Unemployed need not apply

In the 19th century, businesses would have signs posted that said “Help Wanted” and then another sign saying, “Irish need not apply” or “No Irish Wanted.” In the 1950’s and 60’s signs stated “No Colored” meaning that if your were a person of color, don’t even think about coming in. It didn’t matter that the business needed someone with certain skills, if you were of a particular ethnic group you were not qualified.

Today, all throughout the Internet job postings use similar language, “Only employed persons will be considered.”  “Must be employed, no exceptions,” is another not uncommon phrase in job postings. You might be asking yourself, “How can this be legal?” It is legal, unless you live in a state that has adopted a “Fair Employment Opportunity Act.” A company utilizing this practice is not discriminating on the basis of Race, Color or Creed.

Why would a company employ (yes, irony intended) such a policy? For one reason, it narrows the number of applicants that the company need to process. Another reason cited is that people who've been out of work might be rusty and harder to get up to speed than people already working. Still, although  it’s not illegal, it is short sighted since; 13+ million people is too large a group to ignore.

To the best of my knowledge, these kinds of postings have been around since the summer of 2010. And since then, I’ve had dozens, in fact, hundreds of my clients who have landed jobs. Many of them were not employed in income generating work. (Conor Cunneen uses this distinction as a response to his hatred of the word “unemployed.”) They weren’t employed and they found jobs. How did they do that?

Only 20% of jobs are advertised and the “unemployed need not apply” practice is used in a small percentage of posted job opportunities. So many of the folks who have landed jobs were considered based on their experience and not their employment status. However, the vast majority of my clients that have landed since 2010 have found those job opportunities through networking with people in the so called “hidden job market.” Even in those cases where the jobs were posted with an “unemployed need not apply” tag, their resume or application was presented by a person within the company as a personal reference.  

So, if you see a posting for a job that claims not to want to interview people like you who are currently working in the non-income generating area of job search, don’t let that dissuade you from applying and landing the job. Do it though a friend or a soon-to-be-friend. They’ll thank you for the opportunity to make their company better.