To a worm in horseradish

My Grandmother emigrated to the United States around 1914. She grew up near Kiev in what is now the Ukraine (but we were always told was Russia). A Yiddish proverb she used frequently was: To a worm in horseradish, the whole world is horseradish. (My Grandmother had a thick Russian accent, and always said this in Yiddish first. Writing it in print really doesn’t do it justice.)

Anyway, the idea here is that people form their opinions and narratives from what they have experienced in their lifetimes. I suppose there really isn’t any other way they could see the world. They only know what they know.

Where this can affect you greatly is when you are considering a job that at first blush appears to those interviewing you as “beneath your dignity.” As excited as you may be about the work content, the folks you have met and the company itself, the people who are interviewing you for this “work opportunity” may in fact never have been unemployed. Their careers have always been on an upward trajectory, with more pay and greater responsibilities being their world view.

Answering the question: “Why would you consider this job?” puts you in the position of trying to explain something to someone who will NEVER understand your explanation. The very idea that you have no money coming in and are bored out of your mind not having Excel spreadsheets to do, is not part of their experience.

Trying to convince them that you don’t care about the lower salary and lesser title simply doesn’t play well. It’s hard to be convincing when you may not even believe it, deep down in your soul.

So, what to do? The best approach is to not directly answer the question. After all, it was posed to you as sort of an accusation. Hard to win that one.

There is an old joke that some people answer a question with a question. (Do we?)

Instead of answering the question, ask a question. For example: I think I understand what the job responsibilities are for this position, but perhaps you can share with me what projects you would like me to accomplish in the next 90 days. Obviously if you are trying to fill this job, there must be some urgent needs. The advantage for the company and for you is that I probably know how to solve these issues and will need little supervision.

Once you get them talking about their problems, the issue of your being “over qualified” will fade a bit. The thought that you can fix something their boss has been after them to complete for the past 6 months (and that they didn’t actually know how to solve) should make that stupid “over-qualified” issue go away.

Talking about work issues instead of hypotheticals (like why you aren’t going to be unhappy) provides you with a more comfortable conversation.

I have been placing consultants in interim assignments for over 25 years. One thing I know is that companies want a consultant who is over-qualified, not one who is learning on the job. Why companies hiring for full-time jobs would pass on someone who knows how to do the job already is one of the many paradoxes of employment.

Hope this helps those struggling with this issue.

Regards, Matt