Why Is the Hiring Surge Not Yielding Success for Everyone?

Introduction

Today, “We’re hiring!” banners are as frequent as coffee machines in the tech world. Companies are desperately looking for the right tech talent to join their team.

As businesses struggle to find them, their competitiveness and growth goals are at risk. 

Meanwhile, a significant portion of the workforce is unemployed and looking for a better job. 

They face a lack of response from employers. 

Freshers struggle to find a job that does not require an ‘x’ number of experience, even for an entry-level role. 

On the other hand, people like John Doe (hypothetical name), who got laid off last year and has a decade of experience, struggle to get any responses from potential employers, regardless of how qualified he is.

There can many reasons for this, one can be that his resume doesn’t effectively showcase his skills for the current job market. It’s also possible his skillset might not directly align with the most in-demand roles.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the ratio of job openings to people looking for a job is at an all-time high. However, an estimate by IDC shows that there will be 4 million unfilled positions in tech by 2025.

For employers and employees, it is essential to understand what’s happening in the job market and address it. 

While the pandemic and the recent global economic slowdown have exaggerated some factors, many predate it, and they are not going away.

The Struggle to Find the Right Tech Talent

Recruiters have 1000s of applications to review. Most recruiters only look at the ones shortlisted by ATS and hire people they can get faster than those who are the best fit.

Meanwhile, the entire process is more complicated than quantum mechanics for candidates. They get two job offers in less than a week after waiting to hear something for months. And they have no idea why.

Job seekers’ efforts often go unnoticed because many hiring processes prioritize formal credentials over tangible value, like specific skills or domain expertise.

Let’s dissect why it is difficult for job providers to find the right talent.

What Today’s Workforce Wants: 

The modern workforce, across generations, is increasingly chasing more than just paychecks. 

They are drawn to opportunities that offer experiences, purpose, and alignment with their values. For them, a paycheck is not the primary attraction. They look for a holistic job experience. 

In my interactions with many developers, I’ve often heard them say, “I want my job to mean something.”

While this shift is particularly prominent among millennials and Gen Z, it’s a trend that is impacting the overall job market.

The Recruitment Playbook Needs an Overhaul: 

People are unconventional and often misunderstood. 

Still, many hiring leaders are flipping through the same pages of an old playbook in a game that has fundamentally changed. 

They need to look past their preconceptions. 

Which university they attended, organizations they were part of, and awards they received might not be the real benchmarks for your perfect hire, or they didn’t have the luxury of accumulating those. 

But they also do not necessarily reflect on their qualification for the job. I’m not saying talent and experience have no part to play in the hiring funnel. 

However, businesses need to shift their focus more on skills, cultural fit, adaptability, team collaboration, learning agility, and others. 

It’s high time to rewrite the rules.

Spotting Talent in Unexpected Places: 

The issue isn’t a lack of talent but the methods used to seek it. Talent isn’t just about those polished CVs on LinkedIn or Job Portals. 

Sometimes, it’s in the stories people tell, the unique paths they’ve walked, or that raw passion they exude. 

I’ve even seen friends landing exciting roles through places like GitHub and Bumble. Start thinking outside the conventional box.

AI + HI = The Future of Hiring: 

Leveraging AI for recruitment is progressive, but it shouldn’t replace the human touch. 

AI can crunch numbers, but can it gauge cultural fit? Can it tell us if a candidate is a team player and has high learning agility? 

Probably not. At least not yet. 

AI can be a powerful tool for screening resumes and identifying candidates with relevant keywords and experience. However, it cannot assess cultural fit or a candidate’s personality, which are crucial for long-term success.
As someone deeply entrenched in the recruitment industry, I firmly believe that the way forward is to blend tech efficiency with human intuition.

For example, AI can be used to shortlist candidates based on skills, but the final selection process should involve human interaction to assess cultural fit, communication style, and team dynamics, similar to what we do at Supersourcing with our AI matching software.

4 Things to Do to Make Your Talent Search Suck a Little Less

Adapting to the Transient Nature of Skills: 

With the rapid pace of technological progression, skills have become transient. What’s relevant today might be obsolete tomorrow.

