Why Job Listing Qualifications Feel Absurd
Summary
TLDRThe script addresses the challenges job seekers face due to increasingly demanding job requirements, focusing on skills over formal education. It highlights the shift towards skills-based hiring, with 46% of companies planning to hire more in 2024 due to skill gaps. The US labor market's cooling has intensified competition, leading employers to be more selective, prioritizing experience and skills over credentials. The script also discusses the implications for the economy and suggests that upskilling and adapting to new technologies are crucial for maintaining a competitive edge.
Takeaways
- 🔍 Job seekers often feel unqualified for positions that seem like a good fit due to required experience and skills.
- 📈 42% of employees felt excluded from job opportunities in 2023 due to a lack of qualifications or experience.
- 📊 Skills-based hiring is on the rise, with 79% of hiring managers valuing skills, experience, and accomplishments over credentials.
- 📉 The US labor market has cooled due to economic slowdown and interest rate hikes, leading to a more competitive job market.
- 📈 46% of companies plan to increase hiring in 2024 due to a lack of required skills among current employees.
- 💼 Companies are becoming more selective, with a focus on hiring for specialized skills and fewer new employees.
- 📚 There is a significant gap between the skills employees have and what employers are seeking, leading to a skills mismatch.
- 🏢 The decline in recruiters has led to inflated job requirements, as there is less expertise to challenge them.
- 💼 Companies are prioritizing quality of hire and specialized skills over traditional hiring methods like resumes.
- 📉 Entry-level jobs are becoming scarce, with only 2.5% of jobs posted on ZipRecruiter in April 2024 requiring no experience.
- 📈 The demand for skilled trades is high, but access to training and upskilling is limited, especially in the current economic climate.
Q & A
What percentage of employees felt excluded from job opportunities due to a lack of formal qualifications or experience in 2023?
-In 2023, 42% of employees felt they were excluded from job opportunities because of a lack of formal qualifications or experience.
Why are companies shifting towards skills-based hiring?
-Companies are shifting towards skills-based hiring because they are more concerned about the actual experience and skills of employees rather than their degrees, and it helps in reducing mis-hires and increasing employee retention.
What is the impact of the US labor market cooling on job postings and hiring rates?
-The cooling of the US labor market has resulted in a slowdown in hiring rates, with a dip to 3.5% in March 2024, and a more than 15% decline in total job postings at the end of 2023 compared to the previous year.
Why are job requirements becoming more demanding for job seekers?
-Job requirements are becoming more demanding due to a more competitive job market, high interest rates affecting company hiring practices, and changes in the hiring process with fewer recruiters to moderate job requirements.
What does the script suggest about the role of recruiters in job postings and hiring?
-The script suggests that the decline in the number of recruiters has led to inflated job requirements, as there is less expertise to challenge or moderate the demands of line managers when posting jobs.
How has the ratio of open jobs to active applicants changed on LinkedIn from 2022 to the following year?
-The ratio changed from one open job for every active applicant in 2022 to one job for every two active applicants in the following year, indicating increased competition for job seekers.
What is the current focus of employers when it comes to hiring?
-Employers are focusing on hiring talent with specialized skills, prioritizing quality of hire, and seeking evidence of actual work capabilities over traditional credentials.
How has the share of US job postings requiring a 2 or 4-year degree changed from 2019 to 2024?
-The share of US job postings requiring a 2 or 4-year degree fell from 20.4% to 17.8% between 2019 and 2024, indicating a shift towards skills-based hiring.
What is the potential cost to the US if upskilling doesn't catch up with workplace demand by 2028?
-If upskilling doesn't catch up with workplace demand, it could cost the US as much as $975 billion by 2028.
What are some ways job seekers can gain skills, credentials, and experience as suggested by the script?
-Job seekers can gain skills, credentials, and experience through volunteering, internships, online training programs, freelancer platforms, and taking jobs to build up experience even if it means starting as the cheapest candidate.
What is the role of public policy in addressing the issue of upskilling in the US according to the script?
