Disturbing Job Ads: 'The Unemployed Will Not Be Considered'
From the Huffington Post | June 4, 2010
Still waiting for a response to the 300 resumés you sent out last month? Bad news: Some companies are ignoring all unemployed applicants.
In a current job posting on The People Place, a job recruiting website for the telecommunications, aerospace/defense and engineering industries, an anonymous electronics company in Angleton, Texas, advertises for a "Quality Engineer." Qualifications for the job are the usual: computer skills, oral and written communication skills, light to moderate lifting. But red print at the bottom of the ad says, "Client will not consider/review anyone NOT currently employed regardless of the reason."
In a nearly identical job posting for the same position on the Benchmark Electronics website, the red print is missing. But a human resources representative for the company confirmed to HuffPost that the The People Place ad accurately reflects the company's recruitment policies.
"It's our preference that they currently be employed," he said. "We typically go after people that are happy where they are and then tell them about the opportunities here. We do get a lot of applications blindly from people who are currently unemployed -- with the economy being what it is, we've had a lot of people contact us that don't have the skill sets we want, so we try to minimize the amount of time we spent on that and try to rifle-shoot the folks we're interested in."
There are about 5.5 people looking for work for every job available, according to the latest data from the Labor Department.
Sony Ericsson, a global phone manufacturer that recently announced that it would be bringing 180 new jobs to the Buckhead, Ga. area, also recently posted an ad for a marketing position on The People Place. The add specified: "NO UNEMPLOYED CANDIDATES WILL BE CONSIDERED AT ALL." When asked about the ad, a spokeswoman said, "This was a mistake, and once it was noticed it was removed."
Ads asking the unemployed not to apply are easy to find. A Craigslist ad for assistant restaurant managers in Edgewater, N.J. specifies, "Must be currently employed." Another job posting for a tax manager at an unnamed "top 25 CPA firm" in New York City contains the same line in all caps.
"In the current economy, where millions of people have lost their jobs through absolutely no fault of their own, I find it beyond unconscionable that any employer would not consider unemployed workers for current job openings," she said. "Not only are these employers short-sighted in their search for the best qualified workers, but they are clearly not good corporate citizens of the communities in which they work. Increasingly, politicians and policy makers are trying to blame the unemployed for their condition, and to see this shameful propaganda trickle down to hiring decisions is truly sad and despicable."
There is no law prohibiting discrimination against the unemployed, though advocates said the practice could be illegal if it had a "disparate impact" on minority groups.
Congressman John Dingell (D-Mich.), whose home state of Michigan has a 14 percent unemployment rate, was particularly disappointed to hear about the ads.
"While I appreciate that many employers are facing unprecedented competition for job openings, to close the door on such a large population of potential employees is shortsighted," he said. "Being unemployed is not a choice many workers choose to make. I would hope that companies that are discriminating against the unemployed will take into consideration that this choice is only further contributing to long-term unemployment in our country."
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I can only hope they never find themselves out of work. This is a tradgedy.
At first pass reading this article left me speechless. I neighbor with professionals at weekly networking meetings to refine job search tools, leverage social media technology, update technical proficiency skills and remove obstacles in the path of re-deployment. There must be more to the story!
The emotional outcry of comments to the Huffington Post article itself featured everything one would expect, from the boycott of products manufactured by these companies, to proposed tax impacts. But again, there must be more! The screening process, how to filter a thousand resumes to fill 180 positions is the challenge, how to weed though the chaff to get to the wheat, the right candidate (employed or not) measured to fit the needs of the position. The short (sighted) answer is make the pile smaller, to save the time.
So are we (my fellow networkers) on the right path? The question became more, how do we differentiate ourselves from the other 920 candidates, to stand out in the pile? The answers are consistent with that we've learned, be refined, polished, succinct and concise, and above all else, Network our way in the door, to a contact of influence.
Suzanne Lucas @RealEvilHRLady posted an excellent, even tempered response that clearly outlines the path to follow. http://bit.ly/bJKoIS is well worth the read.
Stay the course and we will realize our goal!
Karl
Basically, I am not surprised that some employers use this approach as a broad filter to whittling down candidates to a more manageable level. We know that all companies do not take this approach. If it's a reality in a particular circumstance, then why be shocked? Just deal with it and move on.
Why focus on that employer? The focus needs to be on me. What am I going to do in dealing with this reality?
A more discriminating issue has to be, "How long have I been unemployed?" ? Not their attitude towards me. It's going to be more difficult the longer I am unemployed. Rightfully, employers in general, are going to ask.. "Well,what HAVE you been doing with yourself?".
Being able to deal with this reality impacts the potential employer's view of me, whether I am employed currently or not. What is their risk assessment of me as a potential asset to their company?
Many of us have plenty of skills but are they the skills that employers want to buy? Or are they older skills? "Hit the ground running" may mean employers feel they have no time to train people who are not "already running(employed)".
Developing new skills for some of the new jobs may take longer than we have time for. What we can change is our attitude in the new marketplace. So, let's not focus on "them" but on "us".
Tom
I wonder if those hiring managers only date married people because they want people who are happy. I also wonder how many have the policy but don't mention it. I have read blogs where people suggest that the unemployed want to stay that way. I worked in a large company which got bought twice and is now part of a huge company. People who didn't get laid off considered themselves immune and figured that as the cream of the crop, they were immune. Now only a handful remain of 120K employees. Everybody figures it's the other guy.