Or is it just a term made up to find an easier reason to reject job applicants?
So it looks like the consensus is “overqualified” is a euphemism for
- “I’m afraid you’ll leave this job because I’m assuming you’ll have better chances elsewhere” aka “you won’t accept being my slave forever due to lack of opportunities”
- “I’m afraid you might actually understand how shitty it is here and want to improve things. can’t have that”
- “I don’t want to figure out how much to pay you when you know your worth”
- “You cost too much”
- “I have other reasons, but won’t say them”
What does that have to do with qualifications? If a PhD applies for a job at a fastfood joint and asks for the same wage as everybody else, that has nothing to do with qualifications.
The guy with the PhD is much more likely to get frustrated to the point that they’re either quitting early or stirring up trouble to “improve” things. Both cost money. That’s a risk most employers aren’t likely to take.
A PhD can get a much higher paying (and likely less physically difficult) job than fast food. The unspoken assumption when someone is “overqualified” is that they will take a better job if the opportunity presents itself.
That maybe be true, but they may be trying a different career, or unable to find a job in their field because of oversaturation, or whatever other reason.
Isn’t that everybody though? If a cashier in fastfood got an opportunity to become a highly-paid streamer, they’d quit their fastfood job immediately too. But I do get your point: better credentials mean better job chances, mean greater likelihood of moving a job that’s paid better.
Yeah but streamer jobs that pay better than a fast food job are extraordinarily scarce. Not worth thinking about for a hiring manager.
It’s not a good comparison. You can also say that a PhD doesn’t help you at all to be a fast food worker.
For a given profession, if you’re looking to hire an entry level person at an entry level salary, and someone applies who has decades of experience in that profession, it makes a difficult situation for the organization. When it’s time for raises, how do you fairly compare that person to the actual entry level people? If the person could legitimately get double their salary, are they going to stay on your team for the lower salary? Stuff like that makes it problematic.
perception of the slave owner drives the decision making process here.