-The script suggests that public policy should play a role in addressing upskilling by facilitating conversations among companies about training and developing the kind of workers they need, without requiring huge economic shifts.
Outlines
📈 The Shift to Skills-Based Hiring and Job Market Challenges
The job market has become increasingly competitive and demanding, with 42% of employees feeling excluded from opportunities due to a lack of qualifications or experience. Companies are shifting towards skills-based hiring, focusing more on experience and skills rather than formal education. Despite this, job requirements are rising, and the labor market has cooled due to economic factors like inflation and interest rate hikes. This has led to a slowdown in hiring rates and increased competition among job seekers. Employers are more selective, often choosing candidates with more experience, and are less willing to take risks due to limited access to capital. The hiring process has also changed, with companies reducing the role of recruiters, leading to inflated job requirements and a perceived skills gap.
📉 Decline in Entry-Level Opportunities and Skills Mismatch
The decline in entry-level and less specialized positions has significantly impacted recent graduates and first-time job seekers. Employers prefer candidates with prior experience, leaving many in a catch-22 situation where they need a job to gain experience but are deemed unqualified without it. Entry-level jobs constitute a mere fraction of total job postings, and there is a significant skills mismatch with many studying subjects that do not align with job opportunities. The US lacks a robust system for upskilling and training, with federal spending on job training being significantly lower than the OECD average. Employers have largely abandoned internal talent development, and the labor market's flexibility disincentivizes significant investment in employee training. This has led to a situation where there are more four-year degree holders than jobs requiring such degrees, while skilled trade positions remain unfilled due to a lack of accessible training.
🛠️ The Emergence of Skills-Based Hiring and Solutions for Job Seekers
Skills-based hiring is gaining traction, with employers using pre-employment assessments to evaluate candidates' skills and abilities, which are often considered more important than traditional hiring tools like resumes and interviews. Companies like Walmart and IBM are leading the charge by hiring more workers without a degree, and the number of job postings not requiring formal education has increased. Skills-based hiring has proven effective in reducing mis-hires and increasing employee retention. However, making lasting changes to hiring practices is a slow process, and only a small percentage of companies have made significant, lasting changes. Policy intervention is suggested to address the upskilling issue, and job seekers are advised to gain relevant experience through internships, volunteering, or online training programs. Freelancing is another way to build experience and skills, and job seekers should remain hopeful and proactive in their approach to finding employment.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Job Postings
💡Skills-Based Hiring
💡Credentials
💡Labor Market
💡Inflation
💡Upskilling
💡Entry-Level Jobs
💡Great Resignation
💡Skills Gap
💡Pre-Employment Assessments
💡Freelancer Platforms
Highlights
In 2023, 42% of employees felt they were excluded from job opportunities due to a lack of formal qualifications or experience.
Lacking the right experience, skills, credentials, and education ranked second among the biggest barriers for job seekers in 2022.
Employers are shifting towards skills-based hiring, focusing more on experience and skills than degrees.
46% of companies plan to increase hiring in the first half of 2024 due to a lack of required skills among current employees.
79% of hiring managers value skills, experience, and past accomplishments more than credentials and education.
The US labor market has cooled due to economic activity slowdown and increased interest rates.
Hiring rates in the US dipped to 3.5% in March 2024, and job postings declined more than 15% at the end of 2023.
Employers are more selective due to a high-interest rate environment and less access to capital.
The hiring process has changed with a decline in recruiters, leading to inflated job requirements.
54% of recruiters prioritize the quality of hire for 2024 through 2029, focusing on specialized skills.
Entry-level jobs dropped from 79% in 2022 to 61%, hitting entry-level workers harder during a labor market slowdown.
Over a third of employers prefer older employees over recent Gen Z graduates, citing unpreparedness for the workforce.
57% of job seekers between 2020 and 2022 were prevented from applying for jobs due to a lack of skills or training.
The US spends only 0.03% of GDP on job training compared to the OECD average of 0.11%.
