--- title: What to Tell an Interviewer Who Says You’re Overqualified description: Honesty is the key to many doors yet to be opened canonical: https://time.com/3661401/overqualified-candidate-response/ author: TIME article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-09T18:49:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:26:18.478Z article:section: Ideas og:title: What to Tell an Interviewer Who Says You’re Overqualified og:description: Honesty is the key to many doors yet to be opened og:url: https://time.com/3661401/overqualified-candidate-response/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4339c52dacc3c343/69877912a988ca7ca46abcd1/many-awards.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: three-award-trophies og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What to Tell an Interviewer Who Says You’re Overqualified twitter:description: Honesty is the key to many doors yet to be opened twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4339c52dacc3c343/69877912a988ca7ca46abcd1/many-awards.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What to Tell an Interviewer Who Says You’re Overqualified by [Quora](/author/quora/) ## Quora Jan 9, 2015 6:49 PM CUT  Trophies on wooden background Trophies on wooden backgroundGetty Images by [Quora](/author/quora/) ## Quora Jan 9, 2015 6:49 PM CUT [_Answer_](http://www.quora.com/How-do-I-respond-when-an-interviewer-tells-me-Im-overqualified-for-a-job-and-asks-why-I-want-it/answer/Jason-Ewing-1 "undefined") _by_ [_Jae Alexis Lee_](https://www.quora.com/profile/Jae-Alexis-Lee "undefined")_on_ [_Quora_](http://www.quora.com/ "undefined")_._ Be honest. If you’re looking for a job that’s lower in stress level and easier to manage while you go back to school, then _say that._ If you’re applying for a position with a company you would be interested in working for post graduation then explaining that could help as well. “Ultimately, once I finish my degree, I’d love a chance to do X kind of job here, but for right now…” If you aren’t interested in staying on longer than it takes to finish your program of study, be honest about that. You may get a follow up about how far in the future that is, but if it’s far enough out to pass the company’s reasonable expectation of an employee’s tenure there, there’s no reason not to say this. Tell the interviewer what you’re looking to get out of the position. Hopefully, there is _something_ you want more than a pay check. If you present yourself in a way that says “I’m just here for the money…” Well, that’s nice. Everyone comes to work for the money. Tell me _why else you want to be here,_ and why else you want to be _doing_ _this specific job._ Employees who only want a paycheck are hard to keep motivated and engaged because the job is just a paycheck and anyone can give them a paycheck. There are tons of things we can do to put food on the table and pay the light bill. Tell the interviewer why you have chosen to do _this specific job_ to accomplish those things. If you come off as someone who will “take anything” then don’t expect to go far. But if you have reasons that you feel the job would be good for you and that you would be good for the job, then focus on those positives. _This question originally appeared on_ [_Quora: How do I respond when an interviewer tells me I’m overqualified for a job and asks why I want it?_](http://www.quora.com/How-do-I-respond-when-an-interviewer-tells-me-Im-overqualified-for-a-job-and-asks-why-I-want-it "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3661401/overqualified-candidate-response/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3661401/overqualified-candidate-response/"},"headline":"What to Tell an Interviewer Who Says You’re Overqualified","datePublished":"2015-01-09T18:49:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:26:18.478Z","description":"Honesty is the key to many doors yet to be opened","url":"https://time.com/3661401/overqualified-candidate-response/","keywords":["advice","Careers & Workplace","job interview","job search"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4339c52dacc3c343/69877912a988ca7ca46abcd1/many-awards.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Quora","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/quora/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4339c52dacc3c343/69877912a988ca7ca46abcd1/many-awards.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"three-award-trophies","caption":"three-award-trophies","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/advice/","name":"advice"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3661401/overqualified-candidate-response/","name":"What to Tell an Interviewer Who Says You’re Overqualified"}}]}] ```