Headhunters only want employed candidates

One of the most disgusting side effects of the COVID-19 Recession is that head hunters are effectively being used to selectively filter out candidates at employers who are already employed.

There is a bias among many hiring managers which started in the Great Recession 2009ish that only unemployed workers are unemployed because something is wrong with them.

I’m Unemployed What Can I Do?

We suggest that if you are on LinkedIn that you do not switch your profile picture with one of the “I’m looking for work tags”. That seems to be a sure fire way to be ignored by head hunters who are dying to find only employed candidates.

Essentially you have to be showing you are employed, and part of that activity would include not being able to pick up every call during typical business hours. i.e 7:00 to 5:00PM for most. It is like the worst quality of dating where you can’t be too available or you are are not worth the head hunters time. It feels completely wrong, but if you can’t pick up the phone, let it go to voice mail. Most head hunters these days will also text, because again they know that you are at work, and can talk openly even if your boss is in same room as you.

Again if start date questions come up, you’ll need to explain that you need to put in a two week notice, also explain that your employer may let you leave earlier. This allows you to show integrity, but also move your start date up, and in an economy with employers dying to get people on board, they’ll likely take you on sooner if you are available sooner.

We are not saying to lie, but you need to market yourself in a way that does not feed into the highly incorrect boomer stereotype that only unemployed people belong that way. This could include saying you are on reduced hours, working elsewhere, even McDonald’s even if you are pursuing an office job with a salary.