Employers have largely given up on training, focusing more on external hires than internal promotions.
There's a significant skills mismatch in the US with high demand for skilled trades and fewer people accessing training.
It's challenging to become skilled in trades due to reduced union training programs and reliance on community colleges.
Upskilling is critical for maintaining competitive and productive standards in the US economy.
Skills-based hiring is on the rise, with over half of employers using pre-employment assessments.
Major companies like Walmart and IBM are hiring more workers without a degree, reflecting a shift in hiring practices.
Skills-based hiring can reduce mis-hires, cost, and time to hire while increasing employee retention.
Only 37% of companies made lasting changes to their hiring after increasing the share of workers without a BA degree.
Solving the upskilling issue in the US requires policy involvement and small investments in training development.
Job seekers can prepare by gaining experience through volunteering, internships, online training, and freelancer platforms.
Transcripts
Picture yourself on the hunt for a new job.
After scrolling through numerous job postings, you
finally land on one that seems to be a perfect fit.
That's until you see the required years of
experience, necessary certifications, and a host
of skills you need to be proficient in.
In 2023, 42% of employees felt they were excluded from
job opportunities due to a lack of formal
qualifications or experience.
Lacking enough of the right experience, skills,
credentials and or education ranked second
among the biggest barriers for job seekers in 2022.
The job market today is definitely tougher than the
job market we've seen over the last couple of years.
Many job seekers don't know what they're qualified for
and feel that they're unqualified for jobs even
that, on paper, look like a good fit.
Meanwhile, companies say they are putting skills
first.
There has been a shift over the past few years towards
skills-based hiring, with employers far more concerned
about employees experience and skills than even their
degrees.
46% of companies plan to increase their hiring in the
first half of 2024, because their current employees lack
the required skills.
79% of workers in hiring managers said that skills,
experience, and past accomplishments are more
valuable than credentials and education.
I think right now we see businesses working together
and trying to identify what are the skills that are
really necessary to do the jobs for which they're
hiring today, and to be able to predict the jobs
that they will be hiring for in the coming months and
years.
So why are job requirements becoming more demanding, and
what implications does it have for both job seekers
and the economy as a whole?
The US labor market has cooled in recent months
because overall economic activity has cooled.
We had a big bout of inflation and the fed raised
interest rates to slow down the economy to allow supply
to catch up. As a result, the labor market has slowed
down as well.
Hiring rates in the US have dipped to 3.5% in March
2024, following heights during and after the
pandemic. Total job postings declined more than
15% at the end of 2023 compared to the year prior.
There was one open job for every active applicant on
LinkedIn in 2022.
By the following year, that ratio turned to one job for
every two active applicants.
When there are more candidates on the market
looking for jobs and less jobs out there, the job
market becomes more competitive for job seekers.
But for employers, that means they get their pick of
talent.
If a job says that it requires no experience, but
100 people apply and many of them do have experience,
well, of course the employer is going to take
the person with the most experience.
We also are in a high interest rate environment
where companies have less access to capital, and so
they're less prepared to take a risk.
They're only hiring where needed for sure bet jobs,
and they're not being that experimental anymore.
There's another reason why.
And that is about the hiring process per se, which
has changed. Employers increasingly got rid of
recruiters.
2023 saw a sharp decline in online job postings for job
recruiters with several prominent companies like
Google, Apple and Amazon laying off a significant
number of recruiters and employees in the HR
department.
The recruiters were the kind of professional people who
understood the job market, understood jobs, and would
go to the line managers and say, hey, this job doesn't
need five years experience.
With those people gone, there's no real pushback on
hiring requirements that line managers who really
aren't experts on this stuff, they might ask their
team, what do you think you need to do this job and say,
well, it'll be nice to have a master's degree.
Well, somebody who has five years experience, that would
be great, too. And so the requirements inflate and
then they can't find anybody to fill the job.
And they say, oh, there's this skills gap.
There's a problem in the labor force.
And they don't raise the wages either, right?
So you're trying to fill the same job at the same
pay. But now you're requiring more background,
more experience, more years of education.
