​Not long ago I was working with a very bright young woman who had recently moved to the US when her spouse took a position here.  Still working on her English language skills, she expected to be ready soon to apply for positions as an agency recruiter, since that was the work she had done successfully for several years in her country of origin.  As we moved through an interview practice exercise together, I realized that she wasn’t providing any examples of experience recruiting “passive” candidates.  After we discussed it, it became clear that she did have that type of experience and we concentrated on weaving that information into her interview responses.  She had not stopped to consider what the currently critical skill set was, something that the local market demanded.  And what with Seattle having such a low unemployment rate, it’s absolutely necessary to know how to find job candidates who are not actively looking. 
 
It may seem obvious that a job seeker should know what an employer is looking for, especially if they are already working in that industry.  But certain job requirements can be excluded, omitted, unstated or understated in position descriptions and easy to miss!  Here’s why:

• We make assumptions based on our past experience or roles about job qualifications that may have changed
• The job description or posting doesn’t mention certain seriously important knowledge, skills, and abilities needed from candidates because no one has had time to update it, or wants to deal with bureaucratic red tape to get it updated
• Job descriptions are standardized over time and may not emphasize the most important current qualification needed
• The person responsible for advertising the job or even recruiting for it doesn’t really know or understand the position well
• Employers don’t want the public or possibly competitors to be aware of the situation within the company or institution.  They may couch or soften their terms used when describing a job or role

 
Here is another example.  My client was thinking about how to let a hiring manager know she was interested in a job change into a newly created position at a branch of the company where she worked.  Although nothing was mentioned in the proposed job description, upon research and reflection about the industry in general, it became clear that the employer was in a situation where they desperately needed new business in that area.  This new position would likely come with a heavy requirement to address that need and fill that gap.  She would want to ensure she focused on her accomplishments in that arena, when describing her qualifications!
 
These are situations where your online research, information interviews, and networking at professional meetings will be a big help.  Find out about the current trends in the field, in the role, and in the job title duties to ascertain what skills and abilities your potential employer(s) are looking for now.

The May Jobs Report reflected that there are currently more job openings than we have people unemployed.  That’s a tight job market!  In this article, Axios indicates that many industries are really struggling to recruit the younger employees you might think would be attracted to their good pay and great benefits.  Here is a sampling of the “jobs no one wants.”
 

• Cities across the U.S. are struggling to find 911 dispatchers, says the Wall Street Journal.  These jobs can be emotionally challenging because of callers who are in distress and in situations often traumatic.  And they can get upset with the emergency call center helpers who are just trying to gather information. 

• A truck driver shortage has been going on for years.  This update from USA Today reports that the older generation of Baby Boomers are retiring and Millennials tend not to be interested in enduring being away from home for weeks, driving across county to deliver goods.  In fact, the trucking industry projects a shortage of more than 100,000 drivers by 2022. 

 

• The construction business is having trouble attracting job seekers 24 years old or younger.  Among other reasons, the fact that employers don’t offer training programs may be to blame. 

 

• This Washington State related article reports on the ongoing issue in farm states with finding US workers for agricultural jobs.  The primary reason is that farm work is seasonal – often lasting less than six months a year.