Techie at Google rejected from job she applied to for being 'too good': 'Qualifications surpass role requirements'

A software engineer working at Google recently shared her surprising experience on X (formerly Twitter) about being rejected from a job for being "overqualified." Her story quickly gained attention, as many others pitched in with their own experiences, revealing that this situation is more common than expected in the world of job applications.

Anu Sharma, a Delhi-based Google employee, took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a surprising job rejection story.

"Didn't know you could be rejected for being too good," she wrote.

She had recently applied to a startup, but her qualifications ended up costing her the opportunity.

In her post, she shared the unusual reason for the rejection that the company sent her: "After going through your resume, we realized that your qualifications significantly surpass the role requirements."

But the startup didn't stop there—they explained why this was a deal-breaker. "Our experience has shown us that people with higher qualifications that what the job role needs often find their work unfulfilling and naturally, part ways soon after joining."

It seems being overqualified can be a double-edged sword.

How did people respond?

The comments section quickly filled up with people sharing their own rejection tales.

One user shared, "I was rejected too recently not for being more qualified but being from a higher ranking college. I told them I won't leave but they were hell bent."

Another simply said, "Suffering from success."

Some found a silver lining in the company's honesty. "You have to appreciate their openness," one commenter wrote. "They could have easily made up some excuse or could have pinned it on you. Instead they owned up and acknowledged your superiority for the role. You won't find many companies doing that. And what if they were right and you didn't like the opportunity there? Would have been a loss on both sides."

Maybe rejection letters like this aren't so bad after all—there's got to be a certain satisfaction in knowing you're too qualified!