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?

"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'. hmm"

Okay, they're being racist, but they might have a point on fruit picking and factory work. Fruit pickers have to be positively athletic. A lot of people wouldn't last half a day at the pace and physical discomfort they work at. Watch some videos. It's a job for someone above-average healthy and fit, with a lot of physical dexterity.

I've done factory work, and, depending on the job, it can be isolating, monotonous, and again very physically tiring. A friend found their depression got worse working long hours in an environment where he couldn't speak to anyone because of the noise of the machinery.

I don't think you can be too judgmental about how people find jobs that are suitable to their situation and their physical and mental health. The vast majority of people want to work, they want to have a decent income, they want to feel useful, and if they don't then there will be a reason. (Eg. their wages don't even cover the rent and travel) and they might have hidden disabilities that they haven't shared with you.

*(But to be clear, I meant they had a point in not wanting to do/feeling able to do those jobs. They didn't have a point in being racist at the same time)

I work in a supermarket and you need certain skills and be good under pressure. It's not a easy job and can be physically and mentally draining toppled with abuse from customers on top. Not many jobs were u get yelled at or spat at for them running out of milk. I have job interviews coming up not in retail.

I took a supermarket job at some point, I have 3 degrees, understand 5 languages, and used to be an academic. The guy who interviewed me spent most of the interview mocking me, I am sure he thought I didn’t need the job and I would bin it the moment I realised how boring it would be.

I just got the job because I stopped him on his mockery and said, “look I know this is a minimum salary job and what it entails..” to which he replied “Aww... but you still can’t work weekends, do you? To which I replied “no, because I am a single mother and do not have anyone to care for DS in the weekends”.

The tone changed straight away, he apologised, gave me the job... and his respect and support for all the time I was there.

I do however understand why they get frustrated, many “overqualified” people just get the job, take the uniforms and disappear. Some others have totally unrealistic expectations, I remember one of my friends (also a former academic who decided to become a SAHM when her husband left her) asking me about applying in the same place. She wanted flexibility, to choose when to work each week and when I mentioned she would need to be carrying heavy stuff around, she just said “but it is their responsibility to provide someone to carry heavy stuff for me because I got a bad back” 🤦🏻‍♀️

Honestly....

YABU

I went for a supermarket job to stop me going insane in lockdown and I was turned down, I had the vibe that the manager felt a wee bit threatened by me.

Yabu to think your experience applies to everyone.

Maybe bollocks to have that mindset but it's very true once you start applying for these jobs.

When I was made redundant from my job in finance I was told by one retail shop I applied for that I was too qualified and they thought I wouldn't stay l long and then the supermarket where I had worked in the past for a several years rejected my application.

My mum is an ex teacher, she retired from education as she'd had enough and applied at a supermarket, they told her she was over qualified. She now works in Costa and couldn't be happier

Thing is, when looking for a postdoc or equivalent job, particularly during write-up in that you can spend months or years doing so - it is actually not a waste of time recruiting people. I was unemployed for 6 months because of such bias, even though I needed to work so I could eat. I was married so DH could support me but if I had to go down the JSA route - PhD write-up apparently isn't jobseeking-related activity and I was expected to sabotage that by wasting my time applying for jobs not suitable in terms of qualification/commute/hours etc.

Mind you I have seen the other side. When a newish undergrad awaiting their first summer and jobhunting my then DP complained about it since he had never worked in a job before. I tried to big him up, build his confidence and say "I worked in a factory, so can you". In hindsight, it turned out it wasn't a lack of confidence, more that he was a massive snob who really DID feel that working in a factory was beneath him but was stuck as to the alternatives.

Guess who wasn't living in quite so much poverty come the start of term though...

Okay, they're being racist, but they might have a point on fruit picking and factory work. Fruit pickers have to be positively athletic. A lot of people wouldn't last half a day at the pace and physical discomfort they work at.

True, but that being athletic didn’t come from going to the gym in preparation for becoming fruit pickers, it came from taking the job out of need, and building up the stamina and strength needed through it.

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?).

And she's cherry picked the one response that met her preconception whilst generally ignoring the ones that refute it...

My OH has applied for everything from shelf stacking to delivery driving for takeaways the last few months, as well as the few and far between roles in his industry that come up. The only one he's even got an interview for was the one in his industry.

Our neighbour's a manager at our local Co-op shop - when chatting with him about it he said 'you'd have been better leaving all that off your CV' (2 science degrees and a 20-year career in FTSE 100 firms) and when my OH laughed and said there'd be nothing on his CV except his paper round when he was at school and a bar job from uni then, he said 'we don't know what to do with people who are obviously taking a big step down money or seniority wise, they just leave or want to be the manager straight away'.

