Upon first glance, hiring and workforce development may seem like they&rsquo;re in the same boat. From afar, they may appear to occupy the same need, but differentiating between the two can mean a huge difference in results. Think of hiring in the traditional sense as a stop gap. A means to an end. When many go through the process of filling a position, they do so simply to put someone in the role with little regard for the future. Hiring in its most basic form is nothing more than filling an empty position. Workforce development is hiring done right.&nbsp;

The best way to think about workforce development, especially when compared to hiring, is bringing someone on board using a process that puts an emphasis on foresight. It&rsquo;s filling a position only after you&rsquo;ve done an extensive amount of research, reviewing, interviewing, and thinking about what exactly the organization needs, not just in the immediate, but for the future as well. Either by hiring people hungry for training and upskilling, or providing those options to your current workforce, you can match their drive with an avenue to grow even more capable.

We believe firmly in the importance of workforce development, because it&rsquo;s a recipe for success for everyone involved. When you go out and explicitly decide to build your workforce, instead of simply fill an organizational gap, you are already many steps ahead. We work with those who believe in this mindset to show them that true workforce development comes through a deeper look at the candidates themselves. Hiring simply based on a resume is a surefire way to ensure that you&rsquo;re not taking every possible step to get the best person for the job. We go deeper into that process by representing the potential employee as a human first, someone with a myriad of diverse abilities and skills that all come together to give your organization the edge.

Through training and proper advocacy, we increase the skills and confidence of potential employees at the same time, so that when they prepare to enter the workforce, they arrive ready to bring their absolute best to the table. We know that one of the best ways to help organizations fuel tomorrow&rsquo;s economic success through a workforce is to point them towards candidates that are hungrier than most.

It&rsquo;s this mission that makes us far less interested in the simple process of hiring, and more engaged with workforce development that gives everyone involved stronger roots to grow from. Hiring may work in the short term, but a process that values the importance of building a pipeline aimed at funneling in talent for the future sets everybody up for a higher level of greatness.

Hiring in its most basic form is nothing more than filling an empty position. Workforce development is hiring done right.

Hiring vs. Workforce Development: Stop Patching Holes, Start Preparing for Tomorrow

Upon first glance, hiring and workforce development may seem like they’re in the same boat. From afar, they may appear to occupy the same need, but differentiating between the two can mean a huge difference in results.

Opportunity is not equally distributed. It&rsquo;s an undeniable fact that some are fortunate enough to get opportunities that simply never come the way of others. For us, we don&rsquo;t see this opportunity divide as an impasse that we can&rsquo;t push past. We see it as a chance to build bridges that develop stronger workforces and give more chances to underrepresented people.

To really understand the opportunity divide, we have to first understand the people most affected by its presence. This unfortunate truth of the hiring process is most likely to impact workers who have traditionally been held back, unheard, or simply overlooked. They may be someone that lacks conventional skills in the field they&rsquo;re applying for, or one who doesn&rsquo;t meet every criteria on paper, yet when you take a closer look at the full view of their potential, it just may exceed that of a candidate that pops more on paper. These are the people we love to go to work for.

We take a full view of the candidate when we begin the process of advocating for them. What does that mean? It&rsquo;s simple, really. Actually, it&rsquo;s human. We do everything we can to get to know each individual as a person first and foremost to get a true understanding of their skillset, background, capabilities, and their own unique ways that they can be perfect for the job they want. Even if that position may be traditionally outside of their reach.

Once we do this, we work with employers to help educate them on the importance of viewing the process through this filter, to really be mindful of this opportunity divide, and to do everything they can to view this candidate as the total package, not just checkmarks on a resume. We help employers understand that when they approach hiring with this human touch that we bring to our own operations, they&rsquo;ll begin developing a true workforce of capable, hungry, talented people that are ready for anything tomorrow&rsquo;s economy can throw in their way.

Erasing the opportunity divide takes work. It takes effort from all parties to make it click. But above all of these things, it takes heart. It takes a genuine passion for doing better and improving people&rsquo;s lives to get true results. This motivation to help underrepresented people enter the workforce with confidence that lies at the heart of everything we do&hellip;and we love doing it.

Bridge the opportunity divide by advocating for underrepresented talent and building stronger, inclusive workforces.

Advocacy in Action: Erasing the Opportunity Divide in the Workforce

Opportunity is not equally distributed. It’s an undeniable fact that some are fortunate enough to get opportunities that simply never come the way of others. For us, we don’t see this opportunity divide as an impasse that we can’t push past.

When you think about what it means to be &ldquo;qualified,&rdquo; where does your mind go? Do you think about someone who has every required skill for the job? Do you picture a candidate that checks a list of boxes to fit a position and nothing else? We believe that&rsquo;s just the start of it.

The idea of a &ldquo;qualified&rdquo; candidate these days is so much different than it may have been in the past. Now it&rsquo;s important to take in a much larger picture when considering someone for the role they&rsquo;re applying for. While it&rsquo;s important to have the baseline skills that a position needs, it&rsquo;s just as crucial to have something of an &ldquo;x-factor&rdquo; on top of that. Take a look at a stay at home mom, for example. Her list of intangibles is every bit as deep and impressive as any of her traditional professional qualifications. There&rsquo;s no doubt that she&rsquo;s mastered budget management or the ability to handle challenging personalities. At CareerCircle, we believe that these are the kinds of skills that should be highlighted and celebrated when representing the workforce.

In most of us, there&rsquo;s hidden potential. Talents that are arguably more beneficial to the role they&rsquo;re after than the standard ones that the job listing may call for. We acknowledge these hidden traits, and look at the entire candidate to present the best, and truest, version of themselves to potential employers. When we pledge to &ldquo;rethink qualified,&rdquo; we&rsquo;re making a promise to challenge a dated process.&nbsp;

For the workforce, we do what it takes to uncover their hidden soft skills, boost confidence, and utilize our training courses to upskill them so that they can feel truly qualified for any role. When it comes to employers, we inspire them to think differently about hiring, to take the entire person into account when choosing the right person for the role. We do this by showing them that when they, too, &ldquo;rethink qualified,&rdquo; they will no longer simply fill in roles, but instead begin to build a longstanding talent pipeline that will actively grow their workforce from within.

We believe qualified talent is where you&rsquo;d least expect it. Whether it&rsquo;s that stay at home mom from above, or a construction worker that has hidden skills that would make them the ideal software engineer, we know that sometimes all they need is a little extra help. We &ldquo;rethink qualified&rdquo; because we want to help more people find their true calling. By putting a little bit of extra thought and heart into it, we can give the workforce, and employers alike, the confidence to achieve something more.

Discover how CareerCircle redefines ‘qualified’ by highlighting hidden skills and fostering true potential in candidates.

Rethink Qualified: Creating a More Well-Rounded Workforce

When you think about what it means to be “qualified,” where does your mind go? Do you think about someone who has every required skill for the job? We believe that’s just the start of it.

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Staff Writer

144 Articles

Hiring vs. Workforce Development: Stop Patching Holes, Start Preparing for Tomorrow

Advocacy in Action: Erasing the Opportunity Divide in the Workforce

Rethink Qualified: Creating a More Well-Rounded Workforce

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