On the Job by Anita Bruzzese The No. 1 Reason Employers Cant Find the Right Talent

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese The No. 1 Reason Employers Can't Find the Right Talent There have been many complaints by some companies that they cant find people to fill positions, despite a 7.3% unemployment rate. What gives? Are the unemployed a bunch of no-talent, bottom-of-the-barrel drudges who should never be given a job? Hardly. Check out Twitter or LinkedIn, and youll find experienced, smart, driven people looking for work. There are currently four million people who are now considered long-term unemployed, meaning they have been looking for work for more than six months. A recentUrban Institutestudy finds that these long-term jobless are better educated than the other unemployed Americans. So why do some employers say they cant find the right talent? Because theyre lazy. They let software automatically screen for keywords so they can eliminate hundreds of resumes without even looking at them. Other pre-screening methods eliminate anyone who doesnt have the exact skills mentioned in the job posting. Next, theyrule out anyone who looks too old, is unemployed (there must be something wrong with them if they dont have a job, right?) and anything else that gives them an excuse to dump a resume, such as gasp! a misspelled word. When it finally comes time to do interviews, moreapplicants are rejectedbecause the employer asks basic, uninspired questions that fail to really plumb the depths of what an applicant may have to offer. So, now the recruitment process by these employers has come down to only a few remaining applicants. But after a quick huddle with human resources, those candidates are determined not to possess it (which is never really defined) and so its decided the search process needs to begin again. Now everyone sits around complaining that no qualified talent is available. But could it be that the problem isnt the lack of qualified applicants, but a lack of quality recruiting? If managers were better trained in the hiring process, they could use pre-screening and interview processes that didnt weed out candidates based on a lack of certain skills. They would understand that employees do best when they are challenged and can see career development in their future. Hiring someone to do the exact same job they left earlier doesnt make a lot of sense and can lead to job dissatisfaction within the year. In addition, more employers need to beasking better questions in interviewsso that they find people with the skills that often cant be taught: a dedication to quality work, a commitment to teamwork; an ability to think strategically and creatively; and an ability to get along with others. In Hiring for Attitude, by Mark Murphy, he says that of the 20,000 new hires he tracked, 46% failed within 18 months because a majority of the time they couldnt be coached, had low levels of emotional intelligence, were unmotivated and had the wrong temperament. If employers want to start hiring smarter, then they need to: Stop writing crappy job postings.Employers need to really understand what an open position needs on a short- and long-term basis. Hiring managers should spend time talking to colleagues and customers to solicit their ideas on the key skills that are needed to really rock the position. If a cool head in a stressful environment is needed, applicants might be asked to tell a story about a time that they faced a crisis and how they dealt with it. Look for referrals.Other employees often know people within their industry or even have friends who might be a good fit for a job. Always open a position internally first as it can help drive retention, motivation and engagement for employees to know an employer sees them as helping the company be successful. Quit taking the easy route.If youre looking for an easy way to eliminate the number of people you need to interview and quickly fill the position so you can move on to other things, then you will pay for that slacker attitude when you hire the wrong person. Department of Labor statistics shows that the average cost of a bad hiring decision can equal 30% of the persons first year of potential earnings. So, dig (read more here)