The Long Term Unemployed

Friday, January 31, 2014

 

During the Great Recession a significant number of workers have been unemployed for what is commonly defined as a “long term” of six months or more.  There is a belief the longer a worker is unemployed, the less likely they are to be reemployed.  This lack of employability exposes a number of social and business issues which impact the individual, their family, and their community.  Regardless as to why a worker is unable to find employment, recruiters and hiring managers may perceive the long term unemployed candidate differently those with a shorter duration of unemployment.

 

Released on January 8, 2014, The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine Data Series for December 2013 stands at 5,297,100 vacancies.  While 5.2 million vacancies may sound like an impressive number of job openings, it is equal to about half the number of unemployed.  The January, 2014 monthly report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics places the number of unemployed US workers at 10.4 million as of December, 2013.

 

Place yourself in the corporate recruiter’s shoes.  The assignment is to locate a mid-level non-CPA US tax accountant for a corporate location.  The organization is a manufacturer of consumer paper and tissue products with operations in virtually all US states.  The candidate must have 3-5 years of corporate income tax experience in 15-20 states and use of online tax preparation software by at least one of the top accounting firms.  Although this is not a supervisory role, they will be expected to “lead” the work of 2 accounting clerks.  The candidate should have a 4 year degree in Business Management, Accounting or Financial Management; an MBA would be considered a plus.  Any significant skills gap in the candidate’s background would cause you not to consider them.  Your assignment is to deliver 3-5 of the top rated candidates to your customer.

 

Over time many organizations have flattened their management structures so that employees are often expected to know more and do more.  At the same time, those management levels left may become overwhelmed with day to day operations.  Therefore, hiring decisions take on added importance in the light of selecting the “right” person for the job.  Even a top rated candidate whose skills are optimum but lacks the interpersonal communications skills will not be a good pick.

 

It is understandable that an organization who can only afford one tax accountant is going to look for one that is highly employable with an up-to-date skill set.  A tax accountant, who has been unemployed for a significant period time, albeit through no fault of their own, may still demonstrate their employability.  Voluntary work with religious and community groups, supplemental education efforts, temporary and part-time job assignments, and self-publishing blogs are all ways that any unemployed person can maintain their skills and demonstrate their employability.

 

So isn’t the question, not so much about how long a person is unemployed, but rather what did they do while they were unemployed?