Evergreen Jobs Issue Brief (2019)
Background
The concept of evergreen job orders can be a contentious topic in the state workforce arena, with such openings sometimes regarded as “phishing” schemes. But as many HR professionals attest, “just-in-time” hiring models are legitimate recruitment techniques.
Evergreen jobs are broadly defined as positions that are always open, either due to high turnover, high demand, or specific skills required. Employers list evergreen jobs continuously to collect pools of resumes so that HR departments are ready to interview, hire, and quickly place candidates for their internal business customers.
State Survey on Evergreen Jobs
In 2018, the NLx conducted a survey inquiring about several labor exchange topics, including state workforce agencies’ policies for posting evergreen jobs in their state job banks. Out of 45 state responses, 22 states indicated they treat evergreen jobs the same as other jobs, working with employers on a case-by-case basis or following normal review procedures. Two of these states do not apply any time limit to job orders, but the remaining twenty apply a time limit to staff- or employer-entered jobs, after which a new job order must be created. These time limits range from 30 days to one year, with the majority of states using a limit of 90 days. Fourteen of those 22 states do not apply the time limit to the NLx feed.
Thirteen states do not allow evergreen jobs because they require job orders to be linked to currently open positions with a closing date. The remaining 10 states do not have an evergreen jobs policy.
Survey summary:
- 49% of state respondents (22/45) treat evergreen same as other jobs
- 29% of state respondents (13/45) do not allow evergreen jobs
- 22% of state respondents (10/45) have no policy
Benefits of Posting Evergreen Jobs
Employer members of the NLx Steering Committee have expressed that evergreen job listings allow employers to efficiently prepare for periods of high turnover. Evergreen listings might also reflect jobs that are constantly in-demand because they require specific and/or highly technical skill sets. In other situations, it is necessary to remain fully staffed to maintain a continuum of service, such as in hospitals or nursing facilities.
Evergreen jobs help signal high-demand occupations to state workforce agency staff, allowing them to match eligible job seekers to employers that might be constantly seeking new talent in a particular field. State staff may also identify areas for individual upskilling or training development. Job seekers benefit by being able to submit their resumes one time rather than reapplying for positions on an ongoing basis.
Technical and Policy Considerations
State members of the NLx Steering Committee believe the main disadvantage of evergreen job postings is the confusion they can create for job seekers. An applicant may assume there is an immediate and current job opening associated with a position, and being kept in a pool for recruitment in the near future without much communication from the employer can be frustrating. Some state workforce agency staff discourage job seekers from applying for evergreen jobs, not understanding how HR professionals utilize the listings to develop candidate pools for both ongoing and future vacancies. Large multi-state employers often make decisions at the enterprise level about which positions will be continuously listed; this could distort labor demand data if there are significant differences in hiring rates for those positions across local areas.
Federal contractors with evergreen job listings should adhere to one of these listing procedures:
- List job openings as often as the contractor considers individuals for a particular position. For example, a contractor may routinely hire diesel mechanics and keep each vacancy announcement open for 15 days on a rolling basis. Employers using the NLx can fulfill their obligations by deleting and re-posting an evergreen job on their corporate career site with a new job ID.
- List openings at least as frequently as the time period used by the employment delivery system (state job bank) to maintain an active listing.
State government contracts may require employers to follow additional listing obligations. It is the responsibility of the contractor to understand the requirements of each state in which they list to achieve compliance.
In addition to the considerations above, states may want to reference the following questions when evaluating or developing an evergreen jobs policy.
- What (if any) impacts would there be if the current time limit on job orders were extended?
- Is it feasible to conduct a pilot study, e.g. extending a 30-day time limit to 60 days over a period of six months to evaluate changes in referrals, hires, and number of available jobs in the state job bank?
- Is there a way to represent evergreen job openings in state job banks in a manner easily identifiable to jobseekers (e.g. using a tree as a symbol marker)?
- How is the state’s current or proposed policy messaged to employers?
- What staff training might be needed to manage job seekers’ and employers’ expectations about evergreen jobs?
- Is there a process to distinguish between phishing schemes and legitimate evergreen jobs?
- What opportunities are there to work with state LMI shops to better analyze evergreen jobs?
Questions? Email Ellen Samoriski, Program Assistant at esamoriski@naswa.org
Revised March 2019
