60 Applications, No Offer: The Truth About the Labor Shortage

According to experts, business owners and store managers, we’re currently experiencing a labor shortage. It’s obvious wherever you go across the country. Stores are closing earlier or shutting their doors for full days because they have no staff. Deliveries are being delayed because drivers are quitting. Store windows are covered in “help wanted” signs, and job board websites are full of available positions. So, why can’t job seekers seem to find work? One man put the system to the test.

Qualified workers can’t find jobs.

A Florida man named Joey Holz tested business owners’ claims that they couldn’t find any workers. He applied to 60 entry-level jobs over a month, even making sure to apply to local restaurants that complained online about being unable to find workers. But he only got nine email responses, one follow-up phone call, and one interview. No jobs!

What else did Holz find out about the job search?  He only applied to positions that didn’t require a degree or experience, and he found that no job under that criteria offered more than $12 an hour. One offered $10 in the job posting, but when he went on the interview, they told him the pay would actually be $8.65 (Florida’s minimum wage), and they expected him to have full-time availability despite only giving him a part-time schedule. Holz concluded that it isn’t hard to find workers; it’s just hard to find people who want to do a lot of work for such low pay.

Holz isn’t the only one experiencing this phenomenon. People with years of experience in their field apply to hundreds of jobs and hear nothing back! A designer named Patrick Healy shared how he got zero feedback after applying to over a hundred jobs on dozens of job sites. He watched the news go on about a worker shortage as his ten years of experience didn’t receive a second glance from hiring managers. 

Why can’t hiring managers find job seekers?

So, what’s the disconnect?

1. Employers rely heavily on artificial intelligence to use keywords to weed out candidates. But, in the process, they miss out on qualified people who may just not know how to game the computer-dominated system.
2. Some job seekers may not be strategic about the roles that are right for them. It’s important to really read through a company’s expectations and qualifications to be sure that it’s the right fit for you. Then, make sure that your resume and cover letter reflect that.

But ultimately, a lot of jobs that are available just don’t cut it anymore for job seekers. The days when a person would work 39 hours a week for $12 an hour and no benefits are over. People expect more from a job, and they’re finding the power to demand it. So far, we’ve seen increased wages, sign-on bonuses and better benefits. How else will the current situation change the labor market?