How to Get Around Clients’ Unemployed Discrimination

We have discussed in previous blog posts how clients are reluctant to hire unemployed candidates because they perceive that they are “lower-level.” Well, according to a recent Huffington Post article, some employers are taking it a step further by making current employment a job requirement on their job postings.The article cited several examples, including an ad for a Quality Engineer at a Texas electronics company that stated “Client will not consider/review anyone NOT currently employed regardless of the reason.” In response to the article and the firestorm of angry comments that followed (the Huffington Post article has received over 3,000 comments so far!), www.ere.net searched some of the biggest job boards on phrases such as “currently employed,” “must be currently employed,” and “no unemployed will be considered” and also found postings that required current employment.This is probably not all that surprising to recruiters who have bumped into the “unemployed mindset” plenty of times. But at a time when a bulk of those looking for jobs are unemployed, it certainly doesn’t make your job any easier. Fortunately, there is a way that you can overcome the unemployed mindset. When you have a candidate you feel is a perfect fit for a job order but is not currently employed, you may want to suggest contracting as a way for a reluctant client to try the candidate out before committing to a direct-hire. Not only will you help the candidate find much needed employment, but you may keep your client from passing up on the perfect candidate. And that is something your client will be sure to remember the next time they have a difficult position to place!