I’ve been in the staffing business for 25+ years, the last five with the firm I founded to recruit for companies from Startups to the Fortune 100. I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE TODAY’S LABOR MARKETS.

There are currently 10.6 million unfilled jobs in this country and approximately 6.3 million people unemployed. So, if every unemployed worker were a perfect match for one of the open jobs, we would still have over 4 million openings. The startling news is this is not a transitory phenomenon. The US birthrate is at an all-time low and immigration rules for qualified workers are a political hot potato. Face it, we have a structural lack of talent in this country that will be with us for at least the next generation with no real near-term solutions.

As it is, almost everyone even marginally qualified to work can find multiple opportunities and the competition for top talent has never been fiercer. At my company, we filled hundreds of positions in 2021 and 95% of those were situations where we placed someone that was already gainfully employed with another company. That’s right. They weren’t even considering changing jobs when we reached out.

Success in the competition for talent is going to require a very different mindset and strategy versus what has worked in the past. So, what are the implications for companies and hiring managers today?