by Becky Cole

 The economy has flipped everything upside down for both job seekers and employers. According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, for every one job opening, there are seven people standing in line for it. No wonder it has been hard to find a job.

However, I’ve been noticing a trend in the jobs that are available that may be adding to the confusion of it all - job descriptions that require completely different skill sets. In their effort to make due with what they can afford, employers are combing job functions to create one job that had been done by two or more, but in doing this, they are setting themselves up for a greater than average turnaround rate at their company. For example, one I see frequently is a book keeper and receptionist combined in one position. Those are two different skill sets, and a person who is good at one, isn’t likely to be as good at the other.

Another one I have seen showing up more frequently in the nonprofit world is combining marketing with case management. They want the person to develop relationships with employers so that clients can be placed, and they want the same person to work with the client in developing employable skills. These are two different functions that don’t fit all that well in the same position.

At the same time, though, it seems difficult to get employers to capitalize on the skills that employees can bring to the table. For example, I know of a man who has IT skills and can be placed for 20 hours a week at a nonprofit organization at no cost to the organization, and yet I have a hard time finding some place that is interested in using his skills. I know of a former executive director of a nonprofit organization who only wants to work part-time. Somebody with her skills and experience could accomplish quite a bit in part-time hours, but rather than looking at what she can bring to the table, she finds that places tend to get stuck on her previous job title. Another one has been looking for a customer service job for the past year. She has great skills in order processing and dealing with customers on the phone.

So what do you do?

First of all, read the job descriptions, rather than just looking at the job titles in the listing. How one company may define "entry level" is not how another company will define it.

Second, know yourself in what you can and can’t handle. If you are trained as an accountant, can you realistically be ok with having to answer the phones at the front desk for part of the day? Be careful to not automatically reject it just because it isn’t something you haven’t done before, but be sure that if they ask you to do it, you aren’t going to end up resenting the job because of it.

Third, make sure you customize your resume to fit the job. Make it easy for the employer to see why you are the best person for the job. If you are applying for an IT job, but also have warehouse experience, start off your resume with your IT experience. If can, leave off your warehouse work, unless you can relate it to the job for which you are applying.

Lastly, but just as important, develop your networking skills. The next job you get is more likely to come from someone you know than it is from a job board.