Mr. Jhunjhunwala is looking to hire a person for an entry-level position requiring a commerce degree and one year of relevant experience. Wading through the applications, he chances upon Mr. Mehta’s resume with a master’s degree and five years of field experience. The surprise turns to apprehension and the profile gets rejected immediately. Yes, hiring managers are often prone to prematurely dismissing ‘over-qualified’ candidates!
The problem is that such managers are totally ruled by hiring criteria and the template approach makes them exclude even the slightest mismatch, no matter how proficient the candidate may be.
With the economy hurtling into a recession and talent wars resounding in every corner, can we really afford to let a ‘prized catch’ slip through our fingers, and so easily at that? In fact, in today’s tough times, letting great potential walk away will cost more than just the investment spent to identify the prospect.
A candidate may appear much better than the position applied for, but top talent, experience and high qualifications always come at a premium. So, you have your choice – but rush it and you will only rue the decision later.
Square pegs & round holes: Overqualified candidates come with a threatening stigma attached to them. For instance, Mr. Jhunjhunwala’s reluctance can stem from the fear that Mr. Mehta will try to intimidate his colleagues, even be averse to following orders from a ‘lesser-qualified’ manager and end up damaging company morale. There is also the looming prospect that he will shortly start feeling bored and dissatisfied with the ‘inferior’ job, eventually turning into resentment. Either way he will surely leave as soon as he finds a better job. The scales obviously tilt in favour of a fresher who will be more motivated, acquiescent and likely to stay much, much longer.
Well, this can be a clear case of operating on too many assumptions, and biased ones at that. Can we ignore the fact that the ‘overqualified’ candidate, Mr. Mehta is walking into the job with his eyes wide open? Isn’t he well aware that he will have to settle for lesser responsibilities, pay and be prepared for the same?
It also pays to remember that with layoffs becoming the order of the day, the dwindling job options often force highly qualified candidates to pursue inferior job openings.
And if your assumptions are still true, how is it possible that many smart bosses cannot stop gushing over the wisdom, problem-solving skills, reliability and work ethic their seemingly overqualified workers have brought to their organisations. They actually count themselves lucky to have hired people with more ability than the jobs require!’
Smart thing to do: The fact of the matter is that the very same overqualified candidates that you are in a hurry to screen out can actually contribute significantly to the organisational development. The critical point is to handle them with finesse and maturity.
A proactive way is to concentrate on harnessing the dynamic talent that has fallen in your lap. You can scour for other internal opportunities befitting the skills of the ‘overqualified’ candidate or even choose to carve out an appropriate position.
What is important is that you should test for things like compatibility and culture fit. If positive, at times you can even go to the extent of weaving an organisation structure around the candidate’s potential. Wait and watch, and he may just turn out to be your best hire!
As Tushar Mehta, Vice-president, Global Delivery, Systime, says with evident pride, “We always seek people who have the talent, attitude and the work ethic to perform their role and grow with the company. If we find someone who meets the criteria, but is overqualified for a particular position, we consider that as a great opportunity to grow both the position and the person.”
Moreover, strategic recruitment with a long-term perspective is the key to successful hiring. This calls for a different approach, to look beyond the current open positions and envisage the future. The focus should shift to roping in the available candidates for building a talent pipeline for the future.
You have to determine how the ‘overqualified’ candidate can contribute to the company as a whole, by keeping his broad accomplishments, performance and goals in mind. This ‘big picture’ perspective will help you to put him in the right role and sail the organisation through the tough times.
In short, start matching people to roles instead of the other way round. Afterall, there is no upper limit to expertise, is there?
PAYAL CHANANIA
No comments:
Post a Comment