It’s easier to get a new job when you already have a job. We all intuitively know this to be true, but why is that the case?
If you ask recruiters and hiring managers why they don’t hire individuals who are unemployed when they apply for a role, it’s usually because they’re basing their decision on some preconceived notions and biases:
- If you’ve been fired from one job, there must be something wrong with you.
- If you quit without a new job lined up, you must not be a dedicated employee.
- If you stayed at home with your kids, you’ll always be running out the door early.
- If you were out for health reasons, you’ll get sick again.
In reality, most of these reasons are excuses for hiring managers to avoid critically evaluating all applicants and opting instead for the easy route. Ultimately, hiring managers prefer to recruit and hire employed versus unemployed candidates simply because they assume someone else already evaluated them, hired them and values their work enough to keep them.
To keep reading, click here: Don’t Be Afraid to Hire Someone Who is Unemployed
One of the best reasons to consider the unemployed is that — usually — they really need a job, making them highly-motivated.
exactly!
Sometimes they can be unemployed because they were laid-off from their job along with either 1/2 or even more of their co-workers. The company may have gone out of business.
Also, consider “overqualified” people. Yes, they may leave quickly if they do find another job, but you may get an extremely hard worker!
I agree with you about hiring the unemployed. During my 40-year career, I was laid off three times. During my last layoff (in 2009), eight employees, including me, were laid off on the same day with no advance notice. Our small company had been having some cash-flow problems and could not get additional financing from banks (during the Great Recession); that’s why we were laid off. However, some of us were eventually rehired when the company’s financial position improved. I had been working at that company for about 2 years 10 months and was not happy with my job. However, after 4 months of unemployment, I accepted my job back when it was offered to me because I had had almost no luck getting job interviews in those 4 months. I also got a salary increase, but I had to work on a 4-month backlog of work!
Its reassuring to see these preconceptions being challenged, especially as some who is on a career break and looking for employment. These is a huge number of parents/carers/people who just needed a break, looking to go back to work but are being penalised for taking time out of paid employment.