During the past year, you may have heard about a hiring practice that actively discriminates against unemployed job hunters. To help screen out candidates for open positions, some companies publish help-wanted advertisements that include phrases such as “Must be currently employed,” or “No unemployed candidates will be considered for this opportunity.”
I have chosen not to discuss this topic in the past. I made this decision for two reasons. First, because I believe that discrimination of any kind is abhorrent, and I am confident that this tactic will be deemed illegal in the near future. Second, I understand that job searching is daunting, and it is my goal to make the process easier; not harder. Talking about discrimination is stressful, so I avoided it.
Despite my resistance, I have decided to address this sensitive issue in today’s column. Why? Because after a great deal of consideration, I am convinced that there is one important bit of information that serious job hunters can glean from these job postings. If you can tolerate the biased language long enough to gather one basic fact – the name of the company that published the ad – you can use these advertisements to your advantage.
I know. It doesn’t make sense that a discriminatory job posting could provide any benefit to anyone. Particularly in a crowded job market with so many qualified and deeply motivated people looking for work.
However, the companies that print these types of ads are describing who they are and what they believe in. In essence, they are helping with your research by pointing the finger at one organization where you don’t want to work – theirs.
Think about it. These companies publish advertisements that tell the world they’re too lazy to read the resumes that arrive on their desks. They don’t have the time, energy or inclination to evaluate the skills and attributes that you will bring the workplace. Their No. 1 priority is making their own jobs easier.
These businesses will not grow. They are rarely stable. And even if a few of these blinkered companies beat the odds and remain solvent as the economy ebbs and flows in the coming years, it is obvious that they don’t value their employees. Do you know how I feel about companies that don’t treat employees with the respect they deserve? They don’t deserve good employees.
It’s like a doctor’s office hanging a sign on the front door that says, “We don’t wash our hands.” Would you rearrange your schedule, show up on time, fill out the highly personal and confidential questionnaire, change into a gown and let the nurse practitioner or physician give you a checkup? I hope not.
I know that you need a job. I understand that you may be one of the countless people who are willing to accept a position that requires less skills than you actually have (for less pay than you really need). But even in a tough economy. Even with debt and monthly bills piling up. Even if it feels like torture to keep revising your resume, calling employers and answering tough interview questions about your background. Yes, even if it means you have to continue job searching. You don’t want to work there.
Eve can be reached at Eve.GetaJob@gmail.com.
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