Help wanted - jobless need not apply

[the_wolflord]

Ran across this article while waiting for a phone interview…joy. This may explain why despite having literally exactly the skill set and experience a job rec is asking for I am not getting offers even when I know I have “nailed” the interview

Comments

[yresim]

This has actually been the case for a long time: if two qualified candidates apply, the one with the most recent employment record was selected. This was the case in the mid-90's. The theory was that no one goes for 6 months without a job unless they want to. The biggest differences now are:

1. There are a lot more people looking, which makes it almost impossible for someone who's been out of work for a while to get any type of job (because there's almost always someone else who's qualified).
2. Thanks to the recession, and the aforementioned hiring practice, it is completely possible, and almost common, for folks to go without a job through no fault of their own.

The truth isn't so much that their hiring practices have changed, as that they haven't changed to meet the changing times.

The best advice I can give is actually this: get a volunteer job. Most employers will accept that as 'current employment.' That way, you don't have to ditch them the moment something better comes along. Or, at the very least, you'll know you did some good along the way. You can even list the place as your current employer, and then explain during the interview that it is a volunteer position.

Another option is to take a job working for a friend. Doesn't have to be anything complicated or well-paid, as long as they will give you a reference.