I have worked on a number of open jobs where the hiring manager or hiring authority has suggested that they’d prefer to hire someone who is already employed. In other words, they suggest that they’d prefer not to hire someone who is currently unemployed. In some rare cases, I’ve had hiring managers tell me to not even bother sending them the resume of anyone who isn’t currently working. It would seem that this sort of practice is increasing.
A recent news story I read discussed a recruitment firm in South Carolina searching for managers for a grocery store who specifically stated in the ad that they were only looking for people who currently held a job.
Mind you, I’ve also seen cases where the opposite has happened: I recall working on jobs where the position needed to be filled ASAP and the hiring manager told me that they’d prefer to hire someone who was currently out of work and who could start immediately!
When a company states that they want to hire someone currently employed, it’s interesting to note the reason why. Depending on your local labor laws it might not be illegal to state that you want to only consider job applicants who are currently employed but I guess my question would be what are you trying to accomplish?
In the case of the grocery store looking for managers, does that mean an unemployed grocery store manager who was recently downsized is less desirable than a person with no direct experience as a grocery store manager but who is currently employed in another job? Apparently they are since their current out-of-work job status will automatically rule them out of consideration for the job.
If you’re applying to jobs and are currently unemployed, you do need to be cognizant that this sort of treatment exists not only from hiring managers but recruiters too. Recruiters can also discriminate against those who are currently out of work thinking that it will be an uphill battle to help them get back into the workforce compared to a similar candidate who is currently working.
Having a job can give you extra leverage in your job search that you might have not otherwise considered. The longer you’re out of work, the more questions arise as to why you haven’t been able to find a new job, too.
