Catch-22?

Some interesting observations doing the rounds on LinkedIn and other networks lately:

• Even with unemployment rates quite high, companies still struggle to find skilled workers, and filling a job can take months of hunting. 

• Most employers assume that this is because the education system is inherently flawed.

• Employers are demanding more of job candidates than ever before. They want prospective workers to be able to fill a role right away, without enough training or ramp-up time. 

• In other words, to get a job, you have to have that job already.  Recent graduates are some of the hardest hit as they join an unrelentingly competitive market.  

• Reality check:   finding 'perfect candidates' is an exercise in futility. 

• One possible solution: The trick is to employ those who display the right attributes and potential of growing into that prized employee with some dedicated training and practice. 

•  Another reality point: a lot of hires do not happen because of disagreements over salaries. The best candidates are not accepting what 90% of companies can offer them. 

• That's another reason for companies to expand their recruitment broader. Finding candidates is about the company also adapting to a unique person joining the team. Jobs can be organized in many different ways so that candidates who have very different credentials can do them successfully.

What are your thoughts? Can we overcome the catch-22 and give both companies and candidates the opportunity to clear the fog of assumption and connect on a genuine basis?

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