Studies show that workers who are unemployed for six months or longer have a significantly greater challenge finding a job. Although many of the factors contributing to long-term unemployment are beyond an individual’s control, you still can act to increase your odds of securing a position. Here are three factors contributing to long-term unemployment and action you can take to improve your chances of finding a job.

Hiring Bias

Employers typically don’t want to hire the long-term unemployed due to unfounded beliefs. In studies where researchers respond to job postings by sending fictitious resumes showing varying durations of unemployment and track callbacks for interviews, the rate of finding a job decreased by 45 percent within eight months of unemployment. The results were consistent even when controlling for age, race, education, gender and other observable characteristics. The studies show that less-educated workers have reduced success in finding a job than more-educated workers, remain unemployed longer and represent a substantial number of long-term unemployed individuals. Therefore, there’s evidence the long-term unemployed are increasingly likely to be passed over for interviews than the newly unemployed or currently employed workers with similar measurable characteristics.

Skills Gap

Long-term unemployment may result in loss of skills relevant to your field. The longer you’re unemployed, the more you miss out on industry changes. By not staying current in your field, such as with technology and trends, the less valuable employers view your work contributions to be. Also, because the hiring process is so expensive, employers only interview candidates they believe may be a good fit for the organization.

Resume Screening

Many employers use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to screen candidates. Although this method saves time by narrowing down the candidate pool to those who are currently employed and possess the necessary skills, an ATS cannot screen for personality traits or soft skills that also may be required for a position. Because soft skills are unobservable on a resume and unmeasurable for an ATS, they typically have no impact when determining which candidates receive a call for an interview. In contrast, if employers were able to measure candidates’ soft skills, hiring results would most likely be substantially different.

Staffing Agency Assistance

A staffing agency can help you learn new skills, explore different fields and show your value to employers. You can participate in job training, get coached on resume and interview techniques, and secure interviews that may lead to employment. Because the property management staffing agency has a vast number of connections in your industry, odds are they can help you find rewarding work.

Work With a Leader in Property Management Staffing

Whether you have been unemployed for an extended period of time or are looking to make the next move in your career, if you need assistance with securing a property management position, reach out to NPM Staffing and work with leaders in apartment staffing!

About NPM Property Management Staffing

Property management staffing isn’t just what we do, it’s all we do! Exclusively serving the property management industry, we recruit apartment leasing consultants and maintenance technicians in San Diego, Orange County, the Inland Empire, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Phoenix. Contact our apartment staffing and property management recruiters today.