The Associated Press published a recent article that tells a sobering tale:
"Even with 15 million people hunting for work, even with the unemployment rate nearing 10 percent, some employers can't find enough qualified people for good-paying career jobs."
The article "Most job seekers' skills don't match the available openings' needs" appeared in the St. Petersburg Times.
Economists cited in the article say the main problem is a mismatch between available work and
people qualified to do it. Millions of jobs with attractive pay and benefits
that once drew legions of workers to the auto industry, construction, Wall
Street and other sectors are gone, probably for good. And those who lost those
jobs generally lack the right experience for new positions popping up in health
care, energy and engineering.
Problem is, that in these dire economic times, recruiters have less time than ever and several I have spke3n with claim to see several hundred to several thousands of resumes for each new job posting.
So what is the answer?
Clearly, resume scanning software is not the answer, as these do not ensure that a candidate can actually do the job. And increasingly jobseekers have figured out that matching their resume point for point to the job requirements can get their resume noticed. And hoping that the "tell me how you did such and such" question doesn't come up in the hoped for interview.
Perhaps it's time to revisit competency assessments. These powerful tools can be another way to determine if candidates being interviewed have the depth employers are seeking.
Separating the wheat from the chaff, so to speak.
Question is, how many organizations, looking to cut costs, are far-sighted enough to see this approach as a viable alternative?
