Posted

By and large, the vast majority of job candidates have seldom enjoyed much leverage over would-be suitors for their services. Not-so-ironically, the rare exceptions were those well-established professionals who—while currently and gainfully employed in a present occupation—could afford the risks that came with putting out feelers and making contacts “under the radar,” so to speak.

The grass is always greener syndrome.

Strangely enough, that mindset worked both ways. Many employers naturally gravitated toward submissions that came from people currently employed in the industry; and, perhaps at times disconcertingly so, giving greater preference to those employed by their direct competitors.

Something that rings true about “wanting what isn’t readily available makes you want it more,” right?

But, what happens when the lion’s share of applicants for any given position already have a job? What does an employer do to keep an applicant engaged when the hiring process drags on for weeks or months? How do you proceed through the vetting process when a fair number of prospective candidates resort to “ghosting” and fail to materialize for the next stage in the interview process?

Or, even worse, simply don’t call or even show up for their first day on the job!

Unfortunately, that’s precisely the new reality many hiring managers are facing. The situation grows even more urgent for organizations prone to low-balling salary levels, pitching ambiguous incentive packages, or fostering antipathy in current and former employees. One thing we know in this brand new, increasingly interconnected world of social media: the word will eventually get out, and it will come back to haunt you.

Bridging the employment divides in professional staffing.

Before employers can solve the problem, most need to recognize that it exists. In this regard, the facts are remarkably persuasive. Consider that in 2011, only 54% of recruiters believed a candidate-driven job market would surface—today, 90% of recruiters agree that it has become a reality. Similarly, as it stands, about a third of those in the workforce consider themselves independent professional contractors. By 2027, that number will jump to 60%.

What employers bring to the table is as important as what they place on it.

Up to this point, many human resource departments have had the luxury of seeing high volumes of applications for each job positing. Not as much these days. In certain areas of IT administration, software programming, digital marketing, and accounting/finance, the number of open positions have begun to outpace the number of qualified applicants.

No doubt the time has come for many organizations to up their game. Or, risk falling desperately behind. Here are three suggestions to keep moving the ball forward:

·         Energize your hiring process. Good things don’t necessarily come to companies with extensive interview timeframes, multi-stage onboarding tasks, and laborious online application processes. If it doesn’t serve the interest of today’s rapidly diminishing attention span in a timely fashion, prospective candidates will look elsewhere rather than waiting it out amidst a sea of red tape and office politics.

·         Be a social media butterfly. The first arrivals to the workforce from a generation raised entirely online are just around the corner. They know the digital world as good, or perhaps even better, than the back of their hand. In the new candidate-driven job market, expanding your social media presence is your entrance ticket—not unlike the need for a college degree was—just a generation ago.

·         Live out your brand. Make no mistake, applicants are looking into your past just as surely as blockchain-verified resumes, applicant tracking systems, and other tools of technology look into theirs. If your company has a deserved reputation for less-than-deserving qualities, it’s a competitive imperative to make the appropriate internal changes and adopt them as part of your corporate culture.

·        Understand your audience. Professional staffing firms have a big role to play in separating the wheat from the chaff. In some ways, even greater, considering statistics that suggest many new graduates aren’t ready from prime time—according to employers who demand characteristic professionalism and basic interpersonal skills on the job.

Just how important? According to results of a survey revealed on forbes.com, as much as 65% of recruiters and hiring managers said strong written or spoken soft communications skills were more important in entry-level job applicants than chosen college major itself.

Yet, with the Will, there’s always a Way.

CarterWill gets it.

Find your way at www.carterwill.com today.

Leave a Reply