4 minute read
talent acquisition
Hiring overqualified candidates
The case of overqualified candidates has become increasingly common in recent years and is evident in economies with competitive job markets
by Nrusingh Prasad Panigrahy & Dr. lalatendu kesari jena
Would you believe that nearly two crore candidates applied for the 63000 level-I jobs in Indian Railways? 62 posts of messengers in Uttar Pradesh police post which requires minimum eligibility of Class 5 has applicants which include 3,700 Ph.D. holders, 50,000 graduates, and 28,000 postgraduates.
These examples reflect the desperate state of affairs of overqualified youths seeking comparatively low-level government jobs and other allied sectors. As per the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) of January 2019, the country’s unemployment rate had hit a 45-yearhigh of 6.1 percent in 2017-18 and from September 2020 to Febru-
ary 2021, the unemployment rate has swung between a high of 9.1 percent and a low of 6.5 percent, with the average being around 7.4 percent. As per these figures, there were 14 million unemployed people in India as of July 2017, which doubled to around 29 million in October 2018. While by the end of February 2019, India had around 31.2 million qualified people actively looking for jobs, data shows.
In many developed countries, a considerable share of workers is overqualified for their jobs. The issue has become increasingly common in recent years and is evident in economies with competitive job markets. While it may result in positive effects for some organizations such as an employee performing at a higher level, it can also lead to higher salary expectations, lower level of job satisfaction, and a higher chance of a person leaving their job.
In a recent judgment, The Supreme Court of India said, a prospective employer has discretion not to appoint a candidate who may have a “higher qualification”, but not the one prescribed for the job vacancy. In a similar judgment, the Madras High Court recently made a judgment to reject the applications of overqualified people for government jobs. The judge directed the state government to clearly describe minimum and maximum eligibility for a job vacancy to restrict applications of over-qualified candidates. He was of the view that the appointment of overqualified candidates should be construed as a violation of Article 14 and 16 of the Indian constitutions which talk about Right to Equality and ‘Equality in matters of public employment’ respectively. The verdict observed that unequal cannot be treated equally and maintaining equality amongst equals is the constitutional mandate.”
While the Madras High Court’s judgment is sound in the context of government jobs, in the context of private jobs it is less so. This is because jobs in some companies, especially startups are less clearly defined; it is
harder to set concrete guidelines stating who is qualified for a job. As the job requirements in the private sector change frequently, it makes it hard to create guidelines stating who is qualified for a job. We are witnessing that several startups these days hire overqualified employees because it leads to higher productivity. Should you hire an overqualified candidate?
Overqualification has been understood to negatively affect attitudes, performance, and turnover. Certainly, there is no right or wrong answer to whether an
organization should hire an overqualified candidate or not. Given the current employment scenario and the uncertainty, HR leaders must plan and see if they can leverage this talent base.
HR needs to determine their motive for working in a particular role before hiring them. Many a time employers have to remember that money isn’t everything to everyone. An employee who is overqualified for a role may choose to work in the role for several personal reasons. For instance, they may want to do a job that is less stressful to just get engaged or because they are less motivated by money or status. HR needs to find out if the candidate is applying to fill the pay gap between jobs or if there is another reason such as benefits, location, or schedule flexibility. HR Manager must follow the formalized behavioral structured interview by incorporating Psychometric/written tests at the time of recruitment to measure candidate fitment. Managing their lifecycles in the organization
The supervisor should assess whether these overqualified employees bring innovativeness and skills to the table. Providing them with challenging roles can ensure they remain enthusiastic and committed to their position. HR can chart out the path and how they can climb the corporate ladder and reach their potential. • Overqualified candidates at an early stage of their career may be given high risks and challenging tasks to fully utilize their knowledge and skills and to keep them engaged throughout. • Employees who are at the later stage of their career may be assigned jobs that provide greater autonomy and flexibility so that they can invest their additional time in leisure, family, or retirement planning activities.
In the current situation, by not hiring overqualified job candidates, organizations may miss out on a large, easily available, and potentially low-cost source of highly skilled human capital. By incorporating proper plans and strategies to handle overqualified employees, an organization can build its human capital base that will lead to building a long-term competitive advantage.
nRuSingH PRASAD PAnigRAHy is the Joint Manager-HR, Dredging Corporation of India; and DR. lAlATEnDu kESARi JEnA, Asstt. Professor (OB & HR), School of Human Resource Management, Xavier university, Bhubaneswar, India.
