Hiring managers always want the best candidates. That’s their prerogative, and I’m all for it. Until they decide to over-hire. In simple terms, over-hiring is when they want to hire Barack Obama to operate rides at Disneyland. And worse still, is when they then complain that the pay range for the job is too low to accommodate Mr. Obama’s expectations! If they eventually get their way, the candidate often ends up being hired at or beyond the maximum of the pay range.

Fast forward a year, their now-employee is demotivated because the job isn’t challenging enough and he is ineligible for any pay increases.

It’s a daily struggle to talk sense into these managers, so when I heard how brilliantly my recruiter handled one of the more unreasonable ones, I was impressed. This hiring manager had insisted on only shortlisting degree holders for a low-paying dead-end administrative job.

Recruiter: Do you have kids? Are they still schooling?
Hiring manager: Yes, my son is studying in university now.
Recruiter: Oh, so how much do you pay for his education each year? 40-50K?
Hiring manager: That’s about right.
Recruiter: So for a four-year course, that’s almost 200K? Wow.
Hiring manager: Yep. College is expensive.
Recruiter: So after he graduates, I suppose you will encourage him to apply for this job which pays 20K a year? No? Why? Because the job has no career prospects and the salary is too low? Then what makes you think I can find degree-holders to do this job?!!
Hiring manager: *slinks away quietly*

Utterly beautiful.