I can't find anyone for my posted position: really?

 

     For the past 15 years or more, I have seen various comments "I just can't find anyone for my position". Really? I suspect that you are continuing some long-time inappropriate practices.

     If a position is entry-level, and is posted (and salaried) as entry-level, then THERE ARE NO JOB-SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS. If there are requirements, then it is NOT "entry-level". Most of you have heard, perhaps even encountered, "how can I get a job without experience when all of the jobs expect experience?" A vicious cycle and perpetuated by many companies. Once again, entry-level means no job-specific requirements.

     Now this does not mean you have to hire anybody that applies. There are some basic skills that anyone graduating from high school should bring to the work arena. The ability to read and write. If the person cannot do that, there are lots of programs available to learn. Basic arithmetic, ditto. Nowadays, the lack of fear of computers is a requirement. Once again, lots of courses in basic computer literacy are available. Local libraries, senior citizen centers, and community colleges all have them available -- often free. Some jobs require the ability to lift certain weights -- and that should be in the job description. There may be requirements for hygiene, especially if the person is expected to interact with the general public. Job-required social skills may be needed but note that, for many positions that do not interact with the public, social skills may be up for negotiation if you want to keep the candidate pool full.

     So, in summary, entry-level can require indications of the basic ability to acquire job-related skills -- but should not require any of those job-related skills. Otherwise, it is NOT entry-level and should not be posted as such or paid as such.

     There are also listings on the other end of the spectrum. A job listing might have a list of 20 very specific skills and experiences often based on what the person leaving that position had (even if they never actually used that skill/experience within the position). Every additional specific skill you add reduces the potential pool of possibilities. IF you really want to increase the number of potential candidates, then you shift the specifics to abilities and you shift items from "required" to "desired" if they aren't needed from day one. If you need experience dealing with project management software -- say that -- don't say a specific project management software package unless being able to immediately launch is really that important -- and recognize you have reduced your candidate pool. Need object-oriented programming experience -- say that -- don't list a specific language unless it is of such importance for immediate launch that reduction in the candidate pool is acceptable.

     I have run across many position descriptions that say "5 years experience needed in specific language ABC" and language ABC has only existed for three years. If I didn't hear "we can't find anyone" so often from those companies, I would laugh. But I usually sniffle a bit out of sadness for both the companies and the great potential candidates not making it over the ridiculous hurdles.

     Another area of HR problematics is having a "hidden list". There is a list of "required" characteristics/abilities (which may, or may not, be appropriate to needs). There is a list of "preferred/desired" characteristics/abilities. Then there is the "hidden list" that are NOT in the job description but which will cause the candidate to be rejected without further examination. We will all hope that sexuality/gender/ethnicity/pigmentation/age/etc. are not on your particular hidden list but if they are then you deserve to not find anyone as you are eliminating potential candidates based on irrelevant characteristics (and also, likely, reducing potential customers and clients).

     But there are also often other items -- not exactly irrelevant (though many can be argued to not be really needed) -- on the hidden list such as specific requirements not listed or the fact that the person must be able to work without sponsorship or that they must live in a specific area. There can be legitimate requirements that are not posted in the job listing BUT if they are required and they are not part of the listing then you are wasting your time, potential candidates' time, AND decreasing your candidate pool. Put legitimate "hidden list" items on the published requirements.

     So, now you have a short list of "required" qualifications -- is your incoming filter set up that way? Or are those "desired" (and "hidden") qualifications kicking resumes, and potential star employees, out and away?

     Once upon a time, when I was hunting for a position, I applied to a LOT (I won't say the exact number because I don't want anyone fainting) of positions over a period of years. For each of the positions to which I applied, I had all of the "required" qualifications (and, yes, I had had my resume worked over by two different theoretically expert resume writers), but I received responses to less than 5% of the applications. Why? I can't say for certain but I certainly didn't feel sorry for those companies when I saw the job posting out there for an additional three to six months. Such still occurs. I feel no sympathy.

