Is there really such a thing as being over qualified?

Of course. Employers know that someone with more skills and greater experience than the job requires will be quickly become dissatisfied with both the salary and duties of that job.

So how can you prevent that?

Some school districts are too poor to hire well qualified teachers, so they take the newly schooled instead. Probably works in other areas as well, especially the “Right-to-Work” states.

Do you have to put down that you have a PHD?

I would think that I would be safe by not putting all my qualifications in my resume, is that safe?

Maybe you could list your qualifications and we could advise you better.

It’s likely that if you had a Ph.d. They’d not likely hire you at McDonald’s because,
you would have zero relevant qualifications to work there, you would not be a good fit.

You might be uber smart, but would not know too much about things that have anything to do with flipping burgers. And, you’d be a bad burger flipper, because you wouldn’t be able to imagine flipping burgers, nor likely to be able to identify with your co-workers, some of which might become restaurant owners, chefs or restaurant owners. It’s just a different background, altogether.

Absolutely you can be overqualified. I think it would be fine to tailor your applications to the job you’re applying for. So if you have a PhD, and you’re going for an office job, don’t put it down. If you’re going for a research position with a government body, do put it down.

Usually if they bring you into the interview they have seen your resume. In that case they will ask you, or HR will… Do you believe you are over qualified for this position? In which case you tell them something along the lines of, “I believe I’m the perfect candidate for this job, I feel my experience and skill set are all the qualities that you are looking for.

Why not just omit qualifications from your resume? You don’t HAVE to put down that you have a PhD if you’re trying to land a job at McDonald’s. Taylor your resume towards the job you’re looking for and if it means that you have to dumb it down, then so be it.

It’s not like they’d find out through a background check, lol.

If you’re overqualified (and yes, that is a thing), you can explain why you want a “lower” level job. For example, I interviewed and hired someone with a bachelor’s degree and many years high-level research experience for a part time secretary position. Her husband had to travel for his job and she wanted a job to punch in and out of so that she could be home more with her kids.

If she hadn’t written about her desire to downgrade in her cover letter, I never would have interviewed her. Her degree worked to her advantage, since she didn’t need much on-the-job training.

I would (almost) never leave education/training off my resume. I doubt you’re talking about a minimum wage burger-flipping job. You don’t want a several year gap in your resume.

Yes there is. But one should not settle in for something their resume doesn’t fit into. If you have a ph.D then you probably should not be working in some office environment where you have targets to pin. But sometimes life’s a b**ch.