Hiring managers can smell the fear of unemployment.
There’s been a lot of anger over the help wanted ad for a job in Florida that stated: “No unemployed candidates will be considered at all.”
The ad in question was for a marketing gig with Sony Ericsson in Buckhead, FL, that pays between $90,000 and $130,000.
Clearly, many unemployed individuals around Buckhead would want to be considered for this job. But the company wants only those candidates who are presently employed.
Unfortunately, this is not something new. What’s new is that a company would be so blatant about it.
It happens all the time. Recruiters and hiring managers typically want people who are employed. No matter how you slice it, the natural tendency is for people to think something’s wrong with you if you’re unemployed, even if it’s not your fault, and the economy is bad, and your company laid off everyone.
This is just a fact of life. So, you have to pretend not to be jobless.
I’m not saying you should lie, but if you mention your unemployment in a cover letter or resume you are nuts. Take that out now! I know you guys do that. I recently read a cover letter that included a few paragraphs on why the person was jobless. Forget that. No one wants to hear your sob story. Seriously, they’ll think less of you, or worse, pity you.
So, don’t mention it anywhere, and don’t bring it up in a phone interview.
You should say something like, “most recently I was the manager at Company X responsible for this and that.” If the interviewer asks you if you’re still doing a certain job, you should be honest. But then jump in with all the things you’ve been doing since you left Company X.
“I am taking a course in business management,” or “I’m getting my certification in several computer programs.”
You also may want to think about taking a job that is not in your direct field. Consider working for a retailer or a non profit that doesn’t pay tons. Or finally join the PTA at your kid’s school and become an active member, planning events, raising money, etc. You can spin any thing to fit the job you want.
Let’s say you want that job in marketing, you can say, “I’m working for a clothing shop and have been able to interact directly with customers and see what sells.” Or, offer to do work helping promote the retailer online or in the community. Bingo, you have a marketing job you can include on your resume. You don’t have to include that you hung shirts up and worked the register if these things don’t apply to the job you want.
The ad says you have to be employed. It doesn’t say by whom, or the type of job.
Come on, don’t let this stuff get you down. And don’t just sit home monitoring job boards for six months. That’s what hiring managers are most fearful of; that you’ve been cloistered for months, allowing yourself to get stale, angry and lethargic. You can babysit; sell cookies or crafts at a local fair; tutor a neighbor’s kid; even sell freaking lemonade on the corner. All these things constitute employment.
employment |emˈploimənt|
noun
the condition of having paid work
You’re not unemployed. You’re doing tons of stuff until you find just the right gig.
June 4th, 2010 at 9:04 am
Although this article is very enlightening, it is very depressing to someone like me who has been unemployed for 6 months and never, ever thought of unemployment in this aspect. I was terminated from my last job and subsequently denied unemployement. I am now on public assistance. Any advice?
June 4th, 2010 at 9:36 am
Susan, I’d look into a volunteer position with a non-profit organization in your area (e.g., house of worship, youth service organization). Approach the organizations and let them know the skills you have to offer, and make it clear that you’re wanting to do so as a volunteer. In addition, if you have skills–whether work-related or hobbies–that can be taught to others, approach your local community education organization and look into teaching one or more classes on the topics you know best. They don’t pay much, but it is a job. [Do realize, however, that such positions are typically contract positions, so you’d need to treat them like self-employment income.]
For a real stretch, if you have the time and inclination (and can scrape together some limited resources), you can look into starting your own non-profit organization (though not an IRS-recognized 501(c)3 corporation). In Minnesota, for example, the cost to register a non-profit organization is $70 (a big chuck of change when living on State aid, I realize). Once organized, any time you put into administering the organization and carrying out its primary purpose is something you can list on your resume. Of course, if you create such an organization solely for resume padding, I believe it would be unethical. If, however, it would simply be formalizing something you’re already doing or are passionate about, there’s no harm in benefitting from the formalization (assuming you’d keep on doing your primary activity, or pursuing your primary interest). Given your situation, perhaps the organization could be a support group for other persons in similar circumstances.
[My wife and I have a son with a very rare genetic condition. We’re planning to start a non-profit organization here (in Minnesota) to allow us to formalize a group of families affected by this condition into a recognized group within our state.]
June 4th, 2010 at 11:29 am
Susan, when you get a chance, can you provide some more details on what you’re looking for, what your skills are, why you were terminated from your last job?
June 4th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Having been unemployed for a year now after being laid off, I can also relate to this article. However, one practical consideration is the amount of money being received through unemployment. Currently, my “earnings” from unemployment are about what I would make at a minimum wage job. Very low, yes, but at least I have the freedom to network, go to interviews, etc. If I were to take a job in another field, it seems that it would be harder to be available to look for work in my chosen profession.
Strictly speaking, even if I go back to school or start doing volunteer work, my unemployment is at risk. Seems like a catch-22, yes?
June 4th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
While this article is depressing, it’s also the truth. It has always been a thousand times easier to transition from an existing job to a new one, but never that easy to do when unemployed.
