The Job Preparedness Indicator is an annual survey conducted on behalf of the Career Advisory Board, established by DeVry University. It offers data, trends and advice for job seekers on how to bridge the skills gap and meet potential employers’ needs. One of the sticking points from the survey stated only 17 percent of hiring managers say job seekers have the skills and traits their organization is looking for in a candidate.   

I spoke to Alexandra Levit, a member of the Career Advisory Board and targeted the questions below. As you know, I interviewed Levit last month regarding another survey conducted on behalf of the Career Advisory Board, DeVry University, and the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Some of the questions were rephrased but the gist her answers were more than appropriate and relevant. In addition, I included the infographic which was the focus of our discussion.

Please note that you may need to adjust the sound when Alexandra is speaking. My internal speakers failed but the external speakers captured  response in lower volume. Her answers are audible when listening with earphones.

1) Lots of Job Seekers are feeling more confident about changing jobs or employment as 1 in 3 are willing to journey even if they have few transferable skills. What do you think this group has learned about the job search that they didn’t before?

2) I remember the NY Times from July 2011 stating that employers are disqualifying candidates and looking at the research, this still is a trend that continues…will this hurt the progress made in hiring, or will it depend on the available talent seeking to be hired.

3) What advice have you given to hopeful job seekers changing to new careers?

4) How important is for the job seeker to understand today’s hiring manager and the discretion he or she has to disqualify candidates with little experience?

5)Let’s discuss the critical future skills & career development: Ability to be cross-functional, understanding technology (both are not new), a global perspective, and social media (kind of new). Could you define for listeners the significance of a global perspective and social media?

6) To gain a perspective on what hiring managers are asking for, the new hire may need a perspective of a supervisor, the supervisor a department manager, and a department manger a director and so on?

7) Through my experience with entry level or candidates that have only 2 or 3 years experience in the workforce many of them do not expose themselves to obtain the business acumen, strategic prospective, or networking effectiveness. Would you say that will be expected in the professional careers in the near future? To some degree we would have to add negotiation to that skill set too, right?

8) The study states that employers put professional development in the hands of the job seeker. As you know pro development is quite expensive these days. What are some non-traditional and inexpensive ways job seekers can obtain additional training that the company will not pay for?

9) So based on what we discussed, how can job seekers become more successful in getting noticed and interviewed?