By Patricia Beasock, Senior Recruiter 52 PDX
Ugh. Let’s face it. At one time or another, we have ALL been unemployed. For the general population, if you have had the misfortune of adopting this status, even momentarily, it is normally NOT a result of your own boneheaded action.
As a recruiter, the gal constantly pounding the proverbial pavement to find the best talent around, the little hairs on the back of my neck stood up recently while reading an article on CNN.com that stated: “Unemployed candidates will not be considered”. 
According to Lisa Chenofsky Singer, a HR consultant from Millburn, NJ, specializing in media and publishing jobs, “most executive recruiters won’t consider a candidate unless they have a job, even if they don’t like to admit to it.”
Really? Um…. We’re calling bullshit.
Let’s look at the facts: The Unemployment rate in Oregon is 10.4%. That is 3rd highest in the nation and that sucks. If executive recruiters aren’t looking at that 10.4% at all, then they are doing a disservice for both of their clientele: their paying client, and their talent who are ready and willing to hit the ground running.
The Client: A large part of the qualified class could be unemployed… if you ignore them, you ignore a potential fit.
The Talent: Unemployment doesn’t designate a lack of qualifications. In this economic climate, most of the unemployed class were laid off due to recession… through no fault or error of their own.
A good recruiter, a status I would proudly pin on my own girl scout scarf, is going to vet talent based on an in person meeting, evaluate them as an individual, ask the right questions to get to the answers necessary, all this in order to present that talent to a prospective client. THEN (and only then), it should be decided whether or not a talent is a viable fit for the position that is open.
To assume that “you must have been laid off for performance issues” is indeed one of those myths that we should add to Snopes.com.
I agree with Judy Conti: “Making that kind of automatic cut is senseless; you could be missing out on the best person of all,” she said. “There are millions of people who are unemployed through no fault of their own. If an employer feels that the best qualified are the ones already working, they have no appreciation of the crisis we’re in right now.”
Here at 52 LTD, each talent is looked at as an individual. No matter what you do, 52 wants to learn more about you. Not by having you fill out a standard online form, but by actually getting to know you better.
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I gotta tell ya, we have one of the best jobs around. Every day we get to meet and work with amazingly talented artists, designers, and big thinkers. One of our favorites is the lovely Mia Nolting. You may have seen her work most recently on the 2011 PICA Time Based Art Festival posters. She has the perfect quirky but subtle point of view and her drawings feel just right, never over-worked. Mia has done some work with our project team here at 52 Limited and has also been a valuable candidate on the staffing side of the house. We love working with her and can’t wait to see what she is up to next. Go check out her site where you can get some of her artwork for your very own!
