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When you’re in the market for a new job, it’s natural to assume that your past experience and skills would be your most powerful tools when it comes to enticing hiring managers. Unfortunately, this new job market is proving that what was once important doesn’t seem to apply anymore. According to a former job recruiter named Nora, employers are now taking a good, hard look at your finances in addition to your resume, and they want someone who is deep in debt.

In a TikTok video, Nora explained that financial instability can often make a candidate more appealing to hiring managers because they view employees who are in a lot of debt as more willing to work without complaint, without salary demands, and without expectations. Basically, these are potential employees who won’t rock the boat because they are desperate for work.

People in debt are more likely to put up with being overworked and underpaid.

“So, here’s a hot take: I don’t actually believe organizations that require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in education for their job applicants are actually looking for that level of education,” Nora began in her video. “I think they’re looking for debt.”

She explained that, as a former recruiter and someone who worked in and around the hiring process for some time, relevant job experience is always valued more than a degree. She said her bachelor’s degree wasn’t even in an area that she worked in, so she understood firsthand that a bachelor’s degree requirement is usually code for a candidate with debt.

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Debt makes candidates less likely to self-advocate in a professional context, according to Nora. When a person is deep in debt, they have a scarcity mindset and will go to work to do what they have to do in order to earn a paycheck because all they’re worried about is keeping their head above water.

“We’re less likely to be looking at work as a way forward as opposed to a way out,” she continued. “Is it really the education level that’s valuable, or is it the debt?”

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It’s an employer market, so workers don’t have an advantage in the job search or in negotiating.

If you are either unemployed and looking for work or employed and looking for a growth opportunity, you are well aware that the current job market is anything but typical. Long gone are the days of the “Great Resignation” during the pandemic, when job offers were plentiful and you would have recruiters actively pursuing candidates. 

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Now, the market is completely employer-driven. That means, as SymphonicHCM described, “employers hold the upper hand in hiring decisions.” The proof is literally in the pudding, as the saying goes, because the recruitment firm explained that “high unemployment rates, sluggish job creation, and a surplus of available talent across various industries” are clear indications that employers are running the show in our current economy. They went on to say, “The volume of layoffs, slow job gains in formerly hot sectors, and the amount of available talent strongly indicate that the U.S. is currently in an employer-driven market.”

The fact that the Bureau of Labor Statistics amended its job numbers in its August report to reflect what job seekers have been shouting from the rooftops only solidifies the fact that there aren’t enough jobs available and way too many candidates out of work. When people have been out of work for a while, debt and desperation increase, and financial instability makes a workforce unhappy but also unwilling to complain out of fear of losing their jobs.

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Debt has become a major concern, driving employee career decisions. 

According to an August 2024 Workforce Monitor survey commissioned by the American Staffing Association, 40% of U.S. workers said their current debt influenced their career decisions. Whether a mortgage, credit card, student loan, or medical debt, 73% of U.S. workers said they were in considerable debt, including 50% of Gen Z, 54% of millennials, and 42% of Gen X.

“Debt is playing a major role in shaping the lives and career paths of America’s workers,” explained Richard Wahlquist, chief executive officer at the American Staffing Association. “Increased levels of personal debt result in unhealthy levels of stress, damaged credit scores, limited mobility in the job market, reduced quality of life, and reduced prospects for the future for a growing number of individuals and their families.”

With the growing cost of living and stagnant salaries in relation to inflation, most people’s debt is rising. In a report from Zety, a resume template company, about 38% of survey respondents said they took on a second job to pay their debts. Another 37% said they accepted jobs outside their industry or positions they weren’t interested in just to repay their outstanding balances. 

Employers are not only aware of these struggles, but according to Nora, they exploit them because they know applicants in deep debt can’t risk losing their current jobs or remaining unemployed. They’ll agree to be overworked and underpaid because what other choice is there?

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Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.