Today I came across an interesting article written by Peter Capelli which actually related quite well to the previous post written by Aviva about using external search firms in the current economy. In Peter’s article entitled Difficulties in Finding Qualified Workers he discusses the fundamental reason why in the current economy many employers still find it difficult to fill their positions when the labour pool is so abundant.

In Canada the unemployment rate currently sits at 8.4% Labour Force Survey: Statistics Canada and in the United States it is nearing 10%. If we live in such a global economy why does it remain difficult to fill key positions?

One of the primary reasons is that individual organizations require unique and specialized skills and as Peter Capelli states, “jobs with the same job title get performed very differently across otherwise similar organizations.” Every job requires a combination of qualifications and competencies, hard skills and soft skills, education and experience.

The most challenging aspect in finding the right candidate for a position are the work based skills that conform to the job, the company and the culture of the organization.

At times It’s like trying to put a square peg into a round hole and for that reason, it will remain a major challenge for many organizations to fill their key positions regardless of how many applicants are available.