My desk is situated in either a very fortunate or unfortunate position depending on who you ask. I'm close enough to a window to see what the weather is doing if I feel so inclined, but more importantly I am located right next to the door leading to the exit of the building. If I were the clock watching type it would mean a very speedy exit at the end of the day, but since I am not, I instead get to witness the mass exodus.

As I witness this take place each afternoon I begin to recall a conversation I had with a former co-worker. He made the claim that 'considering all the available technology, a candidate who doesn't make time to call or email while you're at work isn't serious enough about the job search to be worth the effort.' I'll note that the exact wording may have been slightly different, but the general theme is accurate. The fact is he was a clock watching recruiter. He never took resumes home, never made after-hours calls, never worked weekends. He got people hired, but they never seemed to be all-star candidates.

The more I have mulled this over the more it makes sense. Statistics from major sites like Monster and CareerBuilder will confirm that more people apply to jobs during working hours than any other time of day. This means that there are, in fact, a lot of people actively looking for jobs while at work. However, you have to consider the attitude a person like that must have. He or she is likely aggravated, fed up, or otherwise disenchanted with work to the point of not caring any longer. These are the employees who don't mind wasting company time for personal calls, errands, or ebay bidding.

Are they active job seekers? You bet they are. Are they the ones I want? No sir.

On the other hand is an active job seeker (or even a passive one for that matter) that will not make the time to talk at work. They are the kind of upstanding employee that actually works on company time. This person puts in 100% effort even if the job stinks, the pay is too low, or there is no advancement. These are the hardest working people you will never talk to if you watch the clock and stop working as soon as it is 'quitting time.'

Looking back at the highest quality candidates I have ever put to work I began thinking about how much after-hours time I spent working with them. It hit me like a 2x4. Almost every star candidate I have hired refused to talk with me while at work. They needed a little bit of special attention, a little catering to, and a bit more effort. That said, they were worth it. Those are the candidates that [almost] always got the job, who called me back first when they started to look again, and who provided referrals of the best peers they had. All it took was an extra phone call or two a few evenings per week.

Does this mean that all the calls you make during the day are worthless? Absolutely not! Does it mean that every candidate who talks during work hours is second rate? Not at all. Does it mean that refusing to make those few extra evening calls will result in missing out on some real gems? I guarantee it.