As the U.S. economy continues to struggle with the effects of the COVID-​19-​related recession, there is some good news regarding Q4 hiring trends. ManpowerGroup reports that 20% of employers plan to expand their Q4 workforce. The current unemployment rate stands at 8.4%, which is significantly better than it was in April. Employers have plenty of candidates to choose from and they can make their best sales hires by asking applicants to take a sales skills assessment test.

Who’s Hiring

The Q4 Employment Outlook Forecast from ManpowerGroup shows that the following sectors will do the most hiring in the upcoming months:

• Leisure and hospitality 31%
• Transportation and utilities 23%
• Wholesale and retail trade 24%
• Education and health services 21%

The report also broke out hiring intentions by four major regions in the U.S. At least 20% of employers in the Northeast, South and West intend to expand their staff in the next several months. In the Midwest, that number stands at 19%. These numbers suggest that hiring managers may run into some competition in several markets as they bid for the best talent. As employers plan to expand, they must think about the best way to find and compete for new talent.

What Candidates Want

In ManpowerGroup’s What Workers Want report for 2020, researchers noted that sales professionals were ranked second in a list of most in-​demand roles. While more sales professionals may be available as a result of corporate contractions this year, finding a highly skilled individual who will fit your needs won’t be easy.

If you’re thinking of bringing in a younger person and planning to train them, you could be in luck. Gen Z women tell recruiters that their top priorities are great pay and coaching when they are looking for a new employer. They’re ready to learn what they need to know. Coachability is a key aspect of what you should be looking for during the hiring process. Using a great sales skills assessment tool will allow you to identify candidates who are most open to coaching.

Other candidates, such as younger baby boomer females, want the best pay they can get, along with challenging work. Millennial men are looking for great pay and challenging work, while flexibility, in terms of schedule and work location, scores as an important factor for female millennials.

Applicants believe they know what they want from a potential employer. But how often do they understand what drives that want, specifically, what their motivation is? It turns out that people often don’t understand their own motivations. And during the job application process, they fall into the habit of saying what they think the interviewer wants to hear.

20% of Employers Plan to Expand 

If you’re among the 20% of employers who plan to expand their workforce, you can get a better picture of the entire candidate, especially their motivations, skill levels and work-​related behaviors by studying the results of their sales skills assessment. Only about half of U.S. companies use assessments to fill out the data they need to make the best hire for their open positions.

One of the most important benefits of using assessments is “to fish from a more diverse talent pool, selecting people not on past experience but on the basis of future potential.” I like to say that a resume tells you where people have been, the results of a sales skills assessment tells you where people are going.

Making a hiring mistake during a recession can severely impact your organization’s bottom line. Use good sales skills assessment results to help you find sales professionals who possess the characteristics that will help you win new business during our economic downturn. Now more than ever, coachable sales professionals who can creatively apply your solution to a buyer’s needs will be among the ones who receive a return email or phone call and an invitation to make a presentation.