<p>I’m in the Millennial Generation (or maybe Generation Z? I’m not actually too sure), and even though I’m still in high school, none of my friends have the idea that showing up to an interview dressed inappropriately, with their parents, or texting/checking their phone during an interview is okay. There will always be people in every generation that do crazy things such as that, but those people are not representative of an entire generation.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure there were idiots in every generation. It may be easier to display idiocy nowadays.</p>
<p>“I don’t think it happens all that often, but apparently it does happen.”</p>
<p>I believe it. I spent the last five years working in law school career services. Rarely – but regularly – we had parents contact us inappropriately. Law firms also reported to us about once a year that a parent had contacted them about a student’s job offer, salary, etc.</p>
<p>there are also plenty of people that are much older that text during meetings at work (your email can’t wait, obviously… you are super important)</p>
<p>conducted interviews yesterday for a non profit director, one of the candidates took his cell phone out to look up someone he had just mentioned, in the field. while it was relevant to the interview there was absolutely no real reason to look up her name at that moment, (we didn’t want her contact info or anything) and he couldn’t find her for a minute or two and four of us were sitting and waiting. He was a baby boomer, definitely over 50. it has become so automatic that people don’t think about the how using technology esp in an interview is distancing/off putting</p>
<p>Oldfort, I don’t think you should have discourage your child from taking the camp counselor job. There is much to be learned from being a paid employee, even if a poorly paid one. And it is nice on the resume as a stepping stone to a well paid job. Just my opinion, though</p>
<p>naviance - I understand what you are saying. D2 is already working on campus for pay. She will continue to do some part time work for them remotely over the summer. D2 is pre-law, so she is not as concerned about resume building.</p>
<p>many students major in basket weaving and also believe they are owed something by society. not a big surprise, that when they get into the real world it is not how they think it is or should be.</p>
<p>I do the hiring for my company. I bring them in as entry level employees. I’ve seen it all, but maybe not the cat. I had a woman once bring a car load of little kids and was going to allow them to run around the parking lot while she interviewed. I had someone show up to fill out an application wearing her hair in curlers and slippers. I’ve now changed my hiring strategy and encourage recent college grads to apply. You’ll all be happy to know they’re way more professional then when I don’t request college grads. Sadly, the job doesn’t really require a college degree - but if I want someone who understands business casual, professional behavior and can write a grammatically correct sentence I have to bump it up to college degree preferred. </p>
<p>This last go round I had a mom email to tell me how the job would be perfect for the job and she’d be telling her to apply so to look out for her resume. Oh - we looked out for it okay.</p>
<p>I’ve had moms call managers to discuss their jobs, that they were sick and couldn’t come to work, etc.</p>
<p>I am currently hiring and have very specific requirements for the positions - licenses, certifications and experience. I get many responses from people that need a job but have no licenses/certifications that I require (I understand they just need a job). What really bothers me are the people who text a message from their phone instructing me to email them for more information - really!!! I have posted a job description with specific requirements asking for resumes. I will overlook a lack of cover letter but honestly I am NOT going to “email you for more information” who is the APPLICANT here?</p>
<p>I spoke with a friend of mine who does a lot of hiring (HR Manager) and she said this has become standard and she does respond to those texts for more information because otherwise they would have no applicants. Ridiculous.</p>
<p>Before the interview is the application letter. I monitor the email box “<a href="mailto:employment@xxx.com”>employment@xxx.com</a>" for my company. Any email message with “text language” style and abbreviations automatically goes to the “filed” mailbox. So do messages riddled with typos and grammatical errors. I just think that if the applicant is not serious enough to write a decent letter I can understand, (s)he is not serious enough for the job.</p>
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<p>I get to work first in the morning at 5:30AM. Last summer, a co-worker’s mom called at 5:40 letting me know that her daughter wouldn’t be at work. I guess we’ll excuse it since the daughter delivered her baby only hours beforehand about a week earlier than expected 
(daughter had contacted the boss enroute to the hospital already) :)</p>
<p>Every generation considers the next one to be coddled and raised to be too deferent and reliant on technology.</p>
<p>My business partner and I interview SLPs who are new to the field (mid 20s); retirees; and people who are mid career. Although we have had incidents with the younger candidates, our most amazing interviews were with 30 something’s (the candidate who brought her husband to a lunch interview; the candidate who ordered a takeout meal at the beginning of the interview with her food for her husband; the candidate who arrives wearing a holy sweater and frayed jeans…). Let’s not be ageist…youth doesn’t have a corner on the foolish market! And by the way, some of the worst dressed were retirees.</p>
<p>Looks like it goes both ways; perhaps a sign of the times rather than limited to millennials? </p>
<p>My son recently turned 16 and had his first job interview last week. He was contacted to come in for an interview at a time designated by the interviewer. He had Jazz choir rehearsal after school that day so he had to miss it. He came home, dressed to impress, and I drove him to the out of town interview. He arrived early. During the ride I discussed with him that one of the biggest issues for employers when hiring teens is that they are concerned that they won’t be dependable. I told him to make sure to stress how reliable he is. </p>
<p>I waited in the car while he went inside. It wasn’t too long before he came back out. He said that he was told “the interviewer decided not to come in today, so you can just call her tomorrow to reschedule.” WHAT??? Oh, and there were 7 others waiting as well.</p>
<p>Needless to say, I told him not to bother. And can you believe she never called him? Seriously? Oh, it was STARBUCKS, btw.</p>
<p>I’ve had a manager ask me whether I wanted the job or whether my parents were forcing me into it. Apparently people actually say the latter.
I don’t know what it is with people.</p>
<p>The article picks a few nit wits that are outliers and generalizes and entire generation that is having problems finding employment due to a dysfunctional, declining economy as it being their fault.</p>
<p>I’m certainly not a great at job interviews but I know all the things not to do like show up late, dress badly, and badmouth previous bosses. Job interviewing is about sales skills. As a scientist I prefer calm logical statements of fact over exageration spin and bubling emotion. However, the interviewing process has gotten absurd. I have bimbo psyche major rejects from HR giving me junk science pyschological exams trying to head shrink me, one grilled me on a few month gap between graduation and my first job, and of course the real cake taker was this given to me after I applied for a Chemist position:</p>
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<p>I agree that idiots who can’t behave professionally at an interview should not be hired but companies really need to reevaluate whether their selection process is measuring good worker skills or whether HR is simply gone wild and out of control.</p>
<p>Ours is going to be the best generation yet, and all this article does is make mountains of outliers.</p>
<p>“bimbo psych major rejects from HR”</p>
<p>hmm…wonder if your disdain for the process came through in your interview…</p>
<p>you probably weren’t supposed to share that writing assignment on a public website, just saying…</p>
<p>She fixed a broken bird’s wing as a child and now fixes broken companies so they can fly?</p>
<p>I think she’s in the wrong field. Her calling is in writing creative fiction.</p>
<p>That’s such a great story. What a stupid interview question. I would be completely humiliated. Apparently, some HR people feel they have to justify their jobs far beyond the norm.</p>
<p>Sschoe2, did you write that you would make a great chemist because your fondest memories were about blowing things up? ;)</p>