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?

Absolutely not! I have a very stressful, and senior, day job in the NHS and applied for an additional job as a cleaner to get some exercise and headspace away from the hamster wheel. They didn't care about qualifications, it was mostly about whether I minded cleaning toilets and how good I'd be with the clients onsite. Over qualified, ha ha ha! Bone idle and snobbish, more like.

I have been openly mocked for having a masters qualification and attempting to work at Aldi. They actually laughed me out of the interview with one of the staff members saying “you do know most of us don’t even have an O level?” (Which I believe is pure BS) before I actually left.
I struggled for a while, got another qualification and opened my own businesses.

And it’s not like I didn’t really want the job - I did, it was evenings and weekends and fit perfectly around my kids. It was only 5 mins walk and I would have worked my bum off for them. But no....

I was turned down by Aldi for being over qualified.

YABVU. When I was looking ( and desperate) I rang up about a cleaning job. It was cleaning the public loos in a shopping centre. He hadn’t seen a cv as phoning was the only way to apply. He said he wouldn’t take it any further as I sound too well educated and intelligent ( posh voice). After I protested I was willing to do the job he went on to explain that I was more likely to leave when something better came along and he would then have to recruit again and then train someone else. He didn’t want to waste time. Similar things have been said when I have applied elsewhere. What amazes me is how someone thinks their experience is the same as everyone else’s. It is really horrible to be so negative about an experience someone else is going through. I can’t understand how some people here are such bitches about an experience other people are going through. And no I am not currently going through this myself as I have a job, this was years ago. It is soul destroying applying for jobs and not getting anywhere without someone like you coming along and being bitchy about it. How about offering your ‘superior’ job hunting skills to someone who may need them, be a better use of hot air.

I was told after an interview for a supermarket (when I asked for feedback as to why I didn’t get the job) that I was too overqualified and they were scared if they hired me I wouldn’t want to stay long before I found a job that was much higher paid and more in line with the previous jobs I had before.
Whereas if there going to the effort to train someone then someone who has had less job experience/ no experience and that had previous lower paid jobs would be likely to stay.

YANBU.

I don't care how many degrees you have: if you've been made redundant quite bitching and find ANY job until you can improve your situation at a later date.

I scrubbed rich ladies toilets to pay my bills and feed my kids back in the day, so can everyone else. It might teach a few people some humility.

Its yet another excuse why people dont want to work......

Your wrong. I worked in HMV, Next, Asda for 8 years and other retail places and then I went to university, graduated 4 years later with a degree in Geology/ Geography and after graduating, and moving back to my home city I spent a year unemployed. I applied for every type of retail job, cleaning job, bar job.. You name it because I also knew I was getting married and moving to London and every company told me I was too over qualified. In the end, I was told by the jobs centre to leave off my degree and I was like 'hmm... So how do I explain a 4 year gap in my cv' and they said make it up. I had to actually pretend that I took time off for other reasons and travelling etc... Hey presto, I got lots of job offers.

My daughter has a degree in law and philosophy. It was difficult some years ago to get the jobs she wanted so she applied for a large number of jobs as checkout operators in supermarkets, office juniors, junior retail assistants - and other positions. Basically almost any job that was available. She was not usually even offered interviews because they considered her over qualified, and said so. They think that if they employ a highly qualified person, they will just be off as soon as a better position presents itself.

I have tried applying for multiple jobs as i need a side gig and i havent even got past application stage. I rarely get feedback but where i have its because i am overqualified. Congrats on finding something that works for you, but not everyone has that same journey

So many posters saying it's an excuse that people give because they are snobbish/lazy! Many of us are desperate to get work, and are willing to do any level of work though in some cases, like mine, there are physical limitations. It's not the people trying to get the jobs who aren't bothering because the jobs are "beneath them", it's the potential employers making assumptions. How many applications does someone have to make to persuade you that we are genuinely looking for work, and how many times do we have to be told we haven't got a job because we are overqualified or have too much experience, before we start to believe them?

