The American workforce has been undergoing a lot of change recently. Millions of Americans are quitting their jobs every month, and there are far more job openings than there are available workers. Additionally, employers have seen a decline in application numbers, which is one of the many things having an effect on labor shortages.
These hurdles, among others, make finding the right candidate difficult—especially for small businesses that may not have the time or money required to search for talent these days. Thankfully, there are ways you can make your business more attractive to potential applicants, and there are third-party resources you can utilize to speed up the process and cut down on costs.
Before we explore those options, however, let’s take a look at some of the reasons there seems to be a ‘labor shortage’ in today’s job market.
Recently, this has become a common complaint amongst employers and business owners who feel as if they can’t find/retain quality employees. According to reports from the U.S. Department of Labor, however, there has been a steady increase over the last two years in the number of Americans searching for work.
So why are less people applying?
The answer is simple. Americans do want to work, they just have higher expectations for employers, and they won’t accept just any job that comes their way.
The working world looks very different than it did a couple of years ago. Record numbers of Americans are now clocking in from home, and many more are utilizing a hybrid schedule. Even the hiring process has become more reliant on technology. To have a competitive edge in the increasingly cutthroat talent war, businesses must possess a strong, effective online presence, and their hiring process must be seamless.
But before you can address the problem areas in your hiring process, you first must identify what the issues actually are.
With so many people searching for new job opportunities, it may seem surprising to hear that in 2021, it was estimated nearly half of all small businesses in the US had at least one unfilled job opening.
There are a myriad of reasons why some job listings might not be attracting a wide range of applicants. The listing may not be easily accessible to everyone, the position may not offer a remote-option, etc.
These are relatively easy fixes, but there are some hurdles in the modern-day job market that are a little harder to account for. Such as:
Applicants are not seeing your job posting — According to a survey from Flex Jobs, of those who stated they were searching for work, 48% of respondents said they felt like they were not finding the right jobs to apply for. Many even said they sought out both free and paid job-search services in order to find the right fit for them.
Hiring Managers are Not Responsive: — Another reason workers reported not having success finding a job was that employers did not get back to them in time.
According to a study from Robert Half Talent Solutions, 62% of professionals reported losing interest in a job if they did not hear back from the hiring manager within two weeks of the primary interview.
This number rose to 77% if employers did not provide a status update within three weeks of an interview.