When Elite Credentials Become a Liability: Navigating Overqualification Bias in Indian Government Selection Rounds
An MIT degree, a Stanford MBA, or a Google engineering pedigree might seem like unambiguous assets in any hiring context. Inside Indian government selection committees, however, these same credentials can quietly trigger skepticism, cultural dissonance, and subtle disqualification mechanisms that candidates from the diaspora rarely anticipate. This article examines why elite American qualifications sometimes work against candidates — and what to do about it.