Hiring the unemployed

When I was on a search committee at Ohio State for a new librarian, we looked at the resume/vita pretty carefully for gaps. Or unusual positions. There are so many questions you CAN'T ask, you have to read between the lines. If there was spit up on her shoulder, that could explain some gaps. But if the guy had been a used car salesman for 5 years after graduate school, it did raise some questions about just how committed he was to being a science bibliographer.

The Obama 2012 election campaign is coming to Ohio this week. Oh, wait, it's the jobs bill campaign. Yeah. You betcha. Did you known that this bill prohibits discrimination against the unemployed when hiring? Think about that! How long "unemployed?" Do you want a med tech doing your lab results who has been out of work 5 years? Or a computer repairman? And what about academe? Or a chef? A lawyer?

Maybe the person's unemployment was a result of a down economy, but maybe it wasn't: when employers began tightening their belts and cutting the dead wood, that employee was let go, and with all the extension of "unemployment benefits" he just continued in that mode and didn't try very hard to find a job.

And now you get to interview him. Do you even want him bussing tables, or changing tires?