Recruiting key engineering, scientific, manufacturing, R&D (research and development) and IT (information technology) talent is becoming increasingly more difficult with the unemployment rate dropping to its lowest level since December 1969! This was confirmed by the Labor Department today, which also announced another new record, the 103rd straight month of job creation!
Staffing problems are especially acute in the highly competitive fields such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics and Virtual Reality (VR). Therefore, considering older employees may provide you a recruitment edge over your competition.
This was the gist of my interview on CBS Radio affiliate WBBM News Radio 780 on Wednesday, April 24th with hosts Kris Kridel AND Cisco Cotto.
Below are the questions Kris and Cisco asked me as well as my responses in italics. I hope you enjoy this.
(Cisco) Why a push for older workers?
The key is we had the 102nd straight month of jobs creation. What that means is there are more job openings than qualified workers. As a result, (hiring older workers) provides a greater pool of talent for filling your jobs.
(Cisco) Are these older workers retirees or employees close to retirement? What kind of workers are they (employers) recruiting?
They (employers) are recruiting a lot of different employees especially for technology. So the key for older workers (to keep their careers relevant) is to keep current on the key skills for IT, R&D, engineering and technology so you are ready to be recruited when the hiring call comes from employers.
(Kris) Older workers have helped fuel recent U.S. jobs growth. Can this (recruitment trend) continue?
It will as long as jobs creation continues and there is no end (to the recruiting) in sight. With 196,000 jobs created last month and (all the positive staffing signs like) the unemployment rate in Illinois being 4.3%. So all the signs show that (recruiting growth) is going to continue in the near future.
(Kris) Does AARP have relevant information (on this recruitment phenomena for older workers)?
They have a wealth of knowledge (on recruiting trends), but one of the things I recommend is you want to keep abreast of technology. Check out the AARP site. Also, keep abreast of what is current in technology so you are ready to get hired when you do get the hiring call.
(Cisco) Are these older workers people who were laid off looking for work or are they retirees looking to get back into the work force?
It’s a combination of both. Based upon what some of our clients are recruiting and we mainly recruit technical, engineering and scientific talent, its probably technology. What is cutting edge in (such areas as) Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and robotics. So I recommend that you keep abreast of those (technology) trends and what’s going on in different technologies so that you are ready to go if you get the (hiring) call.
Call me today at 312-944-4000 to discuss how we can assist with your engineering, technical, R&D, IT and scientific recruiting efforts in the highly competitive fields of Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Robotics as well as Virtual Reality. Or click here for my full contact information.
