<p>"Many college grads lack interview skills. They take calls, text and sometimes bring their parents or pets to interviews. HR execs blame a coddled generation weaned on smartphones and social media. …</p>
<p>… A college senior brought her cat into an interview for a buyer’s position at clothing retailer American Eagle. She set the crate-housed cat on the interviewer’s desk and periodically played with it. ‘It hit me like why would you think that’s OK?’ says Mark Dillon, the chain’s former recruiting director. ‘She cut herself off before she had a chance.’"</p>
<p>Yes and I’m sure this job candidate and her parent’s would consider her to be underemployed at this point in time, whatever job she got with the cat. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I do wish colleges or high schools would require an etiquette class these days.</p>
<p>I don’t know any Millennial who would be that stupid…I feel like the vast majority of people in my generation (the old old old end of the Millenials? Late 80s/early 90s, we’re almost in between) would never act like this</p>
<p>No flip flops unless you’re interviewing for a job as a lifeguard. Spit out your gum in the lobby (I had a candidate spit it out into the glass of water I had just poured for her in my office.) No cleavage unless you’re interviewing for a job as a stripper.</p>
<p>It’s kind of obvious but so many opportunities to mess up!</p>
<p>Maybe it was really the kitty who was angling for the job for all the fishes and kitty kibbles he/she desires. </p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>As for parents accompanying their adult kids to interviews…saw that with Gen Xers and if some older colleagues/supervisors are to be believed baby boomers as well. </p>
<p>In all cases, the appearance of parents at the interview or trying to negotiate on their behalf meant that candidate became an automatic reject from further consideration.</p>
<p>Another no no is to inform the interviewer that you need two weeks off a month after your start date for a planned vacation and that you cannot work between Christmas and New Years because you like to spend the time with your family.</p>
<p>We’re hiring right now at one of my jobs. The job description says, in multiple places, that we’re required to work one major holiday a year (we’re a 24 hour shelter… we never close) and that we’re required to work summers. This is explained to them in the interview. They have to sign something saying they understand this. Yet EVERY SINGLE HOLIDAY SEASON we have people quit rather than work the holiday. We even get paid double time! Oy vey.</p>
<p>These kids are professional students but clearly amateurs in the work place. They’ve plotted so hard to get into and out of school that they’ve lost track of the big prize - a successful career. The work place involves the dynamic of the human mind, a thing that can’t conquered with an all nighter or a board score. It shows why internships are so valuable. It weeds out the professional student from the professional.</p>
<p>I have my own story to tell about young people I work with…But I have one about my younger daughter.</p>
<p>D2 found posting for a summer camp job in NYC. It said salary was competitive. She had to fill out a comprehensive application. She was interviewed via Skype for an hour. They asked her for 3 references. She was offered the job last week. During this whole process (3 weeks), they never mentioned once about the salary. She received the contract few days ago. The contracted said she would be deemed as an exempt employee, which meant she wouldn’t get paid over time. She would be required to do job training 2 weeks before start of camp, without pay. She may be required to stay late for few parents night, without pay. I figured out her hourly rate, $7.5/hour before taxes. </p>
<p>I told her not to take the job. I would rather if she spent the summer to take some ballet lessons, catch up on her reading, spend some time at museums, do some babysitting/tutoring for our neighbors/friends, and maybe doing some volunteer work. I feel the camp was taking advantage of those young people by making them exempt employees and in essence paying them less than minimum wage.</p>
<p>Frankly, I don’t believe it. I have NEVER heard of a documented instance of a parent accompanying a real applicant to a real job interview. I think it is conceivable that the occasional parent might DRIVE a teen to a job interview. THere may be xome instances where a parent introduces their kid to a friend/acquaintance who is hiring. But that’s it. I think this is urban legend, I really do.</p>
<p>I’ve never actually heard of it happening either. And I work in a company where there are a LOT of families who work there (including myself and my parents). It’s a family owned small business. Still didn’t accompany each other to the interview. I’ve asked a multitude of hiring people whether or not this has actually happened because it’s something I’ve seen numerous times and have been fascinated by. None have ever actually had it happen to them or heard of it happening IRL. </p>
<p>Although, I’ve never failed to be AMAZED at what cobrat’s family/friends/colleagues/etc experience. If it’s happened, he knows someone who has experienced it.</p>
<p>My 14 year old asked my mother (his grandmother) to drive him to his first job interview. She asked me “who should I ask for at the front desk when I walk him we go in?”</p>
<p>I was glad she asked because it never would have occurred to me that I needed to tell her to stay in the car and drive away!</p>
<p>Except for maybe the texting, I have trouble believing that the examples in this article are commonplace among millennials or people of any generation. I’ve been on a lot of job interviews, and interviewed a lot of potential employees, and I’ve haven’t seen a cat or a mother yet.</p>