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?

@turnthebiglightoff

I hired for supermarkets for 16 years. It's about who gives a good interview and would be engaging, friendly and professional with customers. You would be surprised at how some "over qualified" people can come off in an interview. My favourite was, when I called a candidate to let them know they hadn't been successful (in the days before auto emails!) their response was "I've got a masters in psychology and you're an overpaid drongo in a shop. You should be grateful I even turned up". I have hundreds more stories like that. The flip side is how grateful genuinely nice people are to be given a job. It's absolutely nothing to do with being "over qualified" (no such thing in retail - we're lucky to get who we can) but much more to do with not being an arsehole.

Thanks for that story! Yeah, I can imagine these type of people coming across as superior and dick like in interviews. Then they’ll come on here or other platforms to whine about how they didn’t get the job as they’re “Overqualified”.

@Marisishidinginmyattic i was sharing our experience sorry, i didn't realise his situation didnt qualify for this discussion. Personally im proud of him as a lot of people who were in a similar profession see it as below them and he's dived in and gone for it

YABU. Its not so much overqualified thought - its either too experienced (i.e. probably won’t take shit, so out), likely to find something else (i.e. you have to go through recruitment again soon - no thanks), or too old (if you want to pick degree apprentices from the lot).

I have been turned down numerous times for jobs because I was "over qualified".

Not academically, as I'm old enough that fewer than 1 in 10 people went to Uni when I was that age, but with the jobs I've done over the years. I've completely revamped my CV to tone down the level of the jobs I've done as much as I can without lying.

I apply for jobs, and if lucky enough to get an interview I'm always asked why I'm looking at that level of work when I used to be much higher. I then have the delicate balancing act of trying to persuade them that I've had enough of corporate wrangling & responsibility, and at the same time not let them think that I'll just go through the motions if I get the job. I don't dare even suggest that my mental health won't cope with pressures above a certain level, or they will assume I'll crumble at the slightest thing.

Supermarket roles may be a bit different from very basic level admin; can't do anything that physical due to arthritis.

Employers and agents do size you up though.
Luckily the civil service doesnt but you left!
I got to 45, 46 and was jobhunting furiously and yeh i think some employers /managers instantly ruled me out. Too middle class. Wont fit in. Doesnt look like she really needs the job. Not sure.

Meanwhile recruiters for office jobs JUST saw a gap in my cv.

So i think it is a thing. Supermarket managers do not want to train up some middle class woman who will leave when she gets a real job. That is how they see it

Meanwhile

I think you are right in some situations op.

Some people will just give off that air of arrogance or that they really just don't want to work there. If you've got bills to pay and you've lost your job, suck it up. It's money still. Some people are just snobs.

Others are just stupid. They aren't even over qualified (some are barely even qualified in anything, even gcses) and they still think they are too good to work in a shop. Some of them would rather be on benefits for life than do fruit picking or work in a factory. I've actually heard these people go 'that's for the foreigners to do'.

Some people are just assholes. I know a fair few on mn don't like to believe that, but there are assholes out there. There's no excuse for it, they are just horrible people.

Do you have to put your quals on your application? I don't think it's mandatory so just don't tell them .

@Clockworkprincess

I didn’t say his experience didn’t qualify for this discussion. I was directly addressing the comment in your first post “Its not about being over qualified at all.” and how you go on to describe your dp as proof of that statement, when actually he doesn’t prove it at all given that he (1) walked into his first supermarket job during a lockdown (2) used the supermarket experience from that to get the second job.

She didn’t actually want the job,

At an interview, that shows. I don't know why people are so dismissive of supermarket jobs - especially the customer facing roles. The General Public range from pleasant and friendly to totally obnoxious, and staff have to be able to deal with all of those.

^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......^

OP, whether you realised or not your original post came across as the above.

There is a certain hypocrisy in what you are saying.

First you seem to have had a job and career matching your qualifications and were able to choose to downgrade your jobs because it suited you.

Secondly you were able to afford to downgrade your position due to savings, investments or other money that you had. This isnt possible for everyone especially young people starting out on a career that may have families.

So, yes you are being unreasonable.

@doctorhamster

How would you explain the gaps on your CV if you leave your degree off *@Persipan*?

Well, personally, the first BA was like 20 years ago and the BSc and MA I did alongside full-time work, so it wouldn't be likely to be a problem!

Last time I worked in a shop was 1997 and the world was different then - who puts price stickers on things these days?!

