The job's yours, unless you need it.

A couple of months ago, an email came through with information about a contract technical writing job with Staples. The message, sent by a recruiter, included this delicious sentence:

Only seeking candidates who have been recently (within the last 3 months) been working as a technical writer.

This is a contract position, mind you, not even a permanent job. They didn't want anyone who was a) new to the profession or, more likely, b) out of work for a long time.
I muttered a bad word and forgot about the email until I saw this article in the New York Times: The Help-Wanted Sign Comes With a Frustrating Asterisk
It appears that this is a common trend. Employers, flush with stimulus funds and renewed tax cuts,  are choosing to treat people who have been out of work for a long time as damaged. (This also applies to people who have gone through training in preparation for a career change.)
It may not be quite as bad as it seems. A search through Monster, SimplyHired, Craigslist, and a few other job sites only showed this example from Monster:

The Times article notes that New Jersey has passed a law that prohibits discrimination against the unemployed.
And so, tonight's moment of Zen: would you ever get the chance to turn down a job offer from a place that wouldn't hire you because you were out of work?