Guess what? Hard to do.
As companies grow more selective, 54% of recruiters
said quality of hire will be their top priority for
2024 through 2029.
83% of chief human resource officers said their hiring
talent with specialized skills, while hiring fewer
new employees than they did a year ago.
What we're seeing on LinkedIn is that for
employers, skills are becoming a priority.
73% of recruiters say that that is a priority when
they're trying to source candidates. They want to
know what skills they have, what they can actually do.
What employers want is evidence that you can
actually do the work.
The other thing is they want somebody who's done
exactly that job before and not something that looks
quite similar.
Hiring for entry-level and less specialized positions
dropped from 79% in 2022 to just 61%.
Typically, when the labor market slows, entry level
workers are hit a bit harder than overall workers.
We don't have real entry-level jobs hardly at
all. Every employer wants to hire somebody who's
already worked someplace else.
Entry-level jobs only account for 2.5% of all the
jobs posted on ZipRecruiter as of the end of April 2024,
and just 1.9% of all jobs available today say they do
not require experience at all.
Over a third of employers refrain from hiring recent
Gen Z college graduates in favor of older employees,
with more than half saying recent college graduates are
unprepared for the workforce. A survey also
found that more than half of Americans who graduated
from a two year or four year college did not apply
for an entry-level position because they felt
unqualified.
Many entry-level job seekers find themselves in a catch
22. In order to get experience, you'd need a
job, but in order to get that first job, you need
experience, and that is a very challenging position to
find yourself in.
57% of general job seekers between 2020 and 2022 also
said that a lack of skills or training prevented them
from applying for a job they wanted.
84% of unemployed workers said they are interested in
more opportunities to learn more skills.
The United States does not have a robust system that
enables us to support the kind of upskilling and
training that workers need throughout their career in
order to advance.
Federal government spends very little and has little
control over education and on training, too.
There are some pretty big training programs the
federal government pays for, but it's not really
where the action is. It's state and local governments.
And those have been squeezed.
And in many states they're squeezing everything down.
You know, less and less spending.
OECD countries, on average, spent 0.11% of their GDP on
training their workers in 2021.
In comparison, the US spent only 0.03% of their GDP on
job training.
One of the reasons we may not see as much on the job
training in the US as we see in other countries, is
that we rely on the private sector to do a lot of our
training.
Employers have largely given up on training, particularly
compared to where they were 30 or 40 years ago.
They're not developing talent internally.
They're looking outside to hire people rather than to
promote them from within.
And there's a good reason for that.
Our labor market in the United States is very, very,
very flexible. You can pour a lot of money into an
employee as an employer, only to see them leave after
two months or three months.
And so there are disincentives in our labor
market for employers to make big investments in
workers, especially after the great resignation when
so many people were switching jobs very quickly.
There's also a huge mismatch between the skills employees
have and the skills employers are looking for.
So I think we have a huge skills mismatch problem in
the United States with lots and lots and lots of people
studying subjects for which there aren't that many job
opportunities and very, very few people getting the
skills in trades and industries where they're in
very, very high demand.
Right now, there are more people that have four year
degrees than there are jobs for which businesses are
hiring with that requirement.
At the same time, there's too few people who have been
able to access the kind of training or skills programs
that enable them to get jobs that require more
education than a high school diploma and less
education than a four year degree.
Believe it or not, it's a lot harder to become one of
those skilled trades than you would think.
The union training programs are great, but they're
smaller proportion of the economy by a lot than they
used to be. So if you want to become a welder in many
places, the community colleges are your maybe only
choice. And that becomes like a two year degree
program. Community colleges, don't, we think,
cost that much, but if you don't have the money to pay
for it, it's a burden.
Jobs that require skills training are really the
backbone of the economy.
We saw this during the pandemic.
We see it today still with transportation and the
supply chain.
And the businesses that hire these workers are
creating jobs in our community and are really
growing local economies.
