Overskilled: You’re Scaring The Locals

How being too good at your job terrifies recruiters—and how to fix the mess.

You walk into the interview feeling like a God, your Ori/Godhead/Ka/Higher Self shining and ready.

You’ve got the experience. You’ve got the technical chops. You’ve solved problems this company hasn’t even realized they have yet. You put it all on the table—a feast of competence.

Then you get the email three days later. “We’ve decided to move forward with a candidate whose qualifications better align with our needs.”

Translation: You scared them.

You walked into a karaoke bar and tried to sing opera. The vibe was Kendrick Lamar, not Pavarotti.

Here is why your brilliance is terrifying the locals, and how to get hired without lobotomizing yourself.

You Look Like a Flight Risk

Recruiters are risk-averse creatures. Their worst nightmare isn’t hiring an idiot; it’s hiring a genius who quits in three months because they’re bored.

When you show up with a resume that screams “I could run this department,” the hiring manager doesn’t see an asset. They see a ticking clock.

They know the job is repetitive. They know the pay is mediocre. If you look like you’re too smart for the room, they assume you’ll figure that out by lunchtime on Tuesday. That’s just how the game goes.

You Threaten the Alpha (I hate that term)

This is the dark, ugly truth nobody puts on LinkedIn.

If you are interviewing with a middle manager who suffers from Imposter Syndrome (which is most of them), being “overskilled” is a death sentence.

You’re seen as their replacement, even if you don’t want the gig.

If you start talking about high-level strategy while they’re struggling to manage a spreadsheet, you just highlighted their incompetence. They won’t hire you. They’ll hire the safe, B-minus player who makes them look like the smart one.

The Robert Greene Rule

Robert Greene, the author of The 48 Laws of Power, learned this lesson in hell.

Here’s the Play. Early in his career, he rewrote a piece of work for a boss. He made it sharper, clearer, brilliant. He thought he was proving his value.

Instead, she fired him.

Why? Because Law 1 is “Never Outshine the Master.”

When you rewrite the boss’s messy email into Shakespearean prose, you aren’t saving them time. You are holding up a mirror that shows them exactly how mediocre they are. And nobody forgives the person who holds that mirror.

Your competence is an insult to an insecure manager. Remember that.

You Broke the Algorithm

Modern hiring is an assembly line. It’s designed to put square pegs in square holes.

If you’re a polymath—someone who can code, write copy, and manage the P&L—you’re an octagon. You don’t fit the hole.

Recruiters don’t know how to sell you to the team. They can’t categorize you. You’re confusing, and confusing people get thrown in the “No” pile because it takes too many calories to figure you out.

How to Stop Scaring the Locals

You don’t have to get dumber. You just have to get strategic.

Curate, Don’t Dump Your resume is not an autobiography. It’s a sales brochure.

If the job asks for a burger flipper, tell them you flip the hell out of a burger. Even if you used to do it at five-star restaurants.

Hide the superpowers that aren’t relevant. Reveal them slowly, after you’ve signed the offer letter and gained their trust.

Sell the Safety If you are undeniably overqualified, address the elephant in the room immediately.

Don’t let them wonder why you want a step down. Tell them. “I’ve done the management thing, and frankly, I hate the meetings. I just want to get my hands dirty and build things again.”

Give them a reason to believe you’ll stay.

Find a Bigger Room If you have to hide 90% of who you are just to get a paycheck, you’re in the wrong zip code. Hell – the wrong country.

Stop applying for roles that want cogs. Go find the startups that are on fire, the turnarounds that are drowning, or the founders who are crazy enough to value a Swiss Army Knife.

Don’t shrink to fit the chair. Find a bigger table. Just don’t flip that shit over unless you need to.