“A mismatch between job openings and job hunters contributes to the lousy job market”

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A mismatch between job openings and job hunters contributes to the lousy job market Posted: 24 Jul 2010 07:26 PM PDT Employers say they can't find the talented workers they need. Job hunters say they can't get through the hiring system to prove they're worthy. The hallmark of this worst-since-the-Great-Depression job market is a mismatch — both real and perceived — between job openings and job hunters. The mismatch is frustrating the nation's 6.8 million long-term unemployed, the 45.5 percent of job hunters who have been looking for six months or more — a record percentage in modern times. One is Denise Freedman, who keeps hearing that the nation needs health care workers but hasn't been able to crack the hiring code. "I've been looking for 18 months," the Olathe woman said. "Recruiters say there isn't anything wrong, but they're flooded with applications from people who have more active experience than I have. But I can't get to the hirer to explain." Employers, increasingly separated from applicants by computerized hiring systems, are wading through hundreds of applicants without seeing the perfect fit for their openings. They say few applicants have the ever more specialized skills in the health professions, engineering or high tech that the jobs demand. Garmin, for example, has several pages of job posts on CareerBuilder.com for engineering and information technology specialists. At Armed Forces Insurance in Leavenworth, the search has been on for more than year for an experienced insurance actuary. "There are almost no unemployed experienced actuaries," said Scott Neilan, director of human resources for the insurance company, who can't even find employed actuaries willing to come in for an interview. "It's almost like people have gone to their figurative storm shelters and they won't even peek out until they are sure the storm has completely passed," he said. But that doesn't mean that the company will lower its standards. Like most employers, it hasn't moved to adjust its required qualifications and hire someone who's not a perfect fit but "trainable." In general, applicants counter that the selection funnel is too narrow, that they could do the job if given a chance. They suspect age discrimination, bias against unemployed applicants, and suspicion of those embarking on different careers. Because of reduced staffs and budget cuts, "training programs are gone," said Gordon Smith, vice president at the Lee Hecht Harrison outplacement office in Overland Park. "Employers want people to show up with just-in-time skills," Smith said. "They're frustrated that they're not seeing the skill sets they need." Furthermore, "the skill sets that organizations are requiring are becoming ever more specific and refined, thus making finding the perfect candidate even more difficult," said the 2010 Talent Shortage Survey by Manpower Inc. "For example, organizations in need of accountants often require accountants with even more specialized skill sets, such as forensic accountants, accountants specializing in troubled debt restructuring or those familiar with International Financial Reporting Standards," the report said. The flip side of the mismatch problem — from applicants' points of view — is that corporate hiring systems aren't working well to find the potential good fit. Kansas Citian Andrew Nelson responded, as required by an online hiring system, to a medical writing position that he knew he was well qualified to do based on his past job experience. But his application was automatically rejected because his degree was in history of science instead of English or journalism, the degree requirement the hiring system was programmed to accept. Unlike many job applicants, Nelson was able to "network around" the rejection and made some valuable contacts for future job possibilities. His experience illustrates the demand to appear a perfect fit to resume screeners. Those screeners can be computerized scanning programs or front-line human resource personnel charged with plucking "qualified" candidates out of the pile, based on a list of mandates. "If companies give 10 requirements for the job, they're going to look for someone with 11," Smith said. "They have that luxury. If they don't find the absolute perfect candidate, they're going to wait or they're going to use independent contractors." And therein lies one of the mismatch characteristics: Most job hunters want to replace what they lost — a full-time job with benefits. But most of the lost jobs aren't coming back. Employers are increasingly likely to hire contract and temporary workers or cobble together part-timers and not have to shoulder the costs of employee benefits, which can amount to one-third of payroll. Freedman, the woman who is looking for a certified nursing assistant job, said she is dismayed to see that there are hardly any full-time nursing jobs posted, even though there are many openings. "When you look, it's all part time or per diem, or it's home health aide work where you don't get paid mileage," Freedman said. "They've cut that pay so much that you can't make money." It's not just that full-time job offers are scarcer. It's that workers who have lost jobs in automobile assembly or aircraft maintenance are extremely unlikely to find comparable work. They need to retrain for new occupations. Manpower, an employment consulting and placement organization, said it's "imperative, therefore, that employers recalibrate their mindsets to consider candidates who may not have all of the specific skills a job requires" and look for candidates who are a "teachable fit." Some economic stimulus funds and labor department grants are being used to retrain laid-off workers in declining industries. But a question remains: Will today's hot jobs still be hot after those workers earn new degrees or certifications? And that showcases another mismatch: Newly retrained or second-career workers are competing in a tough job market with many downsized, experienced professionals. Neilan, the human resources officer at Armed Forces Insurance, said that for nonspecialized positions, "the candidate pool is as strong and large as I have ever seen." But "job seekers who are looking to change careers or those who are recent graduates just can't compete with candidates that have worked many years in our industry." In the information technology sector, for example, employers want the IT specialist who can provide expertise from day one, not someone they have to pay to learn new programs. A survey by Dice.com this month produced the 10 highest-demand skills for information technology openings. They include Java/J2EE, SAP, .NET, Oracle, SharePoint and C#. Programmers or technicians without those skills aren't going to go to the top of the candidate or pay list, the Dice report noted. Beyond skills and experience, there's also often a mismatch between the demands of available jobs and the physical, mental or emotional capabilities of the job hunters. Some jobs go wanting because job hunters don't want to take them — they're hard physical work, or they lack full-time hours and benefits, or they pay too little. At Concerned Care Inc., a Kansas City agency that places workers who care for adults with disabilities, many applicants take themselves out of consideration once they learn the rigors of the job, said company official Barbara Griggs. Griggs also acknowledged that low pay — $8 to $10 an hour — creates a job mismatch for workers who had earned far more in previous employment. For those job hunters, an unemployment check (averaging $255 but as high as $320 a week in Missouri, and averaging $316 but as high as $436 a week in Kansas) can be financially comparable to taking a near-minimum-wage job. But Smith, the outplacement adviser, said his company also sees employers who are reluctant to believe that a job hunter is willing to work for less. "Companies don't seem to want to take 'downshifters,' the people who say they're willing to work for less pay or less responsibility," Smith said. "Hirers don't seem to be able to understand that there are people who want to do that." There's yet another contributor to the job market mismatch: Job hunters want a job now. Employers are taking longer and longer to evaluate candidates, run background checks and put finalists through multiple interviews. After that, because of uncertainty about the direction of the economy, health care reform and corporate taxes, many employers are putting the brakes on hiring all but that top, most-needed talent that was hard to find. The 10 hardest-to-fill jobs in the United States Skilled trades Sales representatives Nurses Technicians Drivers Restaurant and hotel staff Management/executives Engineers Doctors and other non-nursing professionals Customer service representatives and customer support staff To reach Diane Stafford, call 816-234-4359 or send e-mail to stafford@kcstar.com. Source: 2010 Talent Shortage Survey by Manpower Inc. Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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