Excellent post found at:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2012/08/02/the-biggest-mistakes-20-something-job-seekers-make/
There was the young job seeker who showed up at his interview 15
minutes late, failed to apologize, and then asked if the interviewer had
a garbage can so he could throw away his gum. There was also the
20-something applicant whose call to the hiring manager went dead in the
middle of the conversation. The young woman didn’t call back for two
hours, only to explain, without apology, that she had dropped her phone
in a tub of water while she was getting a manicure. Then there was the
mother who called her son’s boss when he wasn’t hired at the end of his
internship, and demanded to know why.
Dani Ticktin Koplik, 57, an executive and performance coach in
Englewood, N.J. has lots of stories like these. For the last several
years, half of Koplik’s coaching practice has been made up of so-called
Generation Y, or Millennial, job seekers. This group, age 20-32, makes a
series of job-searching mistakes that stem from their sense of
entitlement, lack of deference to authority and over-involvement by
their parents. Koplik says in her own practice, parents frequently call
and email, and try to micro-manage the coaching process. To run
interference, Koplik schedules a monthly meeting with parents, mostly to
tell them to stop meddling. She also coaches them to give their kids a
consistent message. Too many parents tell their offspring that they
have to earn a living, and then let them live at home indefinitely
rent-free. Koplik recommends timetables and limits.
I asked Koplik for a list of mistakes her 20-something clients make,
and she had plenty of ideas. Here is her list of the top ten.
1. Acting entitled
One of the
consequences of over-involved parents is that young people feel as
though they deserve an easy ride. Koplik tells of an intern who, on the
first day, informed his supervisor that he had to leave early that
Thursday for a horseback riding lesson. “It didn’t dawn on this person
that he was being totally inappropriate and sabotaging his career,” says
Koplik.
2. Starting the process too late
Ideally,
college students should start looking for meaningful internships for the
summer after their freshman year. Students who assume that they will
get a job without too much effort, wait too long to begin the process.
3. Under-utilizing the alumni network
Though
parents and their friends can provide good contacts, the network of
professionals that comes through a college or university should be one
of the first places a young job seeker turns.
4. Using a résumé that’s sloppy and too self-centered
Young job seekers are often weak on résumé basics, like clear, tidy
layout, careful proofreading for grammar and punctuation, and use of
keywords from the job description. Another big problem: the “objective”
section tends to be too much about what they want, and not enough about
the potential employer. For example, young applicants often say, “entry
level position where I can use my skills, ideas and enthusiasm and I can
learn a lot.” Instead, the emphasis should be on what they can
contribute to the employer. Applicants should also leave off menial jobs
like camp counselor, unless they can quantify their achievements, like
saying they organized waterfront activities for a group of 150 campers.
5. Writing cover letters that repeat the résumé
Many young applicants regurgitate their résumé accomplishments in their
cover letters. Instead, cover letters should be short and vivid, and say
something particular about what the applicant can bring to the job.
6. Doing poor research
Young job seekers often
just glance at a company website before an interview. Instead they
should read everything on the site, search for news clippings about the
company, and track social media information, like Twitter feeds, on
company managers.
7. Failing to clean up their social media profile
All of those drunken, bikini-clad pictures on Facebook
should be removed, or locked down with privacy settings. Everyone,
including college students, needs a polished LinkedIn profile.
8. Not showing enough appreciation for the interviewer
Young applicants often fail to conclude an interview with an expression
of gratitude for the interviewer’s time. Always thank the interviewer
in person, make it clear you would consider it a privilege to work at
the company and ask about the next step in the process. Then follow up
with a handwritten thank-you note or email that references specifics
discussed in the interview.
9. Failing to show generational deference
Koplik
tells of the summer intern who, at the end of his time on the job,
marched into the office of the chief diversity officer at a big company
and said, “Could I give you some feedback on my internship?” Young
people are so used to being included in conversations, they fail to
grasp their position in the pecking order.
10. Relying too heavily on listings and job fairs
I
write this in every article about job search mistakes, because it’s a
chronic problem. Koplik says that young job seekers are just as guilty
of spending too much time applying to online listings, and through
anonymous job fairs, as their more senior peers. We say this over and
over: People find jobs through people they know, rather than through
advertisements. If you see a listing for a job, try to find a personal
connection to the employer and use that as your entry point.
Showing posts with label entitlement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label entitlement. Show all posts
Monday, January 28, 2013
Ruben Navarrette: Our 'gimme' society
Excerpt from Ruben Navarrettes' insightful post found at:
http://archive.sltrib.com/printfriendly.php?id=13103095&itype=ngpsid
Navarrette says, "Sometimes, I think America's national creed is: "gimme, gimme, gimme...As in: "Gimme a bailout."...
..." Like much of what plagues modern society, the push for individual bailouts centers around a sense of entitlement, about what people think they deserve -- not because they've earned it but because they want a more comfortable, hassle-free life. It's also about the belief that government is the answer to all our problems -- part nanny and part ATM.
