Labor Shortage?

I keep hearing about a labor shortage, and it makes me wonder if it is real. When I was growing up, my dad liked to read the want ads for cars and houses. It was his thing. I like looking at employment ads. I’ve always liked to keep apprised of the opportunities available. When I was laid off due to COVID-19, I applied for over 2000 jobs in 10 months. This is what I found during that time.

  1. Human Resources job descriptions, are designed to eliminate applicants based on what they don’t have; rather than to explore what candidates do have. This is the “easy way” to do it. If they state that you need 7 years’ experience in a certain thing and you don’t have it, you’re out! If you need a particular degree in a particular area and don’t have it, likewise—you’re no longer considered.

  2. The requirements are stacked pretty high for the good jobs. If a candidate can somehow fulfil them all satisfactorily, the next barrier is compensation. Once you are in the running, if the job pays $15/hour and it is skilled, the candidate is going to decline the offer.

It seems clear to me that if an organization wants to hire good people, they need to look for talent—rather than just rigid requirements about experience and education. When I was job hunting, the Information Technology jobs that I was receiving dozens of calls for each day, were paying $15 to $20 an hour. That’s pretty low for someone with 14 years of experience in the field. So, I kept looking.

My Bachelor’s degree is in English, and I have 17 books I’ve authored on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I’ve also written for the director of my division while employed at Hennepin County. There are other examples of my writing experience, but none of it was satisfactory because I hadn’t held a “writing only” job, and it wasn’t recent and didn’t add up to the designated time required. Could I have done the job? Could I have done the writing? There is no doubt in my mind that I could have if given the opportunity. In fact, most of my jobs have been somewhat “oddball” because they were nearly impossible to find extensive experience in all they encompassed. But I was able to learn the jobs, because I have that ability.

So, in concluding, I would like to share what a former colleague told me when I was looking for work. Her working title is, “Managing Editor.” She said that if the terms tossed around by organizations such as “work culture,” and “well-rounded,” truly mattered, my language/technology combination of skills should be prized. But since it took 10 months for me to find suitable reemployment, I have to think that some of this “labor shortage” is on the employers and the methods utilized in hiring.