March 2, 2011 at 9:07 am
Some experience at my prior employer lends me to believe they may have thought you weren't planning on staying? My last employer hired two very overqualified people to fill a position, and the first left after 6 months and the second after 3.
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March 2, 2011 at 9:15 am
amenjonathan (3/2/2011)
Some experience at my prior employer lends me to believe they may have thought you weren't planning on staying? My last employer hired two very overqualified people to fill a position, and the first left after 6 months and the second after 3.
That's possible too.
Or the manager was hiring someone she liked better and couldn't come up with a good excuse so just said the first thing that came to mind, regardless of it making sense or not.
Too many possible answers = no answer, so I just live with the idea that I'll never know.
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
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"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon
March 2, 2011 at 10:36 am
GSquared (3/2/2011)
amenjonathan (3/2/2011)
Some experience at my prior employer lends me to believe they may have thought you weren't planning on staying? My last employer hired two very overqualified people to fill a position, and the first left after 6 months and the second after 3.That's possible too.
Or the manager was hiring someone she liked better and couldn't come up with a good excuse so just said the first thing that came to mind, regardless of it making sense or not.
Too many possible answers = no answer, so I just live with the idea that I'll never know.
I would agree with you on this about it being impossible to be sure why someone won't hire a person, even with a direct answer. In this case though, I would believe she was telling the truth. Usually though you screen those candidates out for the grunt work positions before you even get to the hiring process, so you don't waste anyone's time. It's not worth hiring an expert when you need simple "Push the dev's code to production and hush" level work. Right or wrong, that's all some companies want. They'd know you'll be bored and simply send you on your way before they have to go through this process twice in the same six months.
I've tried in the past to find out why an offer wasn't produced, mostly unsuccessfully, but I have gotten reasonable feedback from those who did answer. Being a consultant in good standing with a firm that trusts you helps, as the customer explains themselves to the consulting firms so they can better filter the candidate pool when there's specific, useful reasons.
Other times you're just left in the dark.
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March 2, 2011 at 10:49 am
amenjonathan (3/2/2011)
Some experience at my prior employer lends me to believe they may have thought you weren't planning on staying? My last employer hired two very overqualified people to fill a position, and the first left after 6 months and the second after 3.
Overqualified could simply mean: "more qualified than what we're willing to pay for for this position".
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
March 2, 2011 at 1:09 pm
Eric M Russell (3/2/2011)
amenjonathan (3/2/2011)
Some experience at my prior employer lends me to believe they may have thought you weren't planning on staying? My last employer hired two very overqualified people to fill a position, and the first left after 6 months and the second after 3.Overqualified could simply mean: "more qualified than what we're willing to pay for for this position".
Answers like "over-qualified", or the "position has since been eliminated" are very common canned luke warm responses that recruiters use all the time to easily get them off the hook without a lot of explanation needed or quite possibly getting them into a litigation situation. What if they told you the honest brutal truth and said something like "Actually, there was a hiring quota in force for this position and I'm sorry but you are the wrong color." What would your response been then? "Over-qualified" is just easier for everyone all the way around. 😀
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
March 2, 2011 at 1:33 pm
TravisDBA (3/2/2011)
What if they told you the honest brutal truth and said something like "Actually, there was a hiring quota in force for this position and I'm sorry but you are the wrong color." What would your response been then?
"Why didn't you tell me that before I wasted my time coming to the interview?"
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
March 2, 2011 at 1:36 pm
TravisDBA (3/2/2011)
Eric M Russell (3/2/2011)
amenjonathan (3/2/2011)
Some experience at my prior employer lends me to believe they may have thought you weren't planning on staying? My last employer hired two very overqualified people to fill a position, and the first left after 6 months and the second after 3.Overqualified could simply mean: "more qualified than what we're willing to pay for for this position".
Answers like "over-qualified", or the "position has since been eliminated" are very common canned luke warm responses that recruiters use all the time to easily get them off the hook without a lot of explanation needed or quite possibly getting them into a litigation situation. What if they told you the honest brutal truth and said something like "Actually, there was a hiring quota in force for this position and I'm sorry but you are the wrong color." What would your response been then? "Over-qualified" is just easier for everyone all the way around. 😀
Aside from the illegality of that... Does that make an argument for, or against, putting a picture on your resume? Hmmm...
March 2, 2011 at 2:40 pm
steve.hansen (3/2/2011)
TravisDBA (3/2/2011)
Eric M Russell (3/2/2011)
amenjonathan (3/2/2011)
Some experience at my prior employer lends me to believe they may have thought you weren't planning on staying? My last employer hired two very overqualified people to fill a position, and the first left after 6 months and the second after 3.Overqualified could simply mean: "more qualified than what we're willing to pay for for this position".
Answers like "over-qualified", or the "position has since been eliminated" are very common canned luke warm responses that recruiters use all the time to easily get them off the hook without a lot of explanation needed or quite possibly getting them into a litigation situation. What if they told you the honest brutal truth and said something like "Actually, there was a hiring quota in force for this position and I'm sorry but you are the wrong color." What would your response been then? "Over-qualified" is just easier for everyone all the way around. 😀
Aside from the illegality of that... Does that make an argument for, or against, putting a picture on your resume? Hmmm...
