Managers to Millennials: Job Interview No Time to Text

CNBC ^ | April 29, 2013 | Paul Davidson

[detective]

Newly minted college graduates soon entering the job market could be facing another hurdle besides high unemployment and a sluggish economy. Hiring managers say many perform poorly—sometimes even bizarrely—in job interviews.

Human resource professionals say they've seen recent college grads text or take calls in interviews, dress inappropriately, use slang or overly casual language, and exhibit other oddball behavior.

[detective]

My daughter is a manager with a large company. She manages recent college graduates. She says they are almost all lazy, unprofessional and overly impressed by themselves. She says it is almost impossible to get them to take responsibility and they start whing if they are given anything difficult to do.

[Obadiah]

Because everyone gets a trophy for showing up!

[kjo]

Agreed...young people are such babies today. They’ve had everything handed to them...never really had to compete in the real world. In school, everybody is given a trophy.

You get the feeling that if they ever had a difficult, business issue, they’d ask their mom, then wet their panties.

[Da Coyote]

A far easier interview tactic is to simply ask them who they voted for.

An “Obama” answer verifies that the potential employee is a fool with little judgement in economics, science, morality, or common sense.

Give them the the address of the food stamp gubmit site and kick their sorry as...er....smelly Obama out the do’.

That’s where they’re gonna end up anyway.

[Trapped Behind Enemy Lines]

Another message: Lose the tattooes and the piercings. Put on a suit and tie.

[Ingtar]

To put it in terms they might understand, “Loose” the tattoos.

[EQAndyBuzz]

My wife works with some colleges on preparing these kids for the job market. Most of the colleges she calls on to sell her services aren’t interested. They tell her they know what they are doing.

It’s good for a chuckle.

[11th Commandment]

I am advising my children and others that they better delineate themselves over other college graduates, especially with Business degrees. Unfortunately you are going to be lumped in with all the worthless social media generations. Some advise I have given: Military experience with college is a big plus (guard or reserves).

Work while attending school.

Be able to claim you paid for all or part of your school.

I recently advised a finance major to graduate with a CFA.

Study oversees is a plus.

Going to college on athletic scholarship is also helpful, especially if you can leverage the alumni relationships.

[proxy_user]

On the other hand, competent and professional young men and women stick out like a sore thumb. They don’t have any trouble getting jobs because there is not so much competition.

[11th Commandment]

My wife works with some colleges on preparing these kids for the job market. Most of the colleges she calls on to sell her services aren’t interested. They tell her they know what they are doing.

Interesting, I would think in this day your wife has a gold mine, but I can see the arrogance of the college. Ever consider private preparation classes?

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

I’ve often wondered why young people today seem to unablel to TURN OFF THE PHONE!

[Resolute Conservative]

The doofus generation.

I love how they think they are so informed and we (older gens) are the problem.

[Buckeye McFrog]

“We don’t need no steenking job. We can always just get together and vote to take whatever YOU have.”

[Yggdrasil]

This goes both ways. Yeah you’re a moron if you text during interviews, but the interviewers can do their part and resist the urge to text, email or take phone calls while you’re trying to talk.

Happened more times than I can count. I actually walked out of one interview for that reason. Respect is a two-way street.

[madison10]

So does this mean the 50-somethings, college grads have half a chance at getting jobs?

[Bryanw92]

A lifetime of Participation Trophies, Play Dates, and Mom’s Taxi instills a certain attitude of entitlement and lack of respect for everyone. I’m surprised they don’t bring a sandwich to the interview.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Excellent advice.

My daughter now 24 played soccer on scholarship at a Junior College. Books and tuition, nothing to sneeze at.

We always insisted she work and carry her portion of the car insurance and cell phone. Other parents thought we were awful to expect this of her.

After she finished at the Junior College she came home and worked. We told her we were not going to pay for her to finish her degree. Around a year and a half later she married (a Godly man) and is working again, putting away enough to pay for her last two years.

Even in this economy she has never been without a job. Waiting tables, babysitting, counselor at a local space camp. Whatever it took.

She agrees that many her age don't know how to work, manage money or time.

[Bryanw92]

>>So does this mean the 50-somethings, college grads have half a chance at getting jobs?

No. Nobody wants to hire anyone over 40 and then they complain about how the people they do hire have no work ethic. They claim they want “energy” and all they get is a slack-jawed person who texts all day and thinks that work is that stuff that mom and dad used to do.

[equaviator]

“...says Jaime Fall, vice president of the HR Policy Association. “The interview is still a traditional environment.””

Hint: The real world hasn’t changed that much. Except that now wmany of us have the layers of an HR culture in addition to the traditional (pre)employment process to deal with.

[Buckeye McFrog]

I once turned down a job because the business owner took a call from his wife in the middle of my interview, and he was so nasty and miserable to her, I could not imagine what it would be like to actually work for him.