Millions of American workers can’t find a job. Employers say it’s tough out there for them, too.
Nearly 70% of human resource professionals report challenges recruiting for full-time positions, according to a new report by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). And half said recruiting is more difficult than it was a year ago.
What’s missing? Critical thinking.
Eight in 10 HR professionals report their greatest difficulty is finding candidates with the right skills. Not tech skills or AI know-how — they’re talking about communication, judgment, decision making, complex problem solving, and time management.
Nearly two-thirds said it was a struggle to find applicants with “power skills,” which include creativity and critical thinking.
“We’ve spent years obsessing over technical upskilling and AI literacy, but what employers are actually struggling to find are people who can think clearly under pressure, manage competing priorities, and make sound judgment calls without a playbook,” Dan Schawbel, a workplace trends expert and managing partner of Workplace Intelligence, told me.
“Those are deeply human capabilities, and ironically, the rise of AI makes them more valuable, not less, because AI can execute, but it can’t own a decision or navigate ambiguity with real accountability.”
To land a new job, jobseekers need to “keep up with technology, including AI, while also continually developing soft skills,” career coach Jayne Mattson said.
For younger workers, that means “resisting the temptation to let tools do all the thinking; the candidates who stand out will be those who can demonstrate judgment and initiative, not just tool proficiency,” Schawbel said.
For older workers, this is a sliver of promising news.
”The complex problem-solving and time management skills they’ve built over decades of experience are exactly what the market is hungry for, and that’s a competitive advantage worth leaning into hard right now,” he said.
