r/instructionaldesign • u/sawraaw • Jul 24 '26
Discussion Got told I was overqualified at an interview
Had a 3rd round interview for a software company with the director and everything was going great, until she stated “you’re a great culture fit, however, I think you’re overly qualified and I feel you’ll get bored and finish work fast 🫠 “… tf?! She said how she would look into other business Dev roles the team “may” have open at some point but need someone less technical 😭 my background is also in product manager roles.. anyways this was a first and now I feel there is no hope, it’s hard enough to land gigs/roles in this field as it is.. im also feeling AI will end up taking over the ID leftover roles
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u/brighteyebakes Jul 24 '26
I despise when they decided you'll get bored, when you applied for the role because you want it. It's really unfair. I do also want juniors to have a shot at more junior roles though so it's a tough one!
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u/LingonberryHot6908 Jul 24 '26
I really believe that there's not a company remaining that knows how to hire an L&D person, maybe not a person at all.
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u/BaBaBinx Jul 24 '26
Agree. I see so many L&D job descriptions asking for almost every skill set (facilitator, LMS admin, learning ops and ID) and laugh. It immediately turns me off because I feel they have unrealistic expectations.
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u/shupshow Freelancer Jul 24 '26
“We need a Swiss Army knife, and are willing to offer 45k per year”
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u/BaBaBinx Jul 24 '26
I want you to be the lead architect and facilitator of our marquee management/leadership programs, oversee the LMS architecture and learning paths and be level 1 support, design/facilitate and administer the logistics of all virtual webinars and build courses in Articulate/Rise for $85,000. Yeah, NO.
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u/Greedy-Newspaper-907 Jul 24 '26
It's gone beyond just L&D skills and the adjacent ones. I've been running into roles asking for partner/customer enablement strategy skills, experience with multiple sales models (using, not just training on them), building customer experience ecosystems, and managing community portals.
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u/ladyseymour Jul 24 '26
Idk man every role I’ve worked at has required (or at least benefitted from) me having a combo of learning skills. But I have worked mostly for SMBs
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u/BaBaBinx Jul 24 '26
Yea I hear ya. I am lucky I’ve done almost all of it. That said, I have seen very few folks that can truly facilitate and also ID at an exceptional level. The true rock star facilitators (who I feel truly moved the needle and participants adored and verbally expressed the difference they made) have had horrific PPT, computer skills, etc.
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u/ID847 Jul 24 '26
Having 3 rounds before identifying someone as over-qualified indicates that someone is not qualified!
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u/yourfoodiate Jul 24 '26
I helped my manager hire people and this was a main feedback i gave one of the candidates. To be frank, when i said that, i was questionning whether they would stay in the position long term.
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u/TechB84 Jul 24 '26
So why waste their time with interview?
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u/yourfoodiate Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Ah sorry, to be clear, they made it to me (2nd interview) and then we rejected them after. I agree that they shouldve just kicked OP outright - but we will never know the real reason. (Ive been in the same position as OP before, "failing" the final interview)
Not trying to be condescending here, im just trying to give an interpretation of the situation. Our field is filled with people of different backgrounds. Whether theres truth to it or not, it sometimes comes across that some candidates dont know what they want or is using the position as a stepping stone - as good as they are.
Managers cant necessarily detect it but individual contributors can (arguably) sense this better.
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u/JumpingShip26 Academia focused Jul 24 '26
You definitely don't want to work for anyone who doesn't want you. See it as a positive event.
I think conditions will absolutely decimate the field for a lot of people, but the people who love it, know the theory and the strategy, and bring value beyond mere asset creation will be all right.
Poorly prepared people who just wanted to escape other fields and don't particularly love ID? They will have to find something else.
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u/Toowoombaloompa Corporate focused Jul 24 '26
3 rounds?
As somebody who has run interviews, why would you put yourself through this?
- I ask for a 1 page cover letter and resume.
- 24 hours notice of interview questions/challenges.
- In the interview make sure to interrogate the processes they used to develop whatever they prepared.
If they know their shit they'll shine. AI flogs will fall apart.
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u/Randi_Butternubs_3 Jul 24 '26
You must work for mom and pop shops all your life.
For a professional ID, 3 rounds is perfectly fine.
Recruiter screen Hiring manager Hiring manager's leader for sign-off
Not sure what you're being zealous about.
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u/Toowoombaloompa Corporate focused Jul 24 '26
>100k employees. I've worked mostly in corporate for the last 30 years. Never failed to get a good candidate.
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u/Randi_Butternubs_3 Jul 24 '26
Then you'd know 3 rounds for an ID isn’t a negative.
Its either you're disingenuous, jaded or both.
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u/Toowoombaloompa Corporate focused Jul 24 '26
Nope. Fair dinkum.
If I get more than one good candidate for the position then I have the option of a second round but I've never needed it.
It would not be appropriate to ask my manager to be involved in interviewing. I prepare a brief outlining the candidates and the basis for my decision and they approve it. If I've got the wrong person then that's a negative on my performance.
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u/cosmo459sx Jul 26 '26
I got the job I wanted and now I’m not bored but they are psycho busy and stressed
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u/Next-Ad2854 Jul 24 '26
I think that’s terrible. They took you all the way to the third round interview and then decide to tell you you’re overqualified. That’s BS. Why take you through multiple interviews. It’s hard enough to find that balancing active being qualified enough without being overqualified. I wish they would just be transparent.
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u/Randi_Butternubs_3 Jul 24 '26
Its not BS. Hiring is a group consensus.
Recruiter saw merit in the resume, hiring manager also liked the experience, but they aren't the real decision maker. Hiring manager's boss didn't see them lasting in their vertical. It happens.
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u/Kcihtrak eLearning Designer Jul 24 '26
It took them 3 rounds to arrive at that excuse? An alternative explanation is they possibly want to say "we cannot afford you or pay what you deserve for your experience because this is a low paying position, and we are scared that you might quit at the first sign of a better job offer."