AUGUST 19, 2024

The Hiring Market Is Out Of Alignment

There are a few things that only experience can teach.

One is that with experience, an employee develops the skill to lead by bringing out the best in others. The best managers have a coaching mindset. The best leaders can see the broader needs of the organization and are constantly succession planning.

Another skill that comes from experience is strategic thinking, the ability to analyze factors and variables to impact the long-term success of a team or organization.

A third skill we learn from years of work is budgeting: The ability to develop and manage a financial plan, including your people and the work that your department is expected to deliver.

Right now, employers are inflating titles to attract new hires. Applicants are using AI to “crush” their resumes. The market is rewarding people without the knowledge, skills, and abilities — and this is a real problem.

This isn’t a put-down, but an observation: People being hired with inflated titles don’t have the experience that one needs to deserve the designation of Manager, Director, or VP. These higher-level positions require strong technical skills and substantial soft skills that only come through having made all the mistakes.

When I first started observing this, I had hoped that these hires who were given inflated titles would be grateful and recognize that a title doesn’t equate to experience. I had hoped I would hear them say things like “I don’t know…but I’m willing to learn,” or “Help me with…”

Instead, I’m hearing a lot of blaming everybody else around them, their teammates, their boss, the organization.

If you work your way up through the ranks, you pick up skills and learn how to handle people and situations. These are the building blocks, the foundation.

I consult with a lot of companies, and this is more of the norm than the exception.

I feel the need, as a leader who hires regularly, to accept it, because it’s the new normal. (Plus, I have to make sure my own biases aren’t getting in my way.)

I’m calling on my Baby Boomers and Gen Xers. We need you back in the market!

I get it, though. You’re not looking for the grind, or to fight with people who just shut you down, saying “That’s the old way,” or “You don’t need to work so hard,” or “You’re working hard, not smart.”

Our entry-level employees have so much to offer, especially when it comes to technology and creative thinking, but that’s got to be built on a foundation of lived experience.

Together, we could be so powerful.

If you’re challenged by the current hiring market, check out our Recruiting Services.