How to Survive the Mid-Level Worker Shortage

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are a record 7.3 million open jobs in the United States. Open jobs in the United States have now surpassed the number of unemployed. According to a local search on Indeed.com (the #1 online job search engine), about 90% of open jobs within 25 miles of Wayne, PA fall under the mid-level category (a salary under 50k). Many of these postings remain unfilled for long periods of time.

Mid-level workers are in high demand and are seeing a lot of activity in the current market. For example, we recently met with a mid-level candidate with 5 years of experience. Within 4 hours of posting her resume, this candidate already had an interview scheduled. Within a day, the candidate had received multiple phone calls and had acquired the attention of multiple employers.

The demand for mid-level workers has caused businesses to make dramatic changes to the way they hire new employees. Here are 3 ways to adjust your hiring process in order to manage the shortage of mid-level workers.

Change Your Expectations

With fewer mid-level candidates to choose from, you may need to compromise in terms of experience level or skills. This may mean hiring someone with more or less experience than you feel is required for the job. Hiring a more experienced worker will cost more, but you will avoid the cost of training a less experienced employee to fill the position. Hiring a less experienced worker means their wages will be lower, but they will need to be trained. A possible solution is to train and hire from within. This way you will develop your own mid to high-level employees and can focus your recruiting efforts on entry level candidates to replace them.

Attract the Candidates You Want

Mid-level jobseekers are seeing a lot of activity in the current market, so it’s important to make your business look like an attractive place to work. This means you should highlight the benefits that make your company stand out from the rest. Salary aside, employees also value work-life balance and professional development opportunities. You should always start by writing attraction-based job description in order to capture attention and generate interest with your job posts. According to a report published by Business Insider, candidates spend an average of 49.7 seconds before moving on from a job post, so you need to catch their interest right away. You can read our tips on writing an attraction-based job description in our previous blog.

Focus on Speed of Hiring

In order to hire what few mid-level workers are on the market, your hiring process needs to be fast. In our experience the best candidates receive offers in 2-3 weeks, but Bersin HR Insights reports that good candidates are off the market in as few as 10 days. Some of the best candidates receive offers on the spot after the first interview. This means your hiring needs to be lightning fast in order to keep up with the candidates you’re looking to hire. You may need to find ways to streamline your hiring process in order to keep up. Your chances of hiring highly desirable candidates will increase if you can get to them faster than your competitor.

In a tight labor market, mid-level workers are in high demand as there are fewer of them available. This trend is expected to continue. According to a report by SHRM, 10,000 Baby Boomers reach retirement age every day. More jobs will become available as Boomers retire, leaving the smaller Millennial generation unable to fill them at a deficit of over 5 million qualified workers per year. In order to continue to fill empty roles in your business, you will need to make some adjustments to your hiring plan. These are 3 possible solutions that can keep your company running as smoothly as possible during the mid-level worker shortage.

Bradley Staffing Group is a full-service staffing firm based in Wayne, PA. We are committed to matching A-level talent with best-in-class businesses. Our knowledgeable and well-trained staff brings a combined 70+ years of staffing experience to our clients and candidates alike. http://bradleystaffinggroup.com/bradley