“Shouldn’t this be easy?” This is a question that countless recruiters have thought to themselves over the years. By all standards, recruitment is a cumbersome process. According to Glassdoor, it takes an average of twenty-three days to hire new staff; some jobs even take longer. It’s pretty disheartening for a recruiter after going through all these stress and activities involved in a recruitment process, only to realize the hired employee isn’t the right person for the job.
According to Leadership IQ, 46 percent of new employees fail in their first eighteen months working in an organization. This shows that attracting and retaining a unique talent is as much of a challenge as it is a priority.
Below are some pointers as to why you might be finding it difficult to get the perfect hire:
- It is a buyer’s market
- Job applicants are not always truthful
- Many candidates lack critical skills
- Experience, education, and skills aren’t everything
It Is A Buyer’s Market
During the recession, recruiters got used to the influx of applications for every job opening. This scarcity of supply, when compared to demand, posed its challenges. How could recruiters efficiently manage the situation and work through the various resumes and applications to find qualified candidates to interview?
Presently, the labor market has swung back in the applicant’s favor. Since Fall 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics put the ratio of job seekers between 1.2 and 1.5, compared to the 6.9 percent it was at the peak of the recession period in July 2009. Thus, the many job openings have made attracting and retaining qualified employees a feat. So, an organization that wants to hire the right employees needs a little dose of good luck and indulging in careful screening during the screening phase.
Many Candidates Lack Critical Skills
A study by SHRM shows that recruiters may find it hard to find good employees because many job seekers lack fundamental skills. The areas that suffered the most significant problems were “basic computer skills” and “writing in English.” However, basic skills were not the only deficit that the SHRM survey identified. They also encountered issues with applicants who lacked applied skills.
45% of recruiters stated they had issues finding applicants with problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. In addition, 43% of recruiters struggled to attract candidates who exhibited work ethics and professionalism. In other words, one main reason you are finding it challenging to hire the right employees is that a significant percentage of candidates lack the fundamental skills needed to be professionally relevant.
AI for recruitment online applications are excellent sourcing tools for recruiters to identify the best-fit talent based on skills.
Job Applicants Are Not Always Truthful
In this case, recruiters put a lot of stock into the information obtained from applicants when seeking the right candidate. In cover letters, job applications, interviews, and resumes, candidates are given many opportunities to showcase themselves since they desire to be seen by their potential employers. The problem with this is candidates are usually not who they present themselves to be.
56% of recruiters say they have caught several candidates who tell lies on their resumes—from applicants embellishing their skills and knowledge to fabricating education or employment experiences. Luckily, recruiters can use criminal background checks to verify education, work history, certifications, and professional licenses.
Consider using sample work assignments or skills tests as part of your screening process to shuffle out applications that are not genuine.
Experience, Education, And Skills Aren’t Everything
Often, recruiters judge applicants based on the metrics of success, experience, or knowledge. High GPAs, degrees from sought-after colleges, strong technical skills, and impressive work experiences– these are the sorts of bullet points that catch a recruiter’s attention. The issue here is a candidate can have all these attributes and still fail as an employee.
There is an X-factor to a unique talent that is usually tough to screen in an interview. A candidate with this X-factor would probably not look like the best hire compared to other candidates on paper. They may have less than five years of working experience. They may miss one or two key skills listed in your job description. They may have graduated from a not-so-popular college. The attributes of unique talents, most times, are not always traceable on their resumes.
Final Thoughts
These roadblocks create a massive challenge for recruiters. If your job seekers tell lies, or they have all the power or thirty to fifty of them lack the basic skills, and you cannot always screen for those qualities that unique talents have, how can you then hope to employ the right employees? The answer could be to de-emphasize the resumes, focusing more on the individual– how they respond to open-ended behavioral questions, how they act, or their method of asking you questions; you’ll have a greater chance at knowing who your applicants are.
