Too much experience for the job

by Clare
(Winnipeg, MB)

I once had a job interview where I didn't realize until halfway through the interview that the job I was interviewing for was too junior for me. I thought the job matched my skillset and experience but realized during the interview that the job was not of interest as it was not going to offer enough of a challenge. One of the frustrating things about job searching is not being sure sometimes if the job you're applying for is really what you're looking for.

Response from Carl: Thanks Clare. I agree. Sometimes it is difficult to figure out from a job description if a job fits your profile based on the way the job is written.

I had a similar experience earlier in my career where I attended a job that seemed to fit my profile except the one thing that I didn't know - the one thing that we rarely know going into a job interview - is how money was being offered.

It turns out that it wasn't until 45 minutes into the interview - which was going quite well I thought up until then - that I and the hiring manager realized things weren't going to work out. They were paying around half of what I was currently earning!

We had both wasted the time and effort of pursuing things because at that point we knew it wasn't a job I was going to be interested in since it would have paid significantly less than what I was earning.

In my case had I known up front roughly what they were paying, I wouldn't have bothered applying.

The lesson for both of us is as follows: try your best to know in advance of the interview as much about the company and job as possible. In my instance, it may have been difficult to come right out and ask the hiring manager about the salary since they might take it the wrong way and thing I was money-motivated which could have harmed my chances at the interview. Mind you, in this case, it would have saved me the time of interviewing for the job since I clearly wasn't going to be interested in it!

Carl