You may have seen lists about jobs that employers claim to have difficulty filling. These lists generally include popular jobs such as nurse, accountant, and IT professional. It’s implied that applicants with education in those fields can easily find work. However, it’s not so simple. In fact, there are recent graduates and even experienced professionals in these fields that can’t find work. So what’s the truth behind these “hard to fill” jobs?
Employers Won’t Invest in New Employees
College students and recent graduates know how demanding employers can be, with most companies expecting work experience from entry-level workers and sometimes even interns. But experienced applicants also have trouble getting jobs, because employers don’t want to invest in new hires at all. Workers with relevant education and experience would still need time to catch up to speed because each company has it’s own software and procedures. If an applicant doesn’t have a very specific skill set, they don’t stand a chance. Companies prefer to reap the benefits of someone else’s investment rather than waste money on training.
Requirements are Impossible
As mentioned above, job ads include skills and experience possessed by very few people. If companies were willing to loosen up their requirements and train new hires, they wouldn’t have such difficulty filling these positions. In addition, salary and benefit offerings aren’t enough to lure any qualified candidates that do exist away from their current jobs. Less experienced applicants might be willing to accept the lower salaries, but employers want it both ways. In the end, organizations resort to outsourcing or piling more work on their current employees (without any increase in pay).
Demand is Regional
Just because overall demand for a given job is high, it might not be strong everywhere. Some industries are very regional, and certain areas have more qualified applicants for specific jobs. For example, a teaching applicant would have much better chance of finding work in a rural impoverished area than in a upper class suburb. Job-seekers should be willing to relocate to less desirable locations if their chosen field offers opportunities in a different region.
How can you overcome the obstacles to landing a job? First, get as much work experience as possible before graduating college. Entry-level jobs don’t really exist anymore, so internships are essential for college students. For those that have experience but are still having trouble, it may be time to expand your search to new locations and industries.