It’s never been harder to fill a job in America (job opening, apply)
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Due to my rather controversial posts in the politics section, I would rather not name the company I work for. But it's a well-known tech company you've certainly heard of. But most of the major tech companies offer salaries in that range.
Is your area of expertise computer science or electrical engineering?
Yup.
I know a plethora of folks, young and old, who have these types of degrees and never seem to be lacking in work.
In fact, they generally field multiple offers at any time.
That's because most college degrees (especially from lower tier universities) are basically just glorified certificates of attendance. It''s possible to earn a bachelor's degree without even taking basic algebra in many cases.
Where? I could possibly get a bachelor's degree if this is the case. My local community college requires algebra and for me, it is several remedial algebra classes before I can even take the college courses.
Companies want purple squirrels for garbage wages and garbage benefits, then whine about how they need to bring in more foreigners because of the "skills gap."
It's all a lie.
I have a front row seat for it...I'm in IT.
Some companies also don't seem to realize that if they burn enough recruiters or those recruiters have enough candidates accept a job then boomerang out of a company after less than a year...they develop a reputation. My company is currently fighting that. They're trying desperately to hire but nobody seems to want to work here. I guess other people already knew what I didn't know when I started here.
I'm not in a major urban area like many of the posters, but we have a weird problem locally.
There are tons of low wage jobs available - food service, retail, call centers, home health aides, some light manufacturing, the market there is pretty healthy. These jobs don't pay much, often $12/hr or less, but it is a job. Local employers say they cannot get staff who are literate and can pass a criminal background check, a drug test, then actually show up. This is an area that has been hit really hard by drugs, so that's not too surprising. Many of the "working class" here are drug-addled or are on various government benefits to where it's not worth it to work.
However, wages generally aren't rising at this level. A call center across the street from the one I worked at in southwest Virginia is hiring. They were hiring for $9/hr in 2011 and are hiring for $9/hr today. They either can't find or retain people, but will not raise wages. Some of the light manufacturing jobs require some skill, but employers aren't willing to train. If they're paying $12/hr, they won't raise wages to $15/hr or $17/hr, whatever it takes, to attract and retain good people. That shows me that, while there are openings, they are not critical to fill.
If you're in a higher end job or have a skill, things are a bit better. I work in IT, and I am making over double now than what I did when I graduated college in 2010, and nearly triple what I did at my lowest income here back in 2013. Granted, I'm in a more senior role, but I'd never have thought I'd be making this here five years ago. The downside is that, because there are so few IT jobs, most IT/CS people have to leave the area. I have cousins in accounting and other professional fields, and most have had to leave the area, like I did, to find professional employment. If you lose a professional job in this area, it can be very difficult to get another one. While I'm making good money for the area, I don't feel secure enough, given how little higher end employment there is, to commit to this area very much. I make $60k. I'd be doing well to make $40k if I lost my current job without moving. When the numbers look like that and there are almost no other local options, it makes justifying buying a home, marrying or committing to the area, very difficult. While you could conceivably lose a job and then have to move anywhere you are, the odds of that happening here are much higher than in Nashville, where the economy is going gangbusters.
My father was laid off from his job in a pharmaceutical plant back in 2008 and has been stuck in call centers since. Today is his last day there, as he was hired by a recently opened pharmaceutical plant. He will be making like $55k and has not made $40k since the last manufacturing job he had closed down. This wouldn't have happened several years back.
Due to my rather controversial posts in the politics section, I would rather not name the company I work for. But it's a well-known tech company you've certainly heard of. But most of the major tech companies offer salaries in that range.
Is your area of expertise computer science or electrical engineering?
I know dozens of new grads and entry level experienced grads that will take those jobs and even pay for moving themselves, and can be there next week to start.
Employers are struggling to retain hires. When new hires constantly call out, do not show up, and eventually depart, existing associates are asked to work more. While working more can result in more hours, pay, and notice in initiative, associates get punished for working overtime. This is an issue of not being adequately staffed and having turnover.
Correct. Employers struggle to retain hires, and the fault lies on both parts, not just the employee. I just started a new job and quickly realized that the turnover was ridiculous. Nearly all the 20 employees had been there less than one year. I soon discovered why. My field is not high paying but it offers a livable wage. The company offers few benefits, even compared to other companies in the same field. The company also is mistrustful toward employees and expects employees to purchase their own uniforms despite rather menial wages. Employees never get two days off in a row and have to work many evening hours. The workload is high and there is much intolerance toward employee errors. I already plan to leave after a year or maybe even sooner. I have more than a decade of experience in my skilled field so I think I can find something bettero.
Stingy employers seem unable to comprehend that their tightfistedness causes them more money in the long run than being more generous with their employees. When they insist on holding on to every dollar, new hires start looking for another job as soon as they are hired, which costs the employer money to interview, hire, and train. With the new job I got, I started another one the week before, worked just one day, and received a much better offer at the job I'm working at now. The other company wasted time and effort interviewing, hiring, and beginning training only to offer me a crappy wage that led me to accept something better.
We are having problems in our engineering department filling positions. We opened up 12 new positions and could only find 6 people that were qualified to fill them. We had people apply that were not qualified. Maybe 80 or so people filled the online application and submitted a resume. HR eliminated most of these because they were missing qualifications. The pay is not bad even for this area. The problem is a lot of younger people did not want to learn the building trades, plumbing, pipe fitting, electrical. Years ago many of these jobs went to guys getting out of the Navy, around here anyway.
We had planned on creating an assistant Building Engineer position to train younger guys, just out of high school or in their early 20's. Because of the lack of people applying and because we had a lot of people applying for the assistant position, we decided to change one position from a Building Engineer I, to a Assistant Building Engineer. We will train these guys and they will end up learning multiple trades. Within a year or so we hope to have them become Building Engineer I. We have a five level program. These guys will have room to move from I to V.
I was once told by an HR rep that, "Bigger Companies hate long term Employees and, relishes short term Employees".
When i ask her why, she gave me some formula she learned at some HR Convention. This Formula Basically gives a chart on the productivity, and benefits paid between a new employee and a long term employee.
Long Term Employee:
More paid in Benefits, More Time off, Productivity is not as high as new employee.
Short Term Employee:
Less In Benefits paid, Less pay, More Productivity as short term worker tries to prove themselves.
I can't remember the formula in full but that's kind of how she explained it
We are having problems in our engineering department filling positions. We opened up 12 new positions and could only find 6 people that were qualified to fill them. We had people apply that were not qualified. Maybe 80 or so people filled the online application and submitted a resume. HR eliminated most of these because they were missing qualifications. The pay is not bad even for this area. The problem is a lot of younger people did not want to learn the building trades, plumbing, pipe fitting, electrical. Years ago many of these jobs went to guys getting out of the Navy, around here anyway.
We had planned on creating an assistant Building Engineer position to train younger guys, just out of high school or in their early 20's. Because of the lack of people applying and because we had a lot of people applying for the assistant position, we decided to change one position from a Building Engineer I, to a Assistant Building Engineer. We will train these guys and they will end up learning multiple trades. Within a year or so we hope to have them become Building Engineer I. We have a five level program. These guys will have room to move from I to V.
What is your recruitment area and outreach? Where are you posting the positions? Were the positions quals properly created? Does HR actually know what they are doing when screening?
If a company has issues with recruitment, first thing is to review how it is recruiting, and the job position description.
I have seen/reviewed horrible job postings, and have dealt with HR so bad that they did not clear list after list of well qualified people because fact is, HR is not subject matter experts. My company now has a SME to review applications along with HR. Recruitment area and where posting the jobs is critical also.
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