I have been downsized and out so many times I’m not sure what to focus on anymore or how to “re-invent” myself. The places I’ve held long term positions no longer exist, I grow older and watch the few jobs I’m skilled at and successful doing get handed to the younger folks.
While it is impressive to say you’ve created a niche and done consulting or volunteered, I’ve had recruiters tell me, unless you were paid a salary and paid taxes on that salary, it wasn’t considered employment. Talk about deflating one’s balloon!
The attempt to go to work for that hourly position with a retailer or other position is usually met with raised eyebrows when you list your previous employment history, if you are not truthful about your responsibilities and try to “dumb down” your experience as I’ve seen advised on other job boards, it will most likely backfire. It would be a falsification of your application and grounds for termination in most instances. All it takes is one call to previous employers to verify the job held and you are discredited. Previous position, financial analyst; now seeking barista job at local coffee shop……ding ding ding, alarms go off. The fact that you are seeking legitimate employment and want to work, means nothing to the powers that be, they know you are overqualified, will be searching for something better and bolt out the door after they’ve invested time and money training you.
While the hourly job is a means to pay the bills, if you can find one, it will also hurt your chances of negotiating a decent salary should an opportunity in your prefered career field come your way. The potential employer will definitely have the upper-hand knowing full well you were willing to sacrifice salary working as an hourly in a job that was below your skill sets.
We, who have been downsized out and over 45 have a distinct disadvantage any way you slice it. To be further discriminated against because of a situation that is controlled in most cases by our shaky economy is totally unfair. But then who said life was fair?
June 4th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
telleve,
I was terminated from my last job because I violated a corporate policy. I am an Administrative Assistant II. I am searching for and can work in any industry as an Administrative Assistant but I’m partial to the Finance industry which is the industry that I’ve been working in for the last 10 years. My skills are proficiency in the Microsoft office suite (Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint), typing of 65 wpm, working in a dead-line driven fast-paced environment and meeting deadlines. I am also good at prioritizing and handling a large volume of work which means I have excellent time management skills.
June 5th, 2010 at 11:47 pm
@ Susan….In a galaxy and in a time long, long ago…alright in the 90’s on out planet Earth I was responsible for reading countless resumes and interviewing candidates for various jobs. If you walked in and I shook your soft hands, I doubt I’d hire you for the forklift driver job. Another thing is, if you used honesty and stated you were terminated for any reason, I’d probably not be shaking your soft hand in the first place. People are being let go today for very much the same reasons they have always been let go, there is not enough money to go around. I hate to say it but with your skills, don’t tell them you were fired. Work around it. Find someone, anyone to verify you were employed by the firm that fired you. That is all they can legally say about you. I know some will say this is the wrong thing to do. The economy did not cost you your job. You did.
@Linda….Absolute;y no one any where at any time has ever been indestructible in the business world , ever. As I stated to Susan, the true nature of any economic crisis is a massive dereliction in money. YOU are seeing things like public bail out money being spent on bonuses. You are witnessing greed. A capitalistic society always will have the same greed. We must never allow this to be done any other way. For you to declare an ‘hourly’ position as being some sort of a detriment to society, why don’t you start your own business and negotiate your own salary.
June 7th, 2010 at 5:00 am
@Robert… never ever said it was a detriment to society to work in an hourly position, just a detriment to your career path if your goal is to stay in your field of expertise. The natural progression of a career path takes you from bottom to top, not the other way around. If you have arrived somewhere near the high end of middle or near the top, going to an hourly position in hopes of staying in the job market is career suicide. This was one of the first principles taught to me by a VP of Human Resources with a major corporation.
Just as YOU admitted you wouldn’t give the time of day to someone who was honest enough with you to actually state they were terminated, most hiring managers would quickly move past the mid-level experienced worker who took the big box or barista job to make ends meet after a corporate downsizing. Regardless of the economy today, there has and always will be greed. The CEO’s rarely have a clue or are even remotely capable of doing the job of the hourly employees that keep their businesses going. The recent television program Undercover Boss demonstrated that quite well. I have been at the hourly position, I have been the person doing the employment screening and hiring, I have been the mentor to many in a mid management position, and yes, I did start a business.
Before you make another assumption, think before you leap into the quicksand. My best workers are the hourlies and they keep my company running smoothly, without them I’d be nowhere. Would I promote them up the ladder, you betcha. Would I hire someone at my level to do what my hourlies do? With careful consideration and review, case by case basis, maybe depending on the circumstances. Why would I hesitate, the bolt out the door theory #1, most people that have risen above the hourly level are also not easily trained to go backward in career responsibilities #2. they still want to delegate instead of do.
At no time would I ever think an hourly is a detriment to society, not everyone is college material, not everyone is smart enough to be a carpenter or the washer repairman. There is a need for everyone’s job skill or the job wouldn’t exist.
June 7th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
This isn’t for everyone and everyone’s situation is a bit different. I have been following the articles of Kevin Donlin & David Perry and a few others applying Guerrilla Marketing principles to job-seeking. It is encouraging to know that there is a wealth of information that I didn’t know about, or how to use. I am the type of person that will try something to see if it would work. I don’t give up and will try new things. These are definitely different times and as such, you need to know how to leverage your search with different tools. David Perry’s book on Guerrilla Marketing for Job Seekers is quite useful in this regard. With such high employment rates, don’t you think you need to try something different ? I know that just sending a resume isn’t going to work anymore. This worked when I was out of work 2 years ago. I have created a personal website, I am blogging, I will be working on writing whitepapers and I will be attending Toastmasters to improve my communication.
