“I recently applied for a position as a Customer Care Supervisor. The Recruiting Manager rejected the application, saying he believes I am over qualified for the job.

I really need to get that job. What can I do?”

Is he right? Are you over qualified?

The Recruiting Manager is probably concerned that you will not stay in the job because you are over qualified and will not find it sufficiently rewarding, financially or personally. Perhaps he thinks you will be looking for promotion, and may “rock the boat “in the company.

There are a number of things you could do;-

You could write back and say that you are really interested in the job because it is exactly what you are looking for, you have always wanted to do that type of work , because ………….

You may say that it is below your capabilities but you have chosen to take a step down because……………

You could write back and ask if they have anything more suitable for you within their organisation.

But if you are capable of more why are you settling for this? Once you have taken a job at this level, it may be difficult to justify a more senior job.

Have you applied for more senior jobs and not got them? If not why not?

Or is it a case of you haven’t got the confidence and belief to apply for jobs that you could perform effectively?