Candidate with no employment gaps
“…I’m very optimistic about our future, but it is full of change and surprise.”
Quote from Bill Gates
A recent article I read frightens me, as some employment advertising has started to say, “No unemployed should apply.” What a tragedy! The assumption is that everyone who was laid off was a poor performer or had less than adequate skills. How very sad! If a company lays off 3000+ people, I am quite sure there are many wonderful candidates in that pool. Entire departments were sacked. No one in the department was a poor performer but the product line could not survive. A fabulous new product bombed and the department disappeared.
Small companies may only terminate a few. The hiring manager and executives may have struggled to decide to lay off their star performer, as she made more money than they could afford. You miss the boat, if you ignore unemployed people when you are hiring.
Others may have lost jobs because of a personality clash. Let’s face it. John may not have wanted to work for Harry as Harry was unreasonable and overly demanding. Now John faces the reality that people are suspect that he can’t relate well to managers, which is definitely not the case. His boss was an ogre. He deserves a chance. To improve our economy you need to hire the unemployed. With workers losing their unemployment benefits because Congress declined to authorize an extension, you can help by considering all candidates, despite the gaps in employment.
During John’s gap, his father became very ill and his mother has Alzheimer’s. He made a conscious decision to take the time to help his parents. Now that his mom resides in an Alzheimer’s Unit and his dad is deceased, he urgently needs to talk with you about his skills and abilities to help improve your bottom line.
Many hiring managers terminated people in the past year or two. Firing, reduction in force or laying off (whatever you want to call it) individuals may be the most difficult of all your tasks as a hiring manager, human resource professional or staffing manger. But it’s a business decision. You didn’t make the decisions in a vacuum.
Now, months later, you know that Bill or Jane or Susan or Jack still hasn’t found a job. You have a new opening. Can you re-hire the person? Some companies welcome employees who wish to return, while others can’t reach first base. Questions must be addressed before re-hiring a person. Will s/he fit the current organization? Were there any performance or personal issues which you wouldn’t want in your organization again? What is the policy your company has? Do the skills fit? Of course you have to be very careful you don’t say anything illegal, so be prepared. Know what you are going to say when the individual calls you. Both the legal issues and the public relations are at stake.
If the individual took early retirement and has been receiving retirement benefits, you will need to ascertain what the rules are. If you can’t re-hire the person, you may find it difficult to know what to say. Some individuals have a difficult time “cutting the umbilical cord” to move forward. Others move forward quickly and find new, rewarding careers. You need to think how to handle these various situations.
When you start advertising new openings, preparation is paramount. You will probably receive more candidates than ever, as disgruntled, overworked employees start exploring new options. Knowing what you should say to candidates is quite important. Looking at all candidates is more critical than ever. It’s a very small world and you may one day want to work for that person who called a minute ago!
Ruth Glover is author of MORE than a Paycheck: Inspiration and Tools for Career Change. She will be speaking at Preston Trails Church in Frisco, Texas this Thursday, July 8, at 6:30 p.m. The title of her interactive presentation is The “Magic” of Career Change. The event is free and open to the public. You can reach her at rglover@hotcareers.com.