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Overqualified Employees: Making the Best of a Potentially Bad Situation for Individuals and Organizations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2015

Berrin Erdogan ,
Talya N. Bauer ,
José María Peiró  and
Donald M. Truxillo
Berrin Erdogan*
Affiliation:
Portland State University
Talya N. Bauer
Affiliation:
Portland State University
José María Peiró
Affiliation:
University of Valencia & IVIE
Donald M. Truxillo
Affiliation:
Portland State University
*
E-mail: berrine@sba.pdx.edu, Address: School of Business Administration, Portland State University, 631 SW Harrison Street, Portland, OR 97207
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Abstract

One of the “truisms” of personnel selection is that overqualified applicants are likely to be a poor fit and thus experience low job satisfaction and performance and higher turnover. Recently, the issue of overqualification has come to the forefront because of the economic downturn, especially in some European Union countries where unemployment rates are extremely high. However, empirical research on overqualification in the industrial–organizational/organizational behavior literature is limited. In this article, we argue that although there may be drawbacks to overqualification for both organizations and employees, overqualification may also provide a number of positive outcomes for workers and employers alike. We review the limited research on overqualification, noting the positive and negative consequences of overqualification and the conditions under which overqualified employees may be a boon to organizations. We conclude by recommending some possible research streams to better understand the overqualification phenomenon and by making recommendations for organizational practices.

Type
Focal Article
Information
Industrial and Organizational Psychology , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , June 2011 , pp. 215 - 232
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2011 

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Footnotes

*

José María Peiró's contribution was supported by funds from the project SEJ2006-14086/PSIC.

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