Only the Employed Need Apply

White Chocolate Grill

Bobby Fitzgerald prefers to hire
the already employed even though
he gets two dozen or more unsolicited
résumés each day at his White Chocolate Grill.

With unemployment at 9.4% and rising, it’s a buyer’s market for employers that are hiring.

Dana Mattoli at Wall Street Journal Careers talked with some of the many employers who are bypassing the jobless to target those still working, reasoning that these survivors are the top performers.

Even a recruiter said many of his clients would rather look at "passive candidates," those not actively seeking a job because they have one already.

This practice assumes that hanging onto a job assures one's quality, aptitude, and leadership. I disagree heartily. Most of us can think of the person who was still in the office after 25 lame, unproductive, and in most cases whining, years. We don't know why they're still there. Do they have something on the boss, we speculate?

Probably not. They just forgot -- or refused -- to stay home when they quit. And someone else didn't notice.

On the other hand, I've known and worked with plenty of energized, engaged, and productive people who have had departments disappear beneath their feet, a job description change, or a merger move their job to St. Louis.

No, not all the best people are working, and not all of those unemployed are second stringers.