Isaiah Hankel is challenging hiring biases by turning the “overqualified” label from a barrier into a powerful advantage
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A childhood shaped by rejection
There’s a quiet heartbreak that happens when the world decides your best isn’t good enough. For Isaiah Hankel, it began long before he became a doctor, author, founder, and educational donor. It began as a child, watching the steady foundation of his family’s life crumble not because his parents did something wrong, but because they simply became too senior. They had long careers, good jobs, and lots of experience, but once they hit a certain age, opportunity dried up. Interviews stopped coming. Offers vanished. Eventually, they lost their home, their car, and the sense of security that comes from steady work.
For his family, the word “overqualified” wasn’t a compliment. It was a door slammed shut. It meant turning to shelters for food and splitting between relatives just to get by. For a young Isaiah, it was an early and brutal education in how careers are not just about income, they are about survival.
A label that locks people out
Years later, after building a successful career of his own, Hankel would discover that his family’s story was not unique. Every day, thousands of experienced professionals, many highly educated too, are quietly pushed to the margins of the job market, not because they lack skills but because of how much they have to offer. This is the reality Hankel is determined to change through Overqualified.com.
The term “overqualified” sounds flattering on the surface, but it is one of the most misleading rejection labels in modern hiring. It is often code for “you’re not wanted here.” A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology confirmed what Hankel had seen firsthand: highly capable candidates are regularly passed over not for their shortcomings but for perceived risks. Employers fear they might leave too soon, demand too much, or overshadow others. In short, the more qualified someone is, the harder it becomes to be seen as a fit.
The six overqualified factors
After twelve years of hundreds of one-on-one conversations each month with these professionals, Hankel and his team identified six key factors employers use to label candidates as “overqualified”: flight risk, boredom and disruption risk, intimidation or know-it-all risk, expense risk, being set in their ways or outdated risk, and default uncertainty risk, which is when someone does not fit neatly into a box from the employer’s perspective. These labels do not just cost people jobs, they cost them dignity, stability, and the ability to provide for their families.
Reframing the narrative
Through Overqualified.com, Hankel has helped more than 20,000 experienced professionals get hired or rehired. Many of his clients are mid to late-career individuals, often in their forties, fifties, and sixties, with advanced degrees and long, successful work histories, who suddenly find themselves ghosted, dismissed, or told in vague terms that they are “not a fit.” The platform is built to help them reframe their narrative.
Instead of downplaying their qualifications, candidates learn to align their experience with an employer’s goals, clearly communicate their commitment to a role, and position themselves as a solution, not a risk. When employers see dedication instead of flight risk, alignment instead of disruption, and focus instead of uncertainty, the bias begins to disappear.
A mission that gives back
Hankel’s work is not just professional, it is personal. His companies regularly donate to schools and shelters that support families struggling to find work, a reflection of his own history. For him, giving back is not separate from his mission, it is a continuation of it.
Looking ahead
In the years to come, Hankel envisions Overqualified.com growing into a global platform that does not just help people find jobs but reshapes how the job market values experience itself. His message is clear: being “too qualified” is not a flaw to fix but a strength to reframe. For those who have been told they are “too much,” this is a movement to reclaim their power and rewrite the rules.