Jobs: Unemployed need not Apply

The New Normal: If you're out of work, your out of luck.

Unemployed need not apply

Friday, June 18, 2010, 10:14am CDT

Apparently, there's a new trend among HR professionals: With stacks of applications on their desks, some hiring managers are telling the unemployed to not bother applying. In other words, they only want to consider applicants who have existing jobs.

Come again?

Yes, that’s right. In a recession where unemployment is hovering stubbornly at 10 percent, some HR pros are rubbing salt in the wounds of those without jobs, according to this article from CNN/Money.com.

The philosophy is, if a candidate was let go, the former employer didn't value him or her. But is this a fair assumption in this prolonged recession?

During the past couple of years, companies have cut staff members for a multitude of reasons that have nothing to do with job performance. It could have come down to poor financial planning on the company's part, falling sales and the elimination of certain jobs altogether.

Although HR executives have a responsibility to consider and hire only the best candidates, they shouldn't make such sweeping assumptions about the out-of-work.

What's worse, some companies are complaining about the lack of qualified applicants for open positions. I have to wonder if those qualified applicants ever had a chance in the first place.

Read more: Unemployed need not apply - Dallas Business Journal


[link to dallas.bizjournals.com]