To think people saying “I can’t get a job in a supermarket because I’m over qualified” is bollocks?

[Washyourhands48]

I have a Bsc, my husband has one too.

After years in the Civil Service and a lot of stress, we both took the decision to take voluntary redundancies and have both been very happy in supermarket jobs on a part time basis since. So it really gets my goat when I see ‘this “over qualified” nonsense being quoted on here. Supermarket interviews do not ask you what your PhD is in or anything like that, the fact is that you were hit just right for the job and probably thought it was beneath you which probably cama across at interview.

AIBU?

*not just right for the job ... (not hit)

Well it's because they think it's a temp job, quitting your stressful job to go basic part time long term isnt a risk for them.

But just needing something to tide you over till you get something in your feild is just annoying turnover for them.

I think you'll find you're pretty unique in that you went in wanting the supermarket job long term not just for the time it took you to get another job

Yabu, just because it fits your current circumstances doesn't mean someone else wants to spend years at uni to a job that doesn't use the skills learned.

Supermarkets ask your education and work experience on application or see your cv.
They may overlook those "overqualified" as they might not stay at the job long term and pick a candidate who has the relevant retail experience and wants a long term role there.

Anyone who thinks any job is beneath them is a snob.
Having a degree makes you no better than someone who doesn't and every job no matter what it is valued and important.

As someone who has recruited into the hospitality sector, I do tend to bypass those who are over qualified as its usually someone who is marking time until the dream job comes along.

I would imagine it is similar in the supermarket sector.

And right now, given that I have been looking for a new job for over a year, I would suggest that YABU for saying any reason that someone cant get a job apart from "there aren't enough jobs out there right now thanks to redundancies and lay offs".

And nice that you can afford to go part time, the rest of us didnt stack up the cash in a nicely paid career and then smugly live off it later......

When we moved to the arse end of nowhere (it’s lovely, but small) I couldn’t get a sniff of work for 18 months. I was repeatedly told over-qualified. I couldn’t even get a bastarding front desk job with 16 years of experience in a multitude of customer service roles. They wanted cheap 20yo who would stay a season and then leave, to keep their wage bill down. I applied for everything 😂
The last thing they wanted was someone who actually had a mortgage and needed a permanent job. That’s what you get living in a tourist town.
Arses.
The supermarket doesn’t hire here. People keep those jobs.

PS there are no ‘dream jobs’ here pyong. It’s hospitality or bust. Hospitality hirers need to grasp that sometimes eminenently qualified people really do want a permanent job in their hotel. It actually says a lot about how little you believe in your own company that you think people wouldn’t stay there. Is it that shit a place to work?
(Yes I’m still bitter lol 😂)

I used to work in a supermarket when I was at university so I would have stayed in the Civil Service quite frankly plus it seems a waste of your experience and qualifications.

See, some stores will see loads of qualifications and go oh yep, they older, know rights, have to be paid more than a jr wage. - personal experience and been told first hand by our towns only supermarkets manager its why i couldnt get a job there.
He has been told from higher up, if they seem older than 21, NO, they change staff yearly as kids age out to uni in the city or just move out of town.

So they are not so much over qualified but it shows their age which is the actual deterrent.

It happened in my family. My mum and I were both PT job hunting at the same time. We both had similar level professional qualifications (although she had 20 years more experience than me because I was late twenties and she was late forties). The local supermarket was hiring checkout staff and we both got an interview. Mum turned up for her interview wearing a smart suit, heels and carrying a briefcase. She was turned down for being over qualified. Three hours later I was interviewed by the same person. I wore jeans and a smart top and was hired within 5 minutes. IMO Mum’s smart clothes had emphasised how overqualified she was for the role and given the message she wouldn’t stick at a low level job whereas my more casual wear gave the message I understood the job I would be doing and meant my qualifications were overlooked.

Incidentally, I think Mum dressed that way on purpose. She didn’t actually want the job, she thought she was better than that but just wanted to be seen to be proactively job hunting. Which could actually prove your point @Washyourhands48

Not me, but my former doctoral student, in her late twenties, applied to every supermarket in town last year after finishing her doctorate, and got precisely zero interviews.

