Last week I was catching up with some of my colleagues and one delightful conversation was with one of my favorite CFO recruiters. Naturally, we talked shop.
One of our topics was the “passive candidate trumps an unemployed candidate” which has been getting a lot of press (and outrage) these days. It isn’t fair, is it? Sadly, life is far from fair.
He once again affirmed that from his professional experience the statement is true, has been true for quite awhile, and will continue to be true long into the future. And then he used the high school girlfriend analogy to make his point.
Back in high school having a girlfriend meant you were cool, in demand, and popular. You were envied and everyone wanted a piece of you. Then she dumped you and suddenly, you were uncool and unpopular with no Friday night destination invitations.
The same is true about your career. When you’re holding the title and visible to your target audience, you’re hunted, high-value, and in demand. When you don’t, you aren’t. Sad, unfair, but true.