Being skilled or educated beyond what is necessary for a job — in other words, being overqualified — is an important issue for jobseekers, employers and policymakers. While it is sometimes a personal choice to work in a lower-skilled job, for most people who take jobs for which they are overqualified, it is their only employment option.
This scenario is especially so for Canada’s recent immigrants.
Recruiters typically screen out overqualified applicants because they believe such candidates will be experience dissatisfaction in their jobs and leave after a short period of time. Not only do two recent international studies demonstrate this perception is flawed, but in Canada, employers now have the law to consider when it comes to one segment of overqualified candidates — visible minority immigrants.
In 2006 the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal handed down a landmark ruling on the use of overqualification as a justification for rejecting candidates who are visible minority immigrants (Statistics Canada defines a recent immigrant as someone who has been a permanent resident for five to 10 years and a very recent immigrant as someone who has been here for less than five years). The case involved a complaint filed with the Canadian Human Rights Commission by Dr. Gian Sangha after he was rejected for the position of Regulatory Officer (RO) with the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board (MVLWB).
The MVLWB’s newspaper ad for four vacant RO positions outlined its requirements: a degree in a relevant field and two years of related experience, or a college diploma related to environmental management and three years of experience; knowledge of relevant technology and issues; software and technical writing competencies; and a driver’s licence. The positions were for three-year terms, subject to a six-month probationary period, with a possible two-year extension.
ROs carry out standardized administrative tasks such as processing land use permits and water licence applications. This involves collaborating with other stakeholders for review purposes and preparing reports for the Board. While ROs must have basic technical knowledge, more expertise is available internally or from external consultants. An understanding of the environmental issues in the north, as well as northern living experience and some familiarity with First Nations communities, were also considered important.
MVLWB’s interview committee (a finance/administration manager, a line manager and a technical person) interviewed 12 of its 38 applicants: two with college diplomas, nine with bachelor degrees and Dr. Sangha. Applicants with just a high school diploma and those with a graduate degree were not interviewed, indicating that education was used to screen out candidates both on the low side and the high side. However, unbeknownst to Dr. Sangha, he was interviewed because of his potential to fill the more senior position of Technical Advisor, which was also vacant at the time.
Avoiding personal characteristics such as race, ethnic origin, religion or age, the committee’s structured interview contained standard questions to explore skills, knowledge of the MVLWB, experience, availability and salary expectations. Dr. Sangha was ranked highest by the line manager and fourth by the finance/administration manager (the technical person did not provide scores).
In addition to the interview scores, the decision to make an offer was based on a candidate’s overall profile and whom the committee considered a good fit. The committee’s decision not to hire Dr. Sangha was based on the assessment that he was overqualified for the entry-level RO position and that he would be bored by the work. After offers to two other candidates were declined, the MVLWB hired two candidates who were ranked significantly lower than Dr. Sangha on the interview scores.