Many places do.. I work in retail, middle class shop and we spend our delivery days every week putting price tags on items. They’re mainly items that the company doesn’t make themselves. We also do hand written tags and stickers for some items because they’re fragile, small, or delicate to put a barcode sticker on.

If there's one thing worse than whining about not getting a job... it's whining about people whining about not getting a job!

When I used to screen and interview applicants for a cleaning job, I always asked why ‘over qualified’ people wanted the job just in case it was only a stop gap for them. If they had a genuine reason, often it was because it fitted around their young children, they’d still be offered the job if they were the best candidate.

Managers and interviewers dont always get it right though. I would have taken a job in a pound shop if id been offered it and i would have been friendly and helpful and reliable and i would have been glad i had the job. It all worked out for me in the end but it wasnt easy.

Any thread that is a version of "i found this easy and not a problem at all so you should too" is just goady nonsense lacking empathy.

I work in a supermarket and I'd say a good percentage of my co workers have degrees. The problem is a degree in Art History or English doesn't really open the door to many jobs.
So I'm not sure anyone is really over qualified and as OP said it's more to do with the attitude "I'm too good for shop work"
My experience is that supermarkets want staff that will turn up, do the job, take shit off customers and still turn up with a smile the next day. They try to see if you have those qualities before offering you a job.
Anyone who doesn't have those qualities isn't going to get a job.
In RL I don't know anyone who's been told they're too over qualified for supermarket work.

@Rosebel

“ In RL I don't know anyone who's been told they're too over qualified for supermarket work”

Nor me, it just gets trotted out here and on other social media platforms. A “I’m sorry, you weren’t successful on this occasion” seems to translate as “You’re overqualified for this job”.

I had that when I was getting temp jobs post PhD to tie me over until the milk round. My lovely temp agency lady said my CV had been turned down flat because it was assumed I’d be a snob or because they actually wanted temp to perm and I wasn’t going to stay. The first incensed me, the second was fair enough!

I've been turned down for cleaners jobs in the past because they said I was over qualified..I dont put it down my degree on job applications anymore

So not it's not bollocks

YABU. When I worked in a bank 10 years ago, I can remember the manager being quite open with us and telling us certain applicants wouldn’t get the job on the till as they were over qualified (just finished uni) and were probably using it as a stop gap.

This is going back a bit, but I have worked in similar jobs and had to either hide or talk down my qualifications to get the job. It's nothing to do with attitude - it's a practical thing from their view, that they don't want someone waltzing in for a few weeks, getting training, and then going off when a bigger job comes along. More than once, an interviewer said that openly.

Things might have changed now, as more people have further qualifications, so perhaps employers are more open to hiring someone who fits the job, no matter what they studied. I hope so.
And good for you in getting the job you wanted.

@phoenixrosehere I bet handwritten stickers aren’t as much fun though. Pass me the sticker gun...

I work in a Sainsburys. I don't think the managers are interested in qualifications, it is all about people skills and attitude to work. I don't know if it is the same nationally but our store generally takes people on on temporary contracts for summer and Christmas. That way they can get rid of the ones that aren't up to scratch and keep the ones that are good.we have a real mix of people with all sorts of backgrounds. I have a professional background and I did have a bit of snobbery when I started but I love my job now.

[quote Washyourhands48]@Rosebel

“ In RL I don't know anyone who's been told they're too over qualified for supermarket work”

Nor me, it just gets trotted out here and on other social media platforms. A “I’m sorry, you weren’t successful on this occasion” seems to translate as “You’re overqualified for this job”.[/quote]
Whereas I have been told specifically that I am over qualified and I "will get bored and leave". This has been after interviews when I've made it very clear I don't want work any higher level than they are offering, or of any greater variety.

OP, one experience is hardly evidence that other people must be doing it wrong or whining (surely they taught you about sample size in your BSc?).

As other people with experience of the actual recruitment process have explained, different supermarkets have different recruitment processes, some require a CV, others don't.

Also, a BSc is hardly a very high qualification. Come back with a PhD and a store that insists on uploaded CVs and you might find charm and customer orientation only gets you so far.

Also, your age is probably in your favour- you can credibly present yourself as someone who has reached the life stage where they want to wind down. Try that in your early 30s and employers might well find your narrative less convincing.

Whether class plays in probably depends on your local area. I can do a very credible local accent and don't sound out of place but I live in the kind of place where my CV would probably not go down well. And incidentally, my work as an academic is to a great extent customer-facing, it's what we do: listen to people's problems and try to help them.