Furthermore, an uncertain tech market, global economic slowdown, and rapid change in the digital landscape are making traditional hiring practices obsolete, which is the strategic bottleneck for tech companies.

Hence, organizations must shift from “What do you know?” to “How quickly can you learn?” They need to align people’s individual goals with their organizational goals to make things smoother for both sides.

Consider asking problem-solving questions that showcase their ability to apply knowledge and adapt to new situations. Aligning individual goals with company objectives is key – look for candidates whose aspirations resonate with your future projects.

The Problem with Online Job Platforms: 

While digital platforms promise efficiency, they often lose the personal connection vital to recruitment. A CV doesn’t tell a candidate’s entire story. 

So, do we need more platforms, or do we need deeper insights?

The challenge here is that almost all resumes are the best versions of every candidate. 

To understand the gaps or outliers, we need deeper insights on their past experience that may reflect from their social presence and the way they have written the answers in their application form.

Leverage social media to understand their work ethic, passion for learning, and cultural fit beyond the resume. Consider incorporating behavioral interview questions to uncover past experiences that demonstrate their learning abilities.

Job Descriptions – Misleading Narratives: 

Long and irrelevant job descriptions are misleading and often deter potential candidates. 

They reflect an organization’s in-decisiveness more than its requirement. Businesses need to shift from exhaustive lists to precise essentials.

Craft concise descriptions that outline the role’s core responsibilities and expectations. Instead of listing every desired skill, prioritize the essentials. Briefly mention the team dynamic, long-term goals, and growth opportunities within the organization. Reference your company culture document (if you have one) to highlight what makes working for you special.

By mentioning culture doc, well-defined goals, and clear expectations from the job role in a job description will help you attract the right candidate.

Move from “exclusionary” to “inclusion” filters in ATS: 

Currently, 90% of candidates are left out by ATS systems because they miss a few keywords, even if those keywords make up just 10% of the key qualifications. 

Adjust your ATS to spot applicants based on core skills and experiences for the role, ensuring efficiency and inclusivity. Consider offering skills-based assessments within the application process to identify candidates who might not have the exact keyword match but possess the required abilities.  Regularly review and update your ATS criteria to ensure you’re not unintentionally excluding valuable talent.

What Businesses Need to Do?

In my perspective, the future of hiring is not merely about filling vacancies but about building synergies. It’s about:

Empathetic Hiring: 

Listen to the stories between the lines of a resume. Every job hop, gap year, or skill acquired has a story, and these stories are reservoirs of insights. 

Ask questions that help you understand the candidate’s work style and collaborative nature, which will reflect empathy.

By delving into the stories that candidates carry with them, organizations can uncover a wealth of untapped potential and find the perfect match for their unique needs.

Encouraging Learning Agility: 

Invest in candidates with high learning agility and the ability to unlearn, relearn, and adapt.

During the interview, I often ask candidates what was the most challenging project you handled? How did you overcame that challenge?

The process they describe that led to the success of that project can tell you about a person’s flexibility and agility. 

Your work may or may not be related to that project, but being comfortable identifying your weaknesses (shows humility) and putting effort into overcoming challenges is the skill you want in your team members for future challenges.

Humanizing the Digital Recruitment Landscape: 

Digital is inevitable, but so is the human touch. Design systems that leverage AI’s efficiency while preserving human intuition.

I would say, try to understand people, not judge based on resumes. 

New technologies and skills are coming and going, but someone’s character is something that you can only influence, support, and find room for in your team. 

Understand People, Not Judge Them

There is a saying in the world of boomers that millennials and GenZ do not want to work or are lazy when it comes to hustling to cater to the changed economy. 

The reality is making a living today is more challenging than ever, and people need workplaces that accommodate that.

Many Generation Z and millennials reject the age-old belief that employees should do work outside their job description to be seen as valuable. 

They prioritize a healthy work-life balance along with livable wages. Businesses that actively hire but do not find anyone don’t align with these values.

Businesses and hiring leaders should embrace the evolving dynamics of the job market. The talent is out there, eager and ready. 

Our job? To resonate with them, connect with them, and value them beyond roles and paychecks.