It could cost the US as much as $975 billion by 2028, if
upskilling doesn't catch up with the demand in the
workplace.
In order to keep having rising standards of living
in the US, we need to do two things: we need to be
productive, and we need to maintain our competitive
edge in the global economy.
In order to do that, it's important for workers to
upskill and be able to adopt all the new
technologies that are available in order to help
us stay competitive and be productive.
Despite the challenges in upskilling, more employers
are turning towards skills-based hiring.
A study from 2023 found that more than half of
employers use pre-employment assessments
to test their job applicants' skills,
knowledge and abilities, with 79% of HR professionals
saying those scores are just as important, if not
more important, than traditional hiring tools
like resumes and interviews.
Skills based hiring is when employers consider
candidates based on what they can do, and not
necessarily their pedigree or degree credentials.
The idea is simply, could we go back to just figure out
what skills you need and then see whether people are
actually have those skills and hire for the skills?
The biggest impact can be seen in the rise of jobs
that require no degrees.
Major companies like Walmart and IBM have
publicly announced their intention to hire more
workers without a degree.
In January 2024, 52% of US job postings on Indeed did
not mention any formal education requirement, up
from 48% in 2019.
The share of US job postings requiring 2 or 4
year degrees fell from 20.4% to 17.8% from 2019 to
2024. For reference, just 46.6% of Americans have an
associate's, bachelor's, graduate, or professional
degree as of 2022.
We're seeing businesses removing degree requirements
in a hope of expanding the pool of workers from which
they can hire.
Skills-based hiring has shown to be effective in
reducing mis hires, as well as cost and time to hire,
while increasing employee retention by 89%.
86% of candidates also said that skills-based hiring
helped them secure their dream job.
But whether it actually makes a long-lasting impact
is up to debate.
A study from 2024 found that only 37% of companies
that had increased their share of workers hired
without a BA degree by nearly 20% made lasting
changes to their hiring.
In 2023, skills-based hiring provided new
opportunities for less than 1 in 700 hires.
It takes time for a culture shift like that to funnel
through the organization to every single hiring manager,
so the top of an organization may choose one
thing, but the actual hiring manager and
interviewers and recruiters may still be doing something
different.
Experts say solving the issue of upskilling in the
US requires the role of policy.
It should be a public policy concern because we have lots
of young people who are skilled and ambitious and
want to do things and can't crack that ceiling.
And we have employers who, frankly, are making
mistakes. They're just churning through people at
sort of lower-level jobs rather than trying to get
somebody and develop them and hang on to them for a
little bit.
And they don't need to be huge economic shifts in how
we're spending dollars.
It needs to be relatively small investments that help
companies come together and have conversations about how
folks within one metro area, or one rural part of a
state, are going to be training and developing the
kind of workers that they need.
For current job seekers, there are several ways to
prepare their applications to better suit the needs of
current employers.
I think the advice on this is not new, and the advice
is what employers want to see is, have you done this
work before? Right?
And so that means can I find any situation where I
can do this work, even if I'm volunteering someplace
or getting an internship that looks exactly like the
kind of work I want to do.
And if I can do that, my odds on being able to get a
job are just much better.
Increasingly, there are lots and lots of cheap,
affordable, convenient, accessible online training
programs, many of which have a large practical
component. There are also freelancer platforms where
you can get experience doing certain jobs.
You can often get jobs just by being the cheapest
candidate, and sometimes it's worthwhile doing that
to build up that experience and get good reviews.
So don't feel out of hope.
There are ways to gain skills, credentials, and
experience that can be affordable and convenient.
関連動画をさらに表示
Die LÜGE des Fachkräftemangels
Do You Really Need A College Degree To Have A Successful Career? | NBC News NOW
What The Rise Of Fake Job Listings Says About The Job Market
Cybersecurity Careers Are Experiencing a Fundamental Shift Right Now.
What TOP CODERS ACTUALLY DO? | Inside Tech Life at DLF Cyber Hub Vlog | Coding Ninjas
50+ Phrases For Job Interviews in English
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)