Perceived overqualification, relative deprivation, and person-centric outcomes: The moderating role of career centrality

In this study, we develop and test a model examining why and when perceived overqualification relates to career satisfaction and subjective well-being. In a sample of 143 new university graduates in Spain with data collected across two time periods, we showed that perceived overqualification interacted with career centrality to predict relative deprivation, which in turn was related to lower career satisfaction, positive affect, and life satisfaction, as well as higher negative affect. Further, perceived overqualification had negative main effects on career satisfaction, negative affect, and life satisfaction. The results suggest the importance of perceived overqualification for well-being outcomes, as well as the importance of adopting a contextual approach to investigating the personal effects of perceived overqualification. •Overqualification is related to career satisfaction and subjective well-being.•Relative deprivation is a mediator of the effects of overqualification.•Career centrality is a moderator of the negative effects of overqualification.•Adopting a situational approach to understand the effects of overqualification.