Most supermarket applications can be filled out without attaching a CV.
I work in one. I work with very qualified colleagues and those with very little on paper.

I imagine it might be very different having to do it full time with overtime just to get by, sounds to me you may not be in that position.

If you are overqualified NMW jobs are unlikely to take you on because the chances of you staying there are smaller, and hiring and training is extremely expensive, even just for one person.

They don’t want their turnover figures to increase, so they hire those they think have more chance of staying and who they can look at to rise up the ranks over time. They want someone they can invest in.

When DS applied, and got, a job at Tesco there were no qualifications on the application. It was all scenario based questions which got you the interview, then at interview a trial helping bag pack to see how you interacted with customers. He could have had a PHD or no GCSEs and they wouldn’t have known.

@Plesky

Not me, but my former doctoral student, in her late twenties, applied to every supermarket in town last year after finishing her doctorate, and got precisely zero interviews.

She probably got all the scenario questions wrong which are very customer oriented especially if she had spent years studying instead of working with people in customer service.

@HaggieMaggie

When DS applied, and got, a job at Tesco there were no qualifications on the application. It was all scenario based questions which got you the interview, then at interview a trial helping bag pack to see how you interacted with customers. He could have had a PHD or no GCSEs and they wouldn’t have known.

I’ve just looked up an application form for one of the supermarkets, and it asks for a cv to be uploaded along with the online form. So no hiding her doctorate unless she pretended to have been in jail for four years...

I think supermarket jobs are like every other job and they favour people who already have experience in that field. So some highly qualified people will find it easy to get a job in one and some highly qualified people won't.

I worked alongside a recruitment project once and basically the supermarkets didn’t want anyone who was going to give them any bother. By bother I mean someone who would refuse to work 24 hours in 4 hour shifts with little notice, someone who could be bothered to look up health & safety, someone who had more knowledge than the manager, someone who they thought wanted a stop gap. They wanted people who needed the job enough to put up with the often poor working conditions. I don’t mean desperate for a job but that it ticked enough boxes to be worth it.

So while some people might go in to interview thinking they are superior it’s often about the managers ego too. Though I can’t for the life of me think why you would take a briefcase to a supermarket checkout interview. Would you not research your audience?

I hate it when I hear people say I may as well quit and get a job in a supermarket, like they were two a penny and easy life. My friend works in Aldi and I think she works harder than I do with some really early starts on a varied shift pattern and with customer abuse. A social work colleague burned out and got a job on Tesco checkout and she loves it, goes into work does her shift and goes home.

I think Lidl has a terrible reputation as an employer but everyone I know who has worked in Sainsbury's, Asda or Tesco has loved it. Particularly Tesco. Don't know about any of the other supermarkets as they don't have them where I live.

I used to recruit and I was always suspicious of those who were overqualified because they usually leave when something in their field of expertise comes up.

Your situation is very different. You voluntarily stepped out of your career later on life and want a change of pace. You aren't as much of a risk.

This all comes across at interview.

I agree with you Bessie, rightly or wrongly, most employers want an employee who will just get on with the job and not challenge anything or ask difficult questions.

And I agree that it is ridiculous when people say 'I will just get a job stacking shelves', those sorts of jobs are not easy to get (especially now).

Ummm a Bsc isnt overqualified these days.

I have just looked at Tesco, Sainsbury and Morrison's Jon pages. Tesco ask for education history, Morrison's ask for a CV but I don't think Sainsbury's ask.

It's a bit frustrating when people come on threads and say things like 'supermarkets do not ask for qualifications' because they've had one experience of applying for one supermarket. Surprisingly they're not all the same!

Maybe it's because I live in a university town, but whenever I've worked in retail my colleagues have been a mixture of people who left school and went straight into work, people with undergrad degrees, and people with postgrad degrees. My current job pays living wage and my team includes three former professionals, someone who worked part time through their masters and stayed on, a couple of highly educated former SAHPs returning to work and someone who is working for money to live on while trying to break into a highly competitive career. And roughly the same number of people who have few formal qualifications.

I have a first class BSc my first job after uni was working nights at Tesco (while interviewing for other jobs)
I work in the field which was degree was in now.