Many companies find themselves asking this question at least once per round of hiring. When jobs open up at companies – or new jobs are created – companies will be inundated with hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes and applications. This means that hiring managers and HR heads will have to sift through all of these resumes and interview multiple candidates. At some point, the company is going to have to make a decision on whether or not it should hire an overqualified candidate. We will discuss the answer to this question in today’s post.
Overqualified Candidates Could Cause Problems
Companies tend to refrain from hiring overqualified candidates because these candidates can cause problems at the office. For example, the overqualified candidate could be bored with the job, which can lead to lowered productivity. When an overqualified employee becomes bored, he will not perform to the best of his ability. This can cause an issue within the workplace, hurt the company culture and even cause negativity among co-workers.
There are Positives to Hiring Overqualified Candidates
Even though we mentioned some negatives to hiring overqualified candidates right out of the gate, we have to make it clear that there are also positives to this form of hiring. One such positive is that it helps the company plan for the future.
When you choose to hire an overqualified candidate, ask yourself if there is a way to expand the role of the position in order to utilize the extra skills of the candidate. This can play into the success of the company more than that of the employee.
Another benefit of hiring an overqualified candidate is that he can prove to be a mentor for his co-workers. Someone with extra skills or multiple years of experience can take a handful of young employees under their wing and show them how things should be done around the office.
An overqualified candidate could also bring an area of expertise to the company that is not represented prior to the hire. When this occurs, the company has the opportunity to expand its reach to customers and clients. It might even be able to tap into a new employee resource when hiring for open jobs in the future.
One final note regarding this topic; if you plan to hire an overqualified candidate for an open position, be sure you pay the candidate what he or she is worth. Do not try to take advantage of the market and bring talent onto your staff for less than they are worth.
Reach out to the Racine staffing experts to discuss your hiring strategies today!