Reaching untapped labor pools to boost hiring
Are you an employer struggling to hire the right candidates for open positions? As the economy continues to grow and the unemployment rate dips to historic lows, many employers are finding it harder and harder to recruit.
CareerOneStop’sHiring a Diverse Workplaceoffers tips and information to help you connect with several often overlooked—but extremely valuable—groups of candidates.
Check out the following resources:
VeteransVeterans bring skills and experience needed in civilian jobs—and as an employer, you may qualify for a tax credit when you hire a qualified veteran.
YouthYoung people can be a great addition to your staff; learn more about the rules governing minimum wages, hours, and other workplace requirements that apply to youth workers.
Workers with DisabilitiesEmployers consistently report benefits to their bottom line when they begin to hire workers who face ability challenges. Learn more about these benefits, as well as facts about the laws such as the ADA that apply to hiring workers with disabilities.
Older WorkersLearn more about the benefits older workers bring and tap into the latest trends in recruiting, training and development, phased retirement, and more.
Foreign NationalsTo hire a foreign worker, employers must apply for certification directly from the U.S. Department of Labor. Learn about the Foreign Labor Certification Program.
Justice-Involved WorkersLearn about programs and incentives that help both ex-offenders and the businesses that hire them succeed.
Work Opportunity Tax CreditWOTC is available to employers hiring groups that have consistently faced significant barriers to employment.
Skills Matcher creates personalized list of skills
CareerOneStop’sSkills Matcheris an invaluable resource for career explorers. Users take a quick multiple-choice survey to rank themselves in 40 key workplace skills, knowledge, and abilities. This leads them to a list of careers that best match their self-ratings—from there, they can link off to explore any careers of interest and learn more about training requirements, pay, employment outlook, and more.
But the Skills Matcher isn’t just for exploring a new career. It also helps job seekers and current employees looking to advance in their fields by creating a detailed list of their current skills. To find this list, users take the Skills Matcher assessment and create their list of best match careers. To the left of their list (or at the bottom if on a mobile device), they’ll see a link to “see your full list of skills.” This brings them to a page listing the 40 key skills broken into three categories:
- ones they rated themselves highest on
- ones where they rated themselves less highly
- ones where they rated themselves the lowest
The personalized list of 40 skills is a vital tool for job seekers. Here are a few tips for leveraging Skills Matcher results:
- Add some of the identified skills to a resume; including these skill names can help a resume get past screening software.
- Adapt the skills description language to help describe skills and experiences on a resume. The Skills Matcher language can be tailored to help communicate achievements in a way that resonates with employers.
- Use the list of skills to prepare for interviews or networking events. Being able to name and discuss skills helps communicate their value to employers and others.
New! Career cluster resources on CareerOneStop
CareerOneStop now offers rich career exploration information for 17 career and industry clusters (covering the 16 O*NET career clusters plus the energy industry).
Visit any of the following links to discover quick facts and trends about the cluster and careers within it. Career explorers ranging from high school students to experienced career changers will find valuable information to help decide which clusters or careers might be a good fit for them. Each career cluster page includes two videos: one overviewing the cluster and one highlighting careers within the cluster. The website pages also offer links to career profiles sorted by education levels such as high-school diploma, short-term training, and associate’s, bachelor’s, or graduate degrees.
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Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources
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Architecture and Construction
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Arts, Audio/Video Technology and Communications
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Business Management and Administration
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Education and Training
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Energy
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Finance
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Government and Public Administration
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Health Science
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Hospitality and Tourism
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Human Services
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Information Technology
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Law, Public Safety, and Corrections
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Manufacturing
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Marketing
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Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
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Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics
New Online Practice Job Application
A few years ago,CareerBuilderpublished a startling statistic: 60 percent of job seekers quit in the middle of filling out online job applications because of the length or complexity. Many career counselors weren’t surprised—they’ve been noting the frustrations around job applications for years. The online forms can feel cumbersome, filling them out can sometimes take a half hour or more, and most applicants don’t have quick access to the details requested.
CareerOneStop’s newPractice Job Applicationaims to help ease those frustrations. By taking the time to fill out a practice application, job seekers can feel more confident and prepared to complete real applications. The Practice Job Application includes prompts for most details requested on standard job applications, including the job seeker’s contact information, employment and education history, and their schedule and other preferences. It also includes tips for answering some standard-but-sometimes-tricky questions such as whether they have a criminal record.
Those tips and the practice of filling out this practice application are useful—but the real value of completing it is that job seekers can download or print their final Practice Job Application. Then they have a hard copy of all the names, dates, addresses, phone numbers, and other details needed when filling out a real application. Please note CareerOneStop does not save any personal information entered by users.
In addition to the Practice Job Application, CareerOneStop offerstips for filling out job applications.
Back to school time... for counselors
It’s that time of year when students and teachers of all grades head back to the classrooms. And right down the hallways, the guidance, career, and college counselors are also gearing up for the new school year.
If you’re a school counselor looking for resources for your students, check out CareerOneStop’sGetMyFuture. The website is free, mobile friendly, and full of interactive tools and information for students and the intermediaries who work with them on career, education, and employment goals. Look for these key features:
- A quick 30-questionInterest Assessment, based on the Holland code system (RIASEC),that provides immediate results linking students to detailed career information.
- Freeoccupation profileswith key points about employment demand and wages in your local area, education required, tasks, a career video, and more.
- AScholarship Finder, letting soon-to-be college students easily search more than 8,500 scholarships, fellowships, and grants.
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Apprenticeshipandshort-term trainingresources for students looking for alternatives to a 4-year degree.
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Job search and work readiness content, including first jobs information, work documents, and preparing resumes and applications.
New! How-to Guides for career explorers and job searchers
CareerOneStop’s brand new How-to Guidesoffer simple step-by-step pathways through CareerOneStop resources to help users achieve any of the following three goals:
How to find career ideas
For the career explorer wondering what type of job would fit them best. This guide will help users learn about their interests, skills, and work values, gather information about different careers, and narrow their career list to the best options.
How to find a job now
For job seekers ready to plan and execute a job search that will boost their success rate, this guide will walk through targeting a resume, finding job openings, looking up local employers, applying for jobs, and more.
How to switch careers
For those looking for a new career that builds on their past work experience and offers more pay, new challenges, or better working conditions, this guide can help identify a new career focus and prepare them to search for jobs in a new field.
Each guide is also available as a downloadable and printable PDF:
CareerOneStop resources for Spanish speakers
Did you know that all CareerOneStop resources are easily translatable into Spanish? Here’s how to translate:
- From a computer, click the Español link at the top of any page
- From a phone, tap the ES button next to the social media icons near the top of the screen
If you have Spanish-speaking clients who could use this information, send them toPara hispanohablantes.
Looking for outreach or teaching materials for Spanish-speaking clients? Visit CareerOneStop’sSpanish-language outreach materials.