What Job Seekers Really Want – More and Better

An article in Forbes a few months ago reported the BLS statistics on people quitting their jobs. In what the author called an epidemic there are 2 million voluntary terminations in the US every month. More people quit their jobs in March of 2013 than were laid off. The turnover rate of 1.69% per month over the past decade is relatively constant, but the actual number of “quits” is continuing to grow in spite of high unemployment. That same article cites two other recent studies that 74% of the active workforce would consider changing jobs and 32% are actively looking. In the quest to find out what job seekers really want we need to consider the causes for the need for change.

When people congregate in online chat rooms to discuss helping job seekers there is a great deal of attention given to the recent grads that can’t find work, the unemployed, and the underemployed. Considering the whole body of “job seekers” includes those with jobs that are dissatisfied with the choices they currently have. Everybody wants more than what they have or a better situation. Nobody quits a job for less or worse.

• More Money – Surveys of job seekers almost never show money at the top of the wish list. Even though a capitalistic society measures status in wealth, there is some hidden morality that will not allow honesty where finances are concerned. Nobody wants to appear greedy. Somewhere in that hidden agenda is a magic number that will be an acceptable offer. Anything less is considered to be an insult.
• Better Management – A weak economy creates holes in the workforce that are placed on “hold” in anticipation of better times. Survivors of the last layoff are now “reorganized” into jobs in which they are required to do the jobs of several people at the same pay. Assessing this problem is another amorphous blob that is ill defined, but it can be guaranteed that they will be on a sharp lookout to prevent jumping into another stressful situation.
• More Security – It is not just the recently laid off job seekers or even the long time unemployed that are gun shy about job security. There daily news stories that make employees a little more distrustful of their current employers. They will not accept lip service from prospective employers about job security and will have done their homework about finances, lawsuits, and downsizings. They want proof that they will be hired for the long term… if they want it.
• Better Future – Restructuring a company to do more with less often reduces the chance that there will be a rapid career rise to having a name in the top box on the org chart. The lack of advancement is one of the most frequently heard reasons for leaving a company. The job of the hiring company is to assess this dilemma in view of the talents of the job seeker applied to the proposed new environment. There may be a performance issue that caused this problem.
• More Balance – Work-life balance is a hot topic that is by its very nature a sinkhole for money. Surveys show that productivity increases when employees are allowed the freedom to devote time to outside interests and do not have to be a slave to the job, but when that deadline is yesterday, Timmy’s soccer game is the casualty. Selling a culture of adequate personal time off is a major factor in winning over the reluctant overworked job seeker.
• Better Communications – A common theme common in outplacement centers is that the benefits offered after termination are sometimes the best treatment an employee had during their entire time with a company. Living in the dark creates a zombie-like work ethic with people plodding through their daily tasks. If there is no other benefit to a running dialog during the candidate engagement phase of the hire, it is to give evidence that this employer speaks.

The beauty of surveys is that people will say things anonymously they would never say as an individual. A recent study by Accenture reported that 31% of employees surveyed hated their boss. Lack of recognition, lack of empowerment, and thick internal politics are driving people away in droves. Knowing why people are job seekers in the first place helps to win their hearts and minds and the best way to find out what they are looking for is to ask.

 
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