I did a Masters degree and one employer told me there’d be more chance of them employing me if I’d spent those years in jail. They worry about insubordination (thinking you know better because you’re smarter than the boss), not fitting in with colleagues (who are probably not highly qualified), and not sticking around (so they waste their time and money on you then you leave for a better job). In some cases the boss is worried you’ll outshine them and get promoted above them. It’s a real problem that has nothing to do with the individual thinking the job is “beneath” them.

I have a fairly senior-sounding title and have been made redundant.

My interviews have been great but the feedback is always that the role is too junior for me. But I want the more junior role to fit in with my home life, but nobody seems to believe that.

It does happen, you're very short-sighted to think that that your experience sets the standard for all experiences.

My regular job hours were slashed, so I thought about applying for a seasonal retail job, that would be maybe 40% my usual hourly wage. I feel guilty for competing for a job that is meant for low-medium skills, when I do have enough to live on. Feels morally wrong when the seasonal job might be super valuable to someone else.

I have been refused a job due to being overqualified. The premis being that as the job was , for me, really quite simple and something I was more than capable of doing, they believed that I would use this as a stop gap to finding something better, or would soon get bored and look for something more commensurate with my abilities and qualifications. It’s a way to protect themselves from training someone who will soon , in all probability, leave for something else. Being that I was desperate for ANY job, I would have happily taken it and given 100%, but I can see the emploers side. The trick is to not put irrelevant details in tour cv/application. If you have 5 degrees and are applying for a job where only limited experience is needed. Maybe don’t put that you have five degrees .........

Actually I think it's a combination of factors. You can be highly, highly qualified and still fail the screening questions because these are usually behavioural - you could have worked for 40 years in a different type of industry and not be able to work out quite what to do.

And then the pp's comment about them looking for 'not bothered' people is very true. If a supermarket is running on zero hours contracts and knows that in a week they're going to be calling you at 6am to come in at 630 for a twelve hour shift and your childcare can GTF (note, not all supermarkets and not all of the time) they are unlikely to hire a professional who may still have enough temerity to tell them to go fuck themselves.

And some over-qualified people can be a bit smug at interview. And some managers can assume they're stop-gapping.

YABU. I have a lot of friends in the same industry I work in apply left right and centre for supermarket jobs, because our industry is in tatters. They have all been rejected by the supermarkets. They are desperate for work.

They are not "giving off the impression supermarket work is beneath them" in interviews. Get off your high horse.

Just bear in mind as well that the words “you are overqualified” as “there was a better candidate for the role” often given after a failed interview don’t necessarily mean what the words say, they are just an easy way for the employer to get someone they don’t want to employ for whatever reason.

I've known quite a few people with qualifications who didn't pass the hoops / tests to get in. Where I live they get far more applicants than they have jobs.

For the employer to get people they don’t want to employ out of their hair quickly without further questions asked.

@OpenlyGayExOlympicFencer

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?).

And she's cherry picked the one response that met her preconception whilst generally ignoring the ones that refute it...

No, because I generally think the responses that refute it are talking bollocks. Like the PP who thinks the manager interviewing her felt “threatened” by her hence her not getting the job. Sainsburys et al never say this reason of “you’re too over qualified”: in a rejection email. People just like to think they are “too good” for the job and that it was beneath them anyway. It makes them feel better about themselves (and that’s ok, but it’s still bollocks)

@OpenlyGayExOlympicFencer

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?).

And she's cherry picked the one response that met her preconception whilst generally ignoring the ones that refute it...

Bsc stands for bronze swimming certificate

:p

I’m a qualified accountant who took voluntary redundancy then a couple of years later got a job with one of the big supermarkets.
If I recall correctly, I didn’t fill in an application form - I had an online observation test, a telephone interview, then in-person interview where I completed employment history etc.
They weren’t interested in my age (then mid 50’s) or qualifications - only whether I’d be up to the job, was flexible and understood great service.
I stayed for 7 years (finished a few weeks ago) and I loved my time there (didn’t love customers much though).

I haven't applied for a job like that recently but in the past I had no problems getting anything I was "overqualified" for. I don't particularly list all my qualifications though if the job doesn't require them. I don't think it's dishonest to leave things off .It makes sense to adapt your CV for different jobs. If the job doesn't require a PhD and managerial experience why do people think it's a good idea to go on about it in a job application?