybody leaves a job eventually, usually for higher pay, or better career prospects, or some other life/family reason. They might be swayed if a candidate says, “I might not be here forever but I’ll make an impact while I’m here because I am competent, reliable, dependable. I’m a professional with a strong work ethic. You can count on me to make your job easier, not harder.”
– Why did the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hire Tom Brady at age 45 to quarterback their team? Because they knew what it takes to win a SuperBowl. You can go further, faster with senior experience. You build for the long term around young talent, but you seize the moment with senior talent. Younger candidates are not usually equipped to convert a complex business opportunity into a bottom-line win for his/her manager. As one of them put it, “Who wouldn’t want a superstar at a discount price?”
– Or they might be persuaded with: “Yes, I made that amount but there was a lot of stress and trade-offs. I want better life-work balance, I want to make a contribution, use my skills in this way, do work that motivates me, so I’ll definitely take less and be happy to come into work every day.”
Conclusion
In summary, communicate your value…don’t expect employers to connect the dots–hit them between the eyes. They are busy, they got a million things on their mind, make it easy for them to hire you.
JobJoy Smile – Growing Old
- What do you call someone who enjoys Mondays?
Retired. - What’s the secret to having a smoking hot body as a senior?
Cremation. - What is a prize old people can win for aging?
Atrophy. - What’s the best part of old age?
That it doesn’t last very long.