LinkedIn’s feed is full of active job seekers.  Some are coming out of new rounds of layoffs while others have been searching frantically for months.  It also contains contains dozens of new jobs every day. Hiring managers and TA teams are searching for their unicorn.

Yet for some reason, there is no connection.  We can connect to the furthest reaches of the globe, but we are unable to build local professional connections despite all the AI tools and job seeking platforms available for every niche of the market.

The goal is to fill the job and if you can’t make the connection, you can’t fill the job. This applies to companies that put up massive barriers to entry and job seekers who will do everything except go after the job.

Why are connections being missed?

• Remote vs In-Office Work: Job seekers want remote or hybrid work. Employers want in-office work. No one is willing to budge on their position.
• “My Resume is Enough”: Job seekers stop their search at creating and submitting resumes. This ends the conversation before it has even started.
• Ego- Employers: there are thousands of applicants applying for a single job. We wield the power, and we’ll let them come to us.
• Overwhelm: Thousands of applications don’t translate to thousands of qualified candidates. Auto applies flood the field, potentially burying qualified candidates in the mess.
• The Same Resume: Every resume looks the same. Job seekers are all using the same AI-based tools to curate their resumes. And now, every resume has the same format, sentence structure, and keywords.
• Disjointed Hiring Practices: They are inefficient and have no set timeline or structure. This is the fastest way to turn off a job seeker.
• Hiring the Wrong Person: Wasting time getting everyone’s buy in on a hire distributes blame if the new employee doesn’t work out. 
• Compensation: They are mismatched or unclear. Employers and candidates need to be transparent and upfront about compensation range requirements.
• Long Term Retention: The irrational fear that hiring someone gives them more leverage to leave. It’s easier to get a job when you have a job – so why bother hiring them if they’re just going to leave?
• Nearshore & Offshore Hiring Models: This can scare off great employees who are concerned that a company is focused on low-cost solutions over local talent quality.

Realistically, the list goes on.  If neither side is willing to meet halfway for the first connection, we will continue to see job seekers and employers passing each other by on LinkedIn every day.  Hiring and being hired requires a plan. If you don’t know where to start on either side of the aisle, we’re here to help bridge that gap.