Too Smart for a Job

Many job applicants are learning the painful meaning behind the phrase “too smart for your own good” when it comes to getting a job. Advanced degrees, high IQs, and extended experience can immediately disqualify someone from consideration.

It seems absurd to penalize people for their pursuit of knowledge but hiring managers across the board agree that people with higher intelligence can easily become bored with menial tasks in jobs that are beneath them.

Because their mental abilities are not challenged and the room for promotion is minimal they become frustrated at work which can bring down the entire team’s morale. Or they just quit, leaving the company to compensate the time spent training and finding a replacement.

The Wonderlic Personnel Test is used by employers who want to weed out candidates who are not suitable for the job.  It tests applicants’ cognitive ability through a series of 50 questions and groups them into a numeric range to gauge the sort of employment where they will be the most productive.

Some examples of score for particular professions include:

• Lawyer 24-36
• Editor 25-34
• Chemist 24-32
• Auditor 23-31
• Accountant 21-31  
• Teacher 20-31  
• Manager 20-29  
• Nurse 19-29  
• Secretary 18-28
• Sales representative 17-26
• Police 17-25
• Clerk 16-25  
• Store manager 14-24
• Mechanic 13-21
• Warehouse worker11-21  
• Packer 10-19  

Not all employers issues IQ tests to everyone. Sometimes candidates are screened out simply because of the education or experience they include on their resume. Greg Reilly, an assistant professor of management at UConn's School of Business feels this practice is doing companies and their potential employers a great disservice. His research showed that despite many hiring managers’ preconceptions, smarter candidates were more likely to stay and raise the bar for those who work with them.

In many cases however, it’s simply a matter of money. A higher level of learning equates to a higher level of pay. Companies keep costs down by hiring people with less student loan debt. Even employing several under-qualified staff members can be cheaper than giving the job to an over-qualified one.

Because of this, career service professionals advise tailoring your resume to meet the perceived maximum education and experience level the position requires. If the job only requires a Bachelor’s Degree, don’t list that you have a Master’s. Down play some of your larger leadership roles and focus on the specific skills required to get the job.

It may feel like lying by omission but if “dumbing down” your resume gets you in the door it might just be the smart choice.