Untangling job mismatches

SUITABLE TALENT Setting expectations is necessary to address job mismatch right off the bat. —Jobstreet photo

Lucy Dela Cruz (not her real name) got a job as an administrative assistant for a national government agency eight years ago with a primary role in web and graphic design. This was in line with her training back in college, having completed a degree in multimedia arts.

But as years went by, the 29-year-old creative began accumulating more tasks because the agency lacked manpower. She is now juggling three roles: a project officer, a market officer and an administrative officer.

“Someone has to take on responsibilities so the office can operate,” she tells the Inquirer.

It was a challenge charting unknown territories but Dela Cruz’s unwavering determination, along with her helpful colleagues, has allowed her to power through.

“[Being a government employee] is always a hit or miss, but what made me stay was my colleagues, mostly. What’s also interesting is learning the technicalities that can be adapted in other real-life situations and learning from our stakeholders,” she adds.

Dela Cruz is part of the workforce whose current jobs are mismatched with their learned skills. Online job portal JobStreet says that job mismatch has been “normalized” in today’s economy but something has to be done in order to avoid detrimental consequences.

What is a job mismatch?

JobStreet defines this as a “phenomenon wherein the skills required to be successful in a certain position and the skills possessed by a certain employee are not completely aligned with each other.” This situation is seen adversely affecting work productivity, motivation and development.

Job mismatches are also classified into two categories: horizontal and vertical.

A horizontal mismatch refers to employees working in a completely different field from the one they studied for, like in the case of Dela Cruz. She overcame this challenge by learning new skills on the job.

“Employees that are considered under this type of mismatch may have the right level of education but don’t necessarily have the ideal level of expertise,” JobStreet explains.

Another example of a horizontal job mismatch is when a journalism degree holder works in a sales and marketing position, the online portal cites.

Meanwhile, a vertical mismatch is a situation when the level of expertise of an employee does not match the job requirements.

“The terms of overqualification and underqualification would fall under this type of skills mismatch since both imply an overall discrepancy between the individual’s abilities required by the position,” JobStreet says.

An example of an overqualification is an engineering graduate working as a customer support representative, JobStreet explains.

According to a recent study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), 40 percent of Filipino employees are overqualified for their jobs. They are also earning only 5 percent more despite being overeducated for their roles.

“The high prevalence of overeducation has important implications. Previous studies found evidence to support the connection of overeducation, diminished job satisfaction and large wage penalties that signal inefficiencies in the labor market,” the PIDS study highlights.

Be clear

“Investments in time, money and other resources do not translate to improved employment outcomes or higher wages. Such negative effects are significant in a developing economy context, where education quality is highly variable and low incomes are prevalent,” it stresses.

As such, there has been a growing need to address the job mismatch in the market.

To lessen job mismatches, JobStreet advises employers to be concise and specific when writing the job descriptions of the positions in the company.

Job applicants must be able to clearly identify the skills required for the job, the requirements to qualify for the role and the work expectations, it adds. Doing so will help organizations target the talents they need; job seekers will also know well what kind of work they are applying for.

Setting expectations is deemed necessary to address job mismatch right off the bat. This is to avoid immediate employee turnover, which can disrupt company operations to some extent.

“Job mismatches are one of the primary reasons that new hires don’t stay in certain positions long-term, which translates to high turnover rates for the company,” JobStreet country manager Philip Gioca explains.

And this can be costly for the companies, too.

“Not only will this require employers to invest more to hire, train new employees, but it also reflects negatively on the employee experience that other job seekers perceive,” Gioca says.

Meanwhile, JobStreet suggests that employers do skills assessment tests like job simulation activities, in addition to interviews during the application process.

“Skills assessment tests offer a more unbiased perspective as to what candidates are capable of and help measure their abilities,” it says.

JobStreet also tells employers to avoid assigning a two-person job to one position as this will eventually lead to a job mismatch.

“For instance, an employer opened a role for a social media community manager but would also expect this candidate to be highly skilled in graphic design,” it says.

Apart from job mismatch, this can also result in employee burnout.

A study by Deloitte earlier this year revealed that about 70 percent of the Filipino Gen Zs and 63 percent of millennials are experiencing burnout because of the “demands of their workload.”

This workplace problem is taking a toll on their mental health, which is among the matters that are stressing out or giving anxiety to Filipino youth based on the study.

Continuous learning

Gen Zs were born from 1995 to 2003 (currently 19 to 27 years old) while millennials were born between 1983 and 1994 (28 to 39 years old).More than the employers covering their ground, JobStreet says that job seekers can also do something to lessen the job mismatch.

“Apart from ensuring that their academic pursuits are geared toward an industry that they are interested in, job seekers can also choose to develop valuable skills that can help minimize any skill gaps,” the online job portal suggests.

Doing so will allow them to acquire more abilities, which can lead to more job opportunities across several industries.

“It’s important for candidates to focus on the development of not only hard skills through their education and other experiences, but also soft skills. With a combination of both, candidates can then look at job listings more critically and come to a decision as to whether they would be the right fit for a position,” Gioca says.

JobStreet stresses that addressing job mismatches will both benefit the employers and job seekers as finding the right fit for the position can lead to better productivity and employee satisfaction.