EDIT: Unemployment woes

Being unemployed for long enough can hurt your chances of eventually landing a job, according to an article in The Daily Beast Wednesday.

Bullhorn, a company that sells job recruiting-software, surveyed 1,500 job recruiters on the obstacles jobseekers face. Thirty-six percent of those surveyed said it is “difficult for an applicant to find a job if he or she is unemployed for as little as six months,” while 21 percent said that “spells of joblessness shorter than six months could kill your hiring prospects,” according to the article.

These results must be incredibly frustrating for job seekers. Unemployment happens. The job market is flooded so businesses can afford to be more selective with their applicants. Not everyone who has a job today is guaranteed that job in the future. The threshold of excellence has risen. Employees must consistently produce good work or risk losing their job to someone more qualified.

Job seekers must keep in mind that someone who hasn’t worked in several years may be out of touch with technology or other changes happening in the workplace. Those who are unfamiliar to the infrastructure of the workplaces are going to have a more difficult time securing a job.

Additionally, it is easier for a middle-aged person with a history of steady employment to find a new job than it is for a young person who left his/her job after a year, according to the article. At first, that situation seems unrealistic. However, upon giving it more thought, it begins to make sense.  What if the young applicant were more qualified than the employer? An overqualified applicant may turn off an employer.

Secondly, an older applicant may have more job connections than a younger jobseeker, placing the older applicant higher on the hiring list.

While it is bad news for young job seekers, it is not all that surprising considering the economic climate. That said, one can only expect employers to become more open to these younger or unemployed job seekers once the economy picks up.