Half as many people in Group A means that entry level (and college) recruiting, which has been tough for years now, is getting extremely competitive. It means that the same recruiting budget that produced ten new employees last year will produce five this year. It means that the people in Group B (which is smaller than the crop of 28 to 31 year olds) who aren't in fast track opportunities are still doing entry level jobs that can't be filled. It means that qualifications are going out the window.

It means that the minimum requirement for many jobs is a measurable pulse.

Meanwhile, we seem to be buried in schemes from companies who are trying to get candidates to fill out complex forms that measure cultural fit with increasing precision. Sometimes we wonder if there isn't waaaaay too much money floating around. Cultural fit ceases to be an issue when pulse is the minimum job requirement.

Take a look at JobTrak's current evaluation of Job Openings for college graduates. From our perspective, it's 17% more openings for 50% fewer people:

                                        JOBTRAK.COM INDEX
           Job Listings Posted at University Career Centers Nationwide
                     Coverage Period January - December 1999

    Job Category                        Average    % of total    # of jobs
                                        starting  jobs posted      posted
                                        salary    for college     compared
                                                    grads by     to December,
                                                    category         1998

    Accounting & Finance                $33,965      13.0%          +4.7%
    Business & Management               $35,199      11.6%          -4.4%
    Clerical & Secretarial              $26,641       7.5%         +11.5%
    Communications/Media                $28,905       6.0%         +27.4%
    Computers & Information Science     $43,062      12.7%          +6.6%
    *Education                          $37,021       9.7%        +120.7%
    Engineering                         $42,281       8.9%          +2.8%
    Public Affairs & Social Services    $29,381       4.6%         +55.5%
    Sales & Marketing                   $34,161      13.8%         +12.3%
    Other                               $30,932      12.1%         +31.9%

    Total                                             100%
    Increase/Decrease                                                +17%
    Average                             $34,433

The labor shortage is generational and real.

John Sumser

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