In summary:

• Entry-level positions should not require job-specific skills.
  
  
• Search for abilities rather than specifics unless you are explicitly willing to have the tradeoff of a reduced candidacy base.
  
  
• Make double-dare certain that the required skills/abilities/experiences are really needed and, for skills and experiences, that there is really a need for a running start.
  
  
• If you find yourself rejecting candidates because of reasons NOT listed on the job listing, LIST them.

Economic Interconnectivity and Big Data

     The world economy is a huge set of interconnections. One type of job depends on other types of jobs; if a job type disappears it is likely to affect many other job positions. Scarcity of resources of one type can affect the prices of many cascading products. If the world does shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, new jobs will appear and old ones will change or go away.
     The interconnectivity also causes great fragility as the world gets larger and there are more dependencies. Imagine, if you can, people waking up tomorrow and deciding that the Internet is no longer of interest (I can easily remember when it didn't exist) -- how many products would no longer have a market, how many people would no longer have a job, how would it affect others (advertising, for example -- and printed newspapers might surge back into dominance)?
     Once upon a time, I was interviewing with Google and, as part of the telephone interview, we discussed potential projects and interests. I put forth the idea that, since Google was well designed to integrate knowledge and had such massive data storage and access, they would be well able to create an economic model of interconnected occupations and salaries. At this point in time, I would like to also add in products and localized market prices.
     Why bother with any type of tool? Why not just make the change and see what happens? The main advantage of such a tool is to have a better ability to forecast the effects of policy changes. What really happens if minimum wage is increased to a living wage? What happens if the illegal immigrants who are largely responsible for hand harvesting of our fruits and vegetables are kept away -- what will be the effects on produce prices, truckers, grocery stores, and so forth? What jobs are affected if private transportation is minimized and public transportation maximized?
      Such a project would be impossible if every individual, unique job, discrete part, and location had to be tracked. Luckily, items can be aggregated -- 500 Blue F-150 trucks should only have a quantity value change over 1 Blue F-150 truck (but, at the same time, there needs to be a way of describing Red F-150 trucks without having a fully different item). There is a lot of work to be done and it would still be a difficult project but certainly within the capabilities of many of the larger data handling companies -- Google, Facebook, Amazon, IBM, Microsoft, ... What would be the Return On Investment (ROI) for such a project? It's really difficult to know but it would be a valuable service/project that should be of use to governments and businesses around the world.
     I would suggest architecting such  a project as an iterative accretion of data. Start with something relatively small -- a loaf of bread. The loaf of bread has a set of occupations associated with it -- baker, packers, delivery people, stockers, advertising, payroll, Human Resources, etc. It also has a set of ingredients -- flour, yeast, filtered water, possibly milk, salt, and so forth. Each ingredient has an amount which acts as a ratio of strength in the links to the bread. Each ingredient has its own delivery and production chain which each have associated costs and value. It would be considerable in itself but the greatest value would be the fact that it is still small enough to be thrown away. New links and new data structure values will be discovered to be needed as the database develops. Now do it over (iterate) with those better values and links. Do it again if needed. Now add butter to the bread and continue on.
     There are also usability concerns. The bread company may start off selling only white bread and then add rye bread -- each with their own percentage of sales. How does one substitute recipe ingredients? How do you change the dependencies and the ingredient ratios? What happens if a problem ruins the rye crop for the year? If modelling an auto, how easy is it to change the model from gasoline to electric? Not only is there a substitution of an "ingredient" but the interconnections to suppliers, dealers, raw materials (batteries, possibly lithium) change. The model must be able to be changed easily because modelling the existing situation may be interesting but comparisons are what gives the most value.
     How would you address such a problem? What do you see as specific practical benefits from such an economic model? Is there some subset of such a model already in existence that could be used as the core of expansion? How are unpaid people incorporated into the model, recognizing that the system falls apart without them -- even if they are not considered to be part of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or a paid occupation?
     While I find the project fascinating just from a theoretical basis, I keep finding more and more potential uses as I consider the matter.