What Everybody Ought to Know about Job Matching

The career hunt is a careful balance between finding a job that appeals to you and one that also suits your abilities. If you have trained for a career in one field, it can be a tough sell to apply for a position in another. Besides matching what you like with what you can do, job matching is about making sure the whole picture fits together cohesively.

Recently, a first-year corporate lawyer went on a very lengthy public rant about how his job was soul-crushing. His complaints register more like an existential crisis than someone discussing a new career. After years of education and racking up student loans in law school, he had found himself in a career he hated. Job matching is a more complicated process than fitting abilities to an open position.

Some of this occurs during the interview process. Applicants can discover how well they might fit with company culture, but even this knowledge might not be enough to guarantee long term success.

Companies concerned about reducing turnover will want to take a thorough look at job matching. Accurate job matching involves taking the right steps prior to employment and also continuing to nurture the employee once hired.

Employee retention can begin long before someone accepts a position at your company. Potential candidates should first seek out internships. These can be the best place to start if you want to learn more about your future career path. Even if you think you are studying something you enjoy, you will not be able to accurately gauge your success in the career until you gain some real world experience. The young attorney began his rant with the realization that “you just don’t appreciate how boring it actually is” until it becomes your job. Taking internships could give others a glimpse of office life before they embark down his dangerous path.

While internships traditionally do not have the same responsibilities as full-time positions, they are about more than just learning how much you will like a role. Internships also help match employees with specific companies. Maybe the young attorney would be happier at a different law firm. Company culture plays an important role in how well an employee will get along at a job.

From a hiring manager’s standpoint, writing an accurate job description would also help prevent some of the young attorney’s troubles. He complains that his law school education did not accurately prepare him for the tasks at his new job. Instead of using what he learned, he wastes time doing “whatever meaningless task” he’s been assigned for the day. Providing more specific daily tasks descriptions could have helped this attorney to know most of the projects at his new job would be what he considered “meaningless.”

During the hiring process, assessments such as the ProfileXT® can evaluate an employee’s behavior and attitude relative to the needs of a particular job. Once hired, they can also help managers understand how to deal with the employee and keep boredom at bay. An employee fit to the right job will feel worthy and useful.
To speed up the adjustment process for a new hire, it’s important to offer employee training. The attorney complains, “And you still have no idea how to use the computer system, so it takes you forever to do anything.” Even though skills training may seem irrelevant to the purpose of the job, it can be essential for successful work. Take the time to ensure your employees are comfortable with technology and other basic office procedures. Even the best employees could get frustrated and give up when slowed down by a technology issue. You want office procedures to be second nature so your employees are free to focus on more important work.
As a manager, you should stay in touch with your employees. Keeping the lines of communication open will help them feel comfortable enough to share their frustrations with you. Instead of posting a lengthy rant online, they will be able to tell you which parts of their jobs are not going well. There could be a serious problem if the feeling of boredom resonates throughout the company. “I know people who had literally nothing to do, literally nothing. They were just sitting at their desks,” the attorney gripes. Employees might openly grumble amongst themselves, but you want them to feel equally as comfortable coming to you. You are the one with the power to diversify their workload and keep them productive. Before an employee starts complaining, “there’s only so many times you can organize your paperclips,” this could be a good opportunity to delegate tasks.

Finally, it’s important for everyone to understand that even a dream job might have its slow days. Boredom does not absolutely mean a job is the wrong fit. Look for consistency when job matching. If the overall picture is one where an employee’s aptitude suits the job’s needs along with a high level of enjoyment, it is likely a good fit. Job matching is a process that steps beyond complaints and evaluates the fixable problems from pre-hire through current employment.

Published on Worplace 101 Blog by Sally Ann Moyer on Thu, Dec 20, 2012