I would rather take a proactive approach and do something than spend my time feeling sorry for myself. We do tend to get rusty when we have been out of the workforce for too long. My two cents.
June 7th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Exactly Brian. It may be time to try something new. Although, in any economy, feelings sorry for ones self never helps.
I have included Perry in a few columns and blog posts recently. I like his mantra of shaking things up when it comes to job search. Sometime his suggestions can go a bit overboard, but sometimes you really need to shake things up. I think there is a big movement to encourage job seekers to sell themselves to employers like you would a brand of cereal. That works in some professions, especially in sales and marketing, but for some jobs it may be inappropriate.
Here’s a story I wrote about revamping your job search for MSNBC.com on that included Perry. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35605070/ns/business-careers
June 7th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
I appreciate all the input from everyone, and I am thinking about another approach, but exactly what approach should I take? I do not want to change careers. I love being an Administrative Assistant and I am very good at it. I was denied unemployment benefits from my company because of the aforementioned reason for my firing. I appealed the Department of Labors decision, but lost that appeal and was still denied unemployment benefits. I do not have any savings left, lost my apartment and am now miserably living with my sister. I am now on public assistance and on many days I do not have two nickels to rub together. So being creative is not an option right now, because in many instances you need at a minimum, MONEY. I feel so hopeless sometimes and I’m all cried out
.
June 7th, 2010 at 7:39 pm
While I can see the point of trying to make it look like you might not have been “unemployed,” I concur with Linda that fudging your resume to make it appear that you’ve been working with volunteer gigs or inflated descriptions of minor or part time jobs can backfire on you, not just in the possible hiring process, or if you are hired, but can be tied to your background information in this technological information age. Better to just be as briefly honest as possible, and try to get interviewed. My personal reason for being out of the work force for the last year was cancer, and the 3 surgeries I needed to undergo. I didn’t feel it fair to my previous employer to make that small office try to cover my necessary extended absences for that period of time, so I tendered my resignation, and eventually moved to another city where my fiancee could help care for me. Now that I’m released from all but periodic follow-up visits, I’m ready to get back to work, and it’s not going to be easy to find a job, but I’m determined to do so.
June 7th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
Hey Susan,
Have you looked into working in the financial department of a nonprofit, or offering administrative/finance help to a small business in your town?
I’m assuming you’ve gone to the department of labor in your city, or county. There is a lot of money available for retraining for people just like you. Some states have funds to help low-income folks, and people on public assistance get help to find jobs.
Since you were fired for violating company policy you have a hurdle to scale when you go for your next job. Have you found out if a manager, or former coworker will vouch for you if you need a reference? Or a manager at the job before the one you got fired from. I would line that up now. And I would come up with an explanation for why you left your last job that will not send up red flags for your next potential employer.
June 8th, 2010 at 11:55 am
I went back to school full-time with help from the state and scholarships. I am pursuing a new career in the legal field. I have been in the administrative field since I got out of the US Air Force in 1987. I have honed my skills on the computer, taken other free classes and attended seminars to keep my skills current. However, when I lost my job in Dec ‘08, I could not even find an entry level job that didn’t require a Bachelors Degree. So, I went back to school!
June 8th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
@Sharry…. thank you for the support! And yes, you are also spot on about the tie electronically to your career path. In days of old when Robert had his experience, this was just becoming the routine. In today’s world in a heart beat your potential employer can have more information on you than you yourself can obtain. It just isn’t worth the embellishment at all. Good luck in your health issues, been there and done that as well. Even working for a major corporation as I did myself, while going thru surgeries and rehab, it put a tremendous burden on the department. Despite FMLA and other protections to employment, you are still subject to the negative impact of not being there for the department/company/fellow employees and it does indeed impact your career path as well. Many people I know and worked with resigned their positions just as you did than to face the negative impact that lingers in the background when performance revue time rolled around. Many have also been faced with the issue that extended absence beyond what FMLA grants will have someone ultimately being forced to either return to work prior to health being regained or being let go.
@loniv… congrats that you were able to do that! Good luck in your new path! I hear you on the Bachelors issue. Successfully performed for 15yrs without one, downsized and applied for an identical position with another company and was told I didn’t have the degree and wasn’t qualified. In the next breath, the HR interviewer told me that my credentials and work experience were impressive. I agree that a piece of paper should not be required for many of our jobs, and many of those degrees are indeed for subjects that are not remotely related to the task, but get you thru the door. I too went back to school, got a degree, but still not accepted by most as relevant to the business world. By who’s definition? Sometimes you just can’t win and as Robert suggested to me, I needed to start my own business and negotiate my own salary…. been there and done that too!
August 12th, 2011 at 8:52 am
This article really hit a nerve with me. I was unemployed for almost a year and it does tend to way on you emotionally.