Overqualified

Until last week I was unaware that you could be overqualified for a job. I had heard of under qualified and not qualified, but never did it cross my mind that I could actually be too good to work somewhere.

I applied for jobs in the mall to hold me over until I found a full-time position in my field. When only one store bought I didn’t think much of it and went to the interview thinking it would be a breeze. My college degree and previous job would probably make me the best damn chocolate salesperson in the store.

When I got there the woman took one look at my application and proclaimed, “Wow, you’re too smart to work here. I mean…you went to college.” When I told her that I was looking for something part-time to help pay the bills and that I was totally okay with the minimum wage and mindless tasks, she informed me that I was way too “overqualified” to be hired. I was actually being refused a job because I had too much education. This actually left me speechless. I wandered around the mall trying to wrap my head around what had just occurred. What if someone really needed this job? Someone who had been laid off from a corporate job and needed to put food on their kid’s table until something better came up. What’s the solution here? Lie about your education or experience? Or is not hiring someone because they have a higher degree than what’s necessary for the job some kind of reverse discrimination?