Unemployed Need Not Apply: Insidious Bias in the Hiring Process

This week, a client told me about an odd thing she recently encountered in an online application. The application for a job with a Fortune 500 company contained two strange questions, each of which was mandatory. The first question was, “Are you currently unemployed?” The second was, “Have you collected unemployment benefits within the past six months?” How are either of these questions relevant to the job? They aren’t. So why are they on the application? After much thought, I can only conclude that this is a way of excluding people not currently working. 

We know that the hiring process isn’t always run by rational folks, and many of them can’t help making value judgments about people who are unemployed. There is a prevailing attitude that someone employed must be doing something right – they are “employable” and have been validated by another company. In contrast, a candidate who has been out of work for months or years raises red flags. Laid off? Must not have been that valuable relative to these candidates who are still employed. Health/personal issue/moved? Sounds like they aren’t going to be reliable. Culture fit issue? If they didn’t fit in there, they won’t fit in here either. Contract ended? Must not have been good enough for renewal. Outsourced? Must not be competitive. These are just some reasons I’ve heard hiring managers pass on candidates who are not currently employed. 

Much of this bias in favor stems from an over-reliance on flawed metrics by hiring managers and recruiters looking for shortcuts in a competitive talent landscape. Employment status becomes a proxy for talent and capability, creating systematic disadvantages for individuals based on an arbitrary factor that often has no bearing on their actual qualifications. To be clear, this bias toward only hiring currently employed people is by no means unconscious. It is deliberate and unconscionable. 

Job seekers over 45 face even more significant challenges and can get caught in a loop of frustration and desperation. They can’t get a job because they are unemployed, and there’s an assumption that their skills are outdated. Still, no matter how much they do to keep their skills up to date, say by taking a class or getting a certification, they still haven’t “proven” those skills within the context of a professional role. (As an aside, someone’s skillset does not evaporate or become stale just because they’ve been out of the workforce for a few months.)

Recruiters and hiring managers need to examine their biases and call them out. Looking at objective data is a good starting point. If we do that, we will find that there is neither data nor scholarship that concludes that unemployed candidates are weaker candidates, poor performers, or less skilled than their employed counterparts. And in this current job market, with government and private sector layoffs happening at an alarming rate, even more unemployed candidates will compete for jobs. Hiring companies must do better with their recruiting practices and do better by candidates.