NOTE: I originally posted this back in July of 2012 on another blog. Sadly, the situation is the same 4 years later.  

Get out your tissues for the poor companies who can’t fill positions.

Bloomberg.com (shocking?) posted an article in “defense” of companies not hiring, by claiming workers lack the skills they’re seeking for the positions.

Nice try.

If you’ve read any job postings lately you probably laughed. Companies are posting position descriptions and requirements that are clearly senior level, with scopes that require knowledge, skills and expertise well beyond the 3-5 years of experience they say they are looking for.

The 3-5 years experience sets a salary expectation.

As displaced workers we’ve read endless articles, blurbs, comments about how to address the job market and seek out employers and positions that are lateral, and be open, but nothing quite crystallizes the state of the employment crisis like the whining of a company saying they can’t fill the positions they have open. Really?

These same employers won’t even talk to people with experience because they’re likely out of their price range.

Experienced workers bring expertise, not only in the field in which you’re looking, but in time management, training, expectations, accountability, responsibility and collaboration. Experienced workers bring value that you likely don’t even know is required to fill the position.

So if you really want the expertise, and the ability to do the job you’ve listed, and more as the position expands (experienced workers know this!) then it will cost you more initially than the entry level salary you’re offering. If you’re focused on the salary, then you get what you pay for, and it will affect your company. The downtime for training, the unspoken costs of requiring back-filling the position requirements internally, and of course the repeated turnover.

You can hire a cheap body to fill a position, but you will find a skill gap. Entry level employees are great. They’re eager, competent, and ready to learn. Experienced workers hit the ground running. It’s your choice.

But don’t whine that there’s a skills gap because you’re “cheaping” out on hiring, when you might not even have to. If they can’t find people to hire in this job market maybe they should check to see how much experience their HR people have.