Lovely check-out guy at supermarket said how he’d got his music degree on hold. Chatting to him cos no jobs for over-qualified or zero qualifications round here. He got in before pandemic struck.
Relative with a 1st doing a masters couldn’t get a shift or a driving groceries gig in any supermarket.
He’s feeling a result for finally accepted for zero hours delivery with Amazon. Terrible pay.
It’s bad out there.

That’s rubbish. My husband was made redundant due to Covid. He applied for tons of jobs and lots asked him why he was applying since he was very obviously over qualified.

Yabu, it’s a thing. It’s hard to get a super market job if your over qualified because they know you won’t stick around.

I know quite a few people who have left stressful jobs and gone to work part/fulltime in supermarkets, most have had degrees in various different things, some from hospitals. So i totally "get" it. Ive been trying to get into one myself, it seems supermarkets are getting choosey now too.

@Redcups64

Yabu, it’s a thing. It’s hard to get a super market job if your over qualified because they know you won’t stick around.

Yes, so very definitely. I struggled to get jobs I would have taken when I was single parent to two small DC because despite not having a degree or any specific direction on my CV, I think my accent ruled me out of jobs I would have taken, and been genuinely grateful for in the circumstances. But then on the other side of the coin, applying for jobs that the supermarket and cafe managers thought would be more me (I guess), they made it clear that I'd no qualifications, no experience. Motherhood did take away my only ''asset'' (YOUTH!) and I didn't realise until after I tried to get back in to the workplace that a lot of the jobs I'd easily found before I was 30 were given to me primarily for that reason. Not that I wasn't a good hardworking employee but I think that that was the reason I found work easily before I was 30

I can't get a job. I'm 63, competing with all the cheaper and less troublesome under 25s in my small town for the very few, mostly seasonal, jobs on offer. No one in their right mind would employ me. I wouldn't employ me.

I presume there is an application made to the spefici sipermarket, the candidates are chosen to be interviewed then the manager interviews and works with the people/applications in front of them.

So each manager and candidate is an individual, some managers wont employ 'too qualified' some will, i guess it also depends on how the interview itself goes?

Not so sure about now, but when ds was little, I applied every year for Xmas temp jobs in retail. Never passed the online intro test.
I figured it was because they wanted workers and my answers showed I was a natural manager

I'm leaving my supermarket job as its very stressful and been there a while. Its a OK job but the hours are not enough. Just this week I've had one job offer which delighted about and I've accepted pending dbs checks which should not be a problem not in retail and 2 other interviews.
Full time hours are rare in supermarkets and I've found a lovely job in something I know I'll be good at.

All the best to anyone job-hunting at the moment - it can’t be easy 💐

I’ve looked for part-time work in supermarkets, other retail, hospitality, etc, and did not have one sniff of interest. Zero interviews and when I did get feedback I was “overqualified.” At the time I was desperate to leave a horrible job, had offers of freelance work I would have loved to take up but couldn’t due to said horrible job, but was looking for something to supplement freelance income. So I absolutely did want the work and would have stuck around. In the end I gave up on the idea and found a different job in my industry - but I’m still gutted about the missed freelance opportunities.

I’ve also been told I was overqualified for a job in my industry, where I was looking to move sideways into another more competitive area. It would have been a small pay cut, but a good opportunity, and I REALLY wanted the job. Unfortunately I had more experience in the role above than the person who would have been managing me (she wasn’t the one in charge of hiring for the role, her boss was). Although I still think I’d have been a good candidate, I can see why that’s a legitimate concern.

I got my degree aged 40 having mostly worked part time in retail. I applied for part time jobs (I am a carer ) suited to my new qualifications. Didn’t even get an interview. Disappointed, I applied for the types of jobs I had done previously, expecting to walk into one. I didn’t even get an interview. In the end I started my own business because I realised I had made myself unemployable, because I had a degree but was too old to be accepted in a post grad role, and too qualified to work in a supermarket.

If it hasn’t been mentioned already, minimum wage is lower for those who are younger. Making it cheaper to employ the young in unskilled work.

My dh got knocked back for a Tesco Delivery Driver. We had moved to a new area and really needed an income while he was setting up his business. It was so annoying.