Oh really? I guess you have never heard of Affirmative Action?:-D
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
March 2, 2011 at 2:41 pm
GilaMonster (3/2/2011)
TravisDBA (3/2/2011)
What if they told you the honest brutal truth and said something like "Actually, there was a hiring quota in force for this position and I'm sorry but you are the wrong color." What would your response been then?"Why didn't you tell me that before I wasted my time coming to the interview?"
Exactly! You just made my point. That is why they use excuses like you are "over qualified". It's much easier and causes less grief for them in the long run. 😀
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
March 2, 2011 at 2:43 pm
TravisDBA (3/2/2011)
Eric M Russell (3/2/2011)
amenjonathan (3/2/2011)
Some experience at my prior employer lends me to believe they may have thought you weren't planning on staying? My last employer hired two very overqualified people to fill a position, and the first left after 6 months and the second after 3.Overqualified could simply mean: "more qualified than what we're willing to pay for for this position".
Answers like "over-qualified", or the "position has since been eliminated" are very common canned luke warm responses that recruiters use all the time to easily get them off the hook without a lot of explanation needed or quite possibly getting them into a litigation situation. What if they told you the honest brutal truth and said something like "Actually, there was a hiring quota in force for this position and I'm sorry but you are the wrong color." What would your response been then? "Over-qualified" is just easier for everyone all the way around. 😀
Actually, that kind of situation is why I originally stated that you're never actually told why you didn't get hired. Even if "a reason" is given, it still leaves doubt as to the validity of it.
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
Property of The Thread
"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon
March 2, 2011 at 2:51 pm
GSquared (3/2/2011)
TravisDBA (3/2/2011)
Eric M Russell (3/2/2011)
amenjonathan (3/2/2011)
Some experience at my prior employer lends me to believe they may have thought you weren't planning on staying? My last employer hired two very overqualified people to fill a position, and the first left after 6 months and the second after 3.Overqualified could simply mean: "more qualified than what we're willing to pay for for this position".
Answers like "over-qualified", or the "position has since been eliminated" are very common canned luke warm responses that recruiters use all the time to easily get them off the hook without a lot of explanation needed or quite possibly getting them into a litigation situation. What if they told you the honest brutal truth and said something like "Actually, there was a hiring quota in force for this position and I'm sorry but you are the wrong color." What would your response been then? "Over-qualified" is just easier for everyone all the way around. 😀
Actually, that kind of situation is why I originally stated that you're never actually told why you didn't get hired. Even if "a reason" is given, it still leaves doubt as to the validity of it.
You are correct. That was exactly the point of my post..you will probably in most cases never find out the real reason.:-D
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
March 2, 2011 at 2:53 pm
TravisDBA (3/2/2011)
GilaMonster (3/2/2011)
TravisDBA (3/2/2011)
What if they told you the honest brutal truth and said something like "Actually, there was a hiring quota in force for this position and I'm sorry but you are the wrong color." What would your response been then?"Why didn't you tell me that before I wasted my time coming to the interview?"
Exactly! You just made my point. That is why they use excuses like you are "over qualified". It's much easier and causes less grief for them in the long run. 😀
Down my way job adverts are flagged as 'affirmative action' (ie majority only), means I don't even bother reading further.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
March 2, 2011 at 3:50 pm
GilaMonster (3/2/2011)
TravisDBA (3/2/2011)
GilaMonster (3/2/2011)
TravisDBA (3/2/2011)
What if they told you the honest brutal truth and said something like "Actually, there was a hiring quota in force for this position and I'm sorry but you are the wrong color." What would your response been then?"Why didn't you tell me that before I wasted my time coming to the interview?"
Exactly! You just made my point. That is why they use excuses like you are "over qualified". It's much easier and causes less grief for them in the long run. 😀
Down my way job adverts are flagged as 'affirmative action' (ie majority only), means I don't even bother reading further.
Well that would make sense, you are currently in South Africa, correct? They're not as obvious about it over here but ethnic quotas do exist, even though Affirmative Action deny it pubically. Organizations like NOW and NAACP put pressure on too many companies to just say it doesn't exist. That is just one reason why recruiters use these lame excuses that have been stated in this thread like "over qualified".. 😀
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
March 2, 2011 at 7:45 pm
Saying "over qualified" is a lot nicer than saying "Your breath was so foul I almost gagged" or "I got a good chuckle when you tried to answer simple tech questions" or "We don't hire drunks" or "You remind me of the the Unibomber"
March 2, 2011 at 8:07 pm
Michael Valentine Jones (3/2/2011)
Saying "over qualified" is a lot nicer than saying "Your breath was so foul I almost gagged" or "I got a good chuckle when you tried to answer simple tech questions" or "We don't hire drunks" or "You remind me of the the Unibomber"
Exactly right, it's a very common, lawsuit safe, and politically correct response used by a lot of recruiters when you are not the chosen candidate, for whatever reason. "The position has been put on hold" is another very common excuse too. 😀
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
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