The advantages of overqualified employees

"Now that the economy is improving and job opportunities are opening up, companies need to again focus on continued training and development for their employees. To motivate them, employers should first understand what their employees value; and second, how that aligns with their organizational goals and values," says Link. "Only then can they develop a successful training program that will benefit both the employer and the employee now and for years to come."

The double-edged sword

Mark Lancaster, vice president of human resources for Denver-based Ice-o-Matic, an ice machine manufacturer, says that he has seen a much larger pool of potential candidates in the last couple of years than before. Lancaster, who has been with the company for 10 years, says that overall, hiring overqualified workers is a "double-edged sword." On one hand, "[the employer] gets more than [they] are paying for." But on the other, "it presents a flight risk."

Given the two options, Lancaster says he is still likely to hire overqualified people, especially those who are older or who give a good reason for wanting to work for Ice-o-Matic, despite being overqualified.

Employees' skills go begging

David Weller, a direct service provider for Mesa Developmental Services, a non-profit that provides services for the developmentally challenged in Grand Junction, Co., says that he has received a lot of work training in the past but is overqualified because he cannot utilize all of his skills in his current position.

Weller is a Certified Nursing Assistant and Qualified Medication Assistant and also has training in Crisis Prevention and Intervention and Advanced Nursing Skills. He says the problem is that every company he has worked for have different settings, which translates to different expectations and permissions to use skills.

At MDS, Weller is not able to utilitize his Advanced Nursing skills (such as tube feedings, wound care and dressing, IVs, injections, blood draws) and had to go through a three-week training program when he started at MDS.

Weller said he was bored in the training classes. He says it's "annoying" not to be able to handle routine things that he has done in other jobs. To add to the frustration, he makes $2 less now than he did in another company doing the same work.

When asked if he had considered changing careers, he said no. "Health care is where my heart is."

Employers can benefit 

While Weller is sticking it out for the sake of passion, others like him might not, and their employers may be missing out on an opportunity to retain such a qualified employee.

Linda Pophal, editor of the Society for Human Resources Manager's HR Job Seekers e-letter and author of the SHRM 2010 guidebook "Human Resource Essentials," says that employers can benefit significantly from overqualified employees. "I have always failed to understand why some employers are hesitant to hire 'overqualified' employees. The common concern is that these employees won't be satisfied for long and will ultimately leave. The reality, though, is that any employee might leave."

Pophal says employers should realize that overly qualified employees contribute deeply to the company, regardless of how long they stay. They also should develop ways to engage and retain all employees to minimize turnover. She recommends that employers: 

1. Spend time with the overqualified employee to find out their motivators and explore opportunities for personal achievement and involvement that might be rewarding. "This might include such things as leading a task force, working on a specific project, the ability to interact with higher-level employees in the organization or clients, etcetera," Pophal says.

2. Involve the employees in decisions, especially ones that impact their work and how it's done.

3. Ask the employee for their opinion on issues that impact their department, division or the company as a whole.

4. Ensure that the assigned work is stimulating to them and allows them to grow from a knowledge and skills standpoint.

5. Make them continue to feel valued and important to the organization by addressing opportunities they bring up as far as new directions the position might go or new ways they might contribute.

Employees can benefit, too

Sarah Hathorn, CEO of Illustra Consulting and the creator of the Predictable Promotion System™ says overqualified employees should also look at their situation with a different perspective.

Underemployed employees are actually in a position of strength, not weakness, Hathorn says, and realizing that will help counteract common symptoms of underemployment such as boredom and depression, which can undermine performance.

"Being super qualified gives you the ability to learn things on the job that other's don't learn because they are too busy just getting the basic job description done," Hathorn says. "Anyone in their 'appropriate' position will be exerting all their effort and time to meet their obligations."

Overqualified employees, however, should be able to get the same amount done in less time.

Employees should "invest that time in learning new diverse aspects of the business, the organization, the job [their] boss does." For example, an overqualified employee in a job that calls for Level 4 skills, but is qualified to be working at Level 5 or 6, should be training for a Level 7 or 8 position.

Hathorn says this kind of "value-adding" can empower employees. "Time is money and if you have time to invest in this way you are going to wind up sitting on a career nest egg in terms of your value."