Recruiters are always putting in significant effort to find the right talent for their companies. Hiring is already a demanding and intensive task. Amid the new expectations and changes that have arisen since the pandemic, talent acquisition professionals are now requiring more skilled candidates. However, the supply of such highly skilled talent is currently lacking. There are certain roles in the market that are relatively harder to fill compared to others. In this article, we will explore the most difficult roles to hire for and how recruiters can quickly fill them.
Why is There a Talent Shortage?
70% of global HR leaders report that talent shortages are worsening. HR teams are struggling to include qualified candidates in their pipelines to meet hiring goals. According to Korea Employment Information Service, as of September 2024, the number of job openings is double that of job seekers, leaving many companies struggling with hiring. This trend is also seen in the United States, where there are nearly two job openings for every job seeker, and 61% of U.S. business leaders report that attracting top talent is difficult.
The talent shortage is especially prevalent in knowledge-intensive industries such as technology, healthcare, media, and telecommunications. According to McKinsey's report, 90% of companies are expected to face even greater talent shortages by 2030. This is due to the growing skills gap created by digitalization and automation, which limits the availability of skilled professionals.
One of the main causes of talent shortages is voluntary, unexpected turnover, i.e., โresignation.โ Many workers are reevaluating their life priorities due to increased family care responsibilities, work fatigue, and deteriorating physical/mental health. These factors have led many workers to opt for resigning, ultimately contributing to the talent shortage in the labor market.
Most Difficult Jobs to Fill
The hardest roles to fill are in technology, medical expertise, sales, and product/project management. These positions face significant talent shortages, and hereโs why recruiters are struggling to fill them.
Technology Roles
IT professionals, software engineers, mechanical engineers, and front-end/back-end developers are some of the hardest positions to hire for in the tech industry. According to Stack Overflow's 2023 Developer Survey, about 45% of tech roles take more than a month to fill. Additionally, the high turnover rate in IT roles further increases the burden on recruiters to continuously find new talent.
Recruiters face several challenges when hiring IT professionals, including lengthy application processes, unclear salary information, technical tests, and assessments. The primary cause of the tech talent shortage is the limited number of candidates with advanced technical skills, especially in fields like AI and data science, where technology is evolving rapidly.
Gartner predicts that the shortage of IT workers will increase by 20% by 2027, driven by the acceleration of automation and digital transformation.
Struggling to find software engineers? TalentSeeker connects you with over 300 million global candidates. Find out how you can resolve your tech hiring challenges with TalentSeeker.PM/PO (Product/Project Managers)
Product and project managers (PM/PO) play vital roles across various industries, handling complex tasks such as product development, schedule management, and team coordination. According to LinkedIn data, about 50% of PM/PO vacancies take more than 60 days to fill, as there is a shortage of candidates with the required skillset and experience.
The primary cause of this shortage is that itโs difficult to find candidates with both the necessary technical capabilities and industry experience. Scott Belsky, a project management expert, states, "Great project managers must possess technical understanding, business goal alignment, and team management skills, making them hard to find." With digital transformation and the introduction of new technologies accelerating, demand for these professionals is only expected to rise.
Have you missed out on candidates? Find professionals with both technical skills and industry experience on TalentSeeker.Medical Experts
According to a study by AAMC, the U.S. is expected to face a shortage of up to 120,000 doctors by 2030. This highlights that the supply of medical professionals is not keeping up with demand.
Kevin Green, a medical HR expert, emphasizes, "As the aging population increases, the demand for healthcare professionals has skyrocketed, but thereโs a limited supply of qualified medical workers."
WTO forecasts that by 2035, the global shortage of healthcare workers, such as nurses, will worsen, particularly in specialized medical fields.
Sales Professionals
Sales professionals who can build trust with clients hold value beyond just sales skills. Hiring these individuals is critical to a company's success. According to a report by Salesforce, about 60% of sales job vacancies in 2023 went unfilled for more than 90 days, indicating that many companies are struggling to hire top sales talent.
As digital technologies continue to evolve, the importance of human elements in sales roles is expected to increase. Sales professionals with excellent communication skills and problem-solving abilities will remain in high demand.
How to Hire These Difficult-to-Fill Roles
Innovate Your Current Hiring and Recruiting Strategy
Finding new talent goes beyond simply posting a job listing. The process should focus on understanding the business goals and finding the right candidates for the role. Reviewing your current recruitment strategy and adjusting it to align with future hiring needs is critical. Effective communication with team leaders and HR teams will make it easier to fill these difficult roles quickly.
Actively Source Passive Candidates
Passive candidates are not actively job hunting, but they may be interested in a new opportunity if approached correctly. These candidates are often hard to attract through traditional job listings, so sourcing strategies are essential. TalentSeeker helps you effectively connect with passive candidates using AI-powered sourcing tools.
Build and Manage a Talent Pipeline
Proactively building and managing a talent pipeline is a challenging task for companies, but itโs key to future hiring success. TalentSeeker helps solve this issue by providing tools to quickly find and manage talent pipelines, ensuring that you can always tap into the right candidates when needed.
Invest in Recruitment and Sourcing Tools
Building and managing talent pipelines proactively and sourcing passive candidates requires time and resources. TalentSeeker offers a platform that helps you quickly find the right candidates and manage pipelines, making the hiring process more efficient. Investing in tools like TalentSeeker will help you overcome recruitment challenges and achieve better results.
TalentSeeker supports you in meeting your business needs and expectations during the hiring process. If you're looking for more efficient talent acquisition, contact our sales team today!
