The challenge of underemployment

A career coaching colleague and I were discussing the ongoing challenge of underemployment. “Why can’t there be an easier way for people with talent to get connected to opportunities that match their strengths?” he asked.

I’ve been in this line of work for 25 years, and I’ll confess I’ve become more of a realist than I was at the start of my starry-eyed career. Since then I’ve drawn these conclusions:

• The world of work is a teeming pool of evolving, inefficient activity. Businesses are continually growing, shrinking, and changing, as do their employee needs. The majority of us—about 75%–work for organizations with fewer than 25 employees. Small companies don’t have human resources departments to respond to those fluctuating demands, so hiring often happens on the fly. Not the ideal setup to match great-fit employees with openings.
• Human nature leans toward stagnation. When we find a comfortable spot, we stay there. For most people, this applies to letting skill sets rust and not moving to better-fit positions when it would be in our best interest. As a result, unhappy workers clog up the flow of enterprise, slowing the growth of more opportunities for challenging, rewarding work.
• There’s a general lack of understanding for, and a biased distaste of, self-advancement. We all know that person who lands in better and better positions. “But they’re a shameless self-promoter,” we argue. They network with the right people, showcase their accomplishments, and continually strive for the next step. We equate this with hawking wares at a flea market, and swear to never engage in that kind of activity ourselves. The result: plum opportunities don’t fall in our laps with the same frequency as those who do.

On the upside, the factors that can cause many to be underemployed also hold the potential to raise others into engaging positions. There’s more happening in the world of work than ever before. Fluid business operations create new openings; boosting skill sets improves marketability; and advocating for your future really can set you up for opportunities that feel right at your level.

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