Current challenges to attract and hire top talent

- When you look at the number of jobs posted on job boards, websites, and social media, it's obvious that the demand for top talent is much higher than the supply, and that's going to cause problems for you and your company. To plan for the future and keep your company moving forward, you need to understand the current challenges involved in attracting and hiring top talent. Let's start with college grads. Already, the number of college graduates is not able to meet the demand for talent in many high-demand careers, including IT, engineering, and robotics. And because of technology, there are more careers to choose from. As a result, engineering students who would have opted for a traditional career as an electrical, mechanical, civil, or project engineer, now have endless other options for non-traditional roles. In addition, the global competition for talent will continue to increase and drive up salary demands. It's especially strong in countries with limited population growth, and many global companies allow individuals to work virtually, so they don't have to relocate and have minimal travel requirements. So let's talk about working virtual. Many companies are offering a combination of in-office and virtual opportunities, where a person splits their time between the office and home. And once a person adjusts to working virtual, it's difficult to entice them to accept a position that requires them to be physically at their job 40 hours a week, and it's not uncommon for individuals to accept a lower compensation package if they have the opportunity to work virtual. Companies are also facing the reality that technology has changed the hiring playing field forever. We are more connected than ever and have established professional and personal networks, so it's relatively simple for an individual to find their own job. In fact, a survey published on LinkedIn.com stated that over 85% of individuals who change jobs found their new opportunity as a result of networking. Someone they knew opened a door, and as a result they found a new job. It's hard for companies to compete against the recommendation of a trusted friend. In addition, some companies have created lucrative employee referral bonuses. So literally, every employee of their company is proactively recruiting the best talent. Many of these bonuses are paid throughout the first year of employment, which also ensures an automatic mentor of the new hire. If you don't have a lucrative employee referral program, it's hard to compete. So with all the challenges involved in attracting and hiring top talent, you might be wondering why there's still a significant unemployment rate and why so many jobs remain unfilled for so long. The problem is the skillsets of individuals who are unemployed do not match the credentials needed for many of the hard-to-fill jobs. Another challenge is an increasing number of individuals opt to work in a flexible staffing arrangement as a temporary worker or contractor. Contractors usually make more money. And when a contract involves a relocation, often the individual will accept a nine-month contract and then take three months off until they accept their next gig. These individuals work to live, not like the baby boomers who lived to work. Listen, I know that's a long list of challenges, but it's good for you to understand what you're facing. The key now is to position yourself differently than your competition, so you can attract and hire top talent.