Despite the fact that the Swedish economy is still in a recession with rising unemployment, many companies are looking for skills in the labour market. However, this is a major challenge. Figures from the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise show that eight out of ten business leaders are struggling to find the right skills and are therefore being prevented from continuing to grow, particularly in the data and IT professions.

According to figures from the job search engine Jobbland.se, 30 900 job adverts have been published this year in which companies have sought skills in data and IT, but only a third have resulted in a job application.

– The figures show that the Data and IT occupational category is the industry in Sweden with the lowest number of applications per advert, which is a major challenge for employers who have difficulty finding the right talent. One mistake that many employers make when looking for new skills is that they signal the wrong message in their job adverts, which does not help to attract the right people to apply for the position, says Lisa Hasselström, CEO of Keeparo.

The wrong message is being communicated to the target audience

Figures from Keeparo show that people who are looking for jobs within data and IT are most likely to act on adverts that contain one of these key messages:

• Personal development
• Social responsibility
• Leadership

The latter key message, leadership, is almost never mentioned when companies communicate with their target group of job seekers.

Instead, it is social responsibility that is the main message most communicated in job applications. However, the figures show that personal development is the most important key message among job seekers and what actually makes people act and actually apply for the jobs.

– We often see a difference between what the employer communicates and what the target group is actually looking for. To find the right skills that can make the company grow, you need to be careful and clearly emphasise the value of working for the company. If you want to attract people who are already in secure and good jobs, you have to find what is unique and not just believe that there is expertise just sitting and waiting, says Lisa Hasselström.

Messages most communicated to the target group in data & IT in job adverts*

Social responsibility
Personal development

Pride

Culture and community
Leadership

The messages that make data and IT audiences act on job adverts*
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Personal development
Social responsibility
Leadership
Pride
Culture and community

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*Data from Keeparo