Survey: 57% of Today’s Newly Unemployed Can’t List the Skills That Will Get Them Their Next Job

Recruitment and On-boardingHR TechnologyNews

By HRTech News Desk On May 29, 2020

LiveCareer’s Skills Match Series, job search advice, tips and resources offer employment solutions for displaced job seekers.

LiveCareer, A majority of job seekers can’t capture transferable skills on their resumes or identify how those skills apply to other industries, according to a LiveCareer national survey of 1,519 people left unemployed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Millions of recently unemployed workers are not very confident they can identify their transferable skills, which could hinder their ability to quickly find employment in industries that are hiring, a LiveCareer national survey found. Transferable skills can be the life raft in a sinking economy. Kasey Kallevig, who lost her busser and hostess job in Arizona because of the pandemic, said "Identifying transferable skills is key to tailoring your resume and marketing yourself in the job search.” — Millions of recently unemployed workers are not very confident they can identify their transferable skills, which could hinder their ability to quickly find employment in industries that are hiring, a LiveCareer national survey found. Transferable skills can be the life raft in a sinking economy. Kasey Kallevig, who lost her busser and hostess job in Arizona because of the pandemic, said “Identifying transferable skills is key to tailoring your resume and marketing yourself in the job search.”

Furthermore, these job seekers are not comfortable speaking with potential employers about those key skill sets. Collectively, these findings reveal a significant gap in knowledge about transferable skills as well as confidence in how to use them among the more than 36.4 million U.S. workers who filed for unemployment between March 21st through May 9th.

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This inability to understand and articulate their transferable skills threatens to make the stay on the unemployment rolls much longer for millions of job seekers who sorely need work.

57% (20.8 million) can’t identify their transferable skills with a high degree of confidence.
58% (21.1 million) aren’t sure how to include transferable skills on their resume.
53% (19.3 million) can’t identify the best resume format to use to get their next job.
34% (12.4 million) can’t provide good examples of how their skills would apply to another job.
58% (21.1 million) aren’t confident they can find new jobs where their skills would apply.
56% (20.4 million) are looking for a job in a similar industry even though that industry may be significantly cutting back employment.

“Understanding how to apply existing skills to a new job, perhaps in a different industry, could get job seekers the jobs they need to support their families in this unprecedented unemployment situation,” said Doug Jackson, Co-Chief Executive Officer of BOLD.

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