In any job market, talent can come and go in the blink of an eye. This is especially true today. Six years after the recession began, the economy and the job market continue to inch towards recovery at a glacial pace. However, while the general unemployment rate hovers above 7 percent, the unemployment rate for college graduates with a bachelor’s degree or above is less than 4 percent. The gap between college educated professionals and those without high school degrees is even more profound, as the unemployment rate for the latter segment is 12.7 percent. The competition for well-educated, well-prepared professionals is fierce (a function of supply and demand), and the opportunity to hire them is fleeting. In fact, in many industries, there is only one active job seeker for every three available positions. This shortage of skilled workers plagues companies across all industries: including healthcare, professional services, manufacturing, and others. Qualified candidates don’t stay on the market very long While it is clearly advantageous for businesses to remain nimble and proactive in the pursuit of the best available talent, not all companies do. This is a function of the widely held belief that a lengthy hiring process is beneficial because it provides enough time to compare candidates and to be absolutely certain that the best person is hired. Though, there is merit to this train of thought, it overlooks the very basic fact that hiring needs to occur in order to fill a business requirement. By delaying a decision, whether out of prudence or policy, companies fail to address their business requirements promptly. Why is finding top talent so challenging? Our latest infographic highlighting the challenges of small businesses sheds the light on just a few of the hardships that small business owners face when getting to their hiring needs: 27% of small businesses simply do not have the ability to offer competitive salaries and benefits 18% of small businesses are niche, and have difficulty navigating the widening skills gap 10% of small businesses have little to no time to dedicate to recruiting and managing interviews 5% of small businesses just don’t know where to look or go to for talent In their haste, to hire, hiring mistakes are costly and end up hurting the company in the long run. What all of this means is that just as there is a business reason to fill a position, there
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