Unfortunately, this mentality is also infecting young Americans. We already knew they had a sense of entitlement from the narcissism they exhibit, and from the shunning of hard and dirty jobs that wind up being done by illegal immigrants and other foreigners. But the reliance on government is a bit of a surprise since young people have a long-standing reputation for being politically apathetic and not the type to make demands on Washington. "
READ ON if you are interested in reading the post in it's entirety for more of the author's thoughts on dangers of living with a sense of entitlement.
SAN DIEGO -- Sometimes, I think America's national creed is: "gimme, gimme, gimme."
As in: "Gimme a bailout." With banks, insurance firms and automobile manufacturers getting a helping hand from the government, some Americans think they should get one too. I recently heard a radio ad that made just that point, telling listeners to enlist the services of a money management firm because "Wall Street firms are getting a bailout and you should too."
Like much of what plagues modern society, the push for individual bailouts centers around a sense of entitlement, about what people think they deserve -- not because they've earned it but because they want a more comfortable, hassle-free life. It's also about the belief that government is the answer to all our problems -- part nanny and part ATM.
Unfortunately, this mentality is also infecting young Americans. We already knew they had a sense of entitlement from the narcissism they exhibit, and from the shunning of hard and dirty jobs that wind up being done by illegal immigrants and other foreigners. But the reliance on government is a bit of a surprise since young people have a long-standing reputation for being politically apathetic and not the type to make demands on Washington.
Now a coalition of young people -- dubbing itself "80 Million Strong for Young American Jobs" -- wants Congress to draft a massive aid package aimed specifically at helping young people brave the recession.
Think of it as a Marshall Plan for the Twitter generation.
Among other things, the coalition wants: free college tuition for low-income students who are willing to do volunteer work; the right to be covered in their parents' health insurance program until the age of 26; college loan-forgiveness programs for young people who agree to serve distressed communities after graduation; and micro loans for young entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. Congress needs to provide all this and more, the group says, because young Americans -- including recent college graduates -- are bearing the brunt of the current recession.
They have a point there. For 20- to 24-year-olds, the unemployment rate is 15.3 percent, compared to 9.4 percent for the overall U.S. population. College tuitions are rising, and students are graduating with both student loans and loads of credit card debt. And young Americans often lack health insurance; those in their 20s represent about 30 percent of the uninsured, either because they're in low-wage jobs that don't provide health insurance or because they feel indestructible and haven't seen the need for it.
Still, the idea of young people lobbying Congress for their own specialized bailout isn't just wrong. It's heartbreaking.
Young people aren't the only ones hurting in this recession. People of all ages could make the same request of the government, complete with their own list of challenges and dire statistics. Besides, speak to most older workers and they'll tell you that they'd give anything to be young again and just starting out in the job market -- even a market as rough as this one. In fact, ironically, in many companies, older workers fear being replaced by younger ones who often start with smaller salaries.
Young people usually don't have mortgages to pay off, or spouses and children to support. That gives them an enormous amount of freedom whether they realize it or not. They also have an advantage in the job market because they can travel the country and go where the jobs are. Or they can simply follow their passions and build careers of their own designs. Instead of seeing obstacles, they should see opportunities.
And yet, when young people ask government to throw them a life preserver and save them from the choppy waters of a rough economy, they've all but given up. Even if they get the short-term economic aid they're seeking, they'll lose their self-sufficiency in the process and become dependent on an unresponsive bureaucracy. That's not good. In fact, it's dangerous.
So you have to wonder where young people picked up this distasteful and destructive behavior. It's obvious. It was from watching their elders with outstretched palms, a sense of entitlement, and a tendency to see government as the solution to all sorts of problems. And to think there are people who actually believe that.
Gimme a break.
http://archive.sltrib.com/printfriendly.php?id=13103095&itype=ngpsid
Navarrette says, "Sometimes, I think America's national creed is: "gimme, gimme, gimme...As in: "Gimme a bailout."...
..." Like much of what plagues modern society, the push for individual bailouts centers around a sense of entitlement, about what people think they deserve -- not because they've earned it but because they want a more comfortable, hassle-free life. It's also about the belief that government is the answer to all our problems -- part nanny and part ATM.
Unfortunately, this mentality is also infecting young Americans. We already knew they had a sense of entitlement from the narcissism they exhibit, and from the shunning of hard and dirty jobs that wind up being done by illegal immigrants and other foreigners. But the reliance on government is a bit of a surprise since young people have a long-standing reputation for being politically apathetic and not the type to make demands on Washington. "
READ ON if you are interested in reading the post in it's entirety for more of the author's thoughts on dangers of living with a sense of entitlement.
SAN DIEGO -- Sometimes, I think America's national creed is: "gimme, gimme, gimme."
As in: "Gimme a bailout." With banks, insurance firms and automobile manufacturers getting a helping hand from the government, some Americans think they should get one too. I recently heard a radio ad that made just that point, telling listeners to enlist the services of a money management firm because "Wall Street firms are getting a bailout and you should too."
Like much of what plagues modern society, the push for individual bailouts centers around a sense of entitlement, about what people think they deserve -- not because they've earned it but because they want a more comfortable, hassle-free life. It's also about the belief that government is the answer to all our problems -- part nanny and part ATM.
Unfortunately, this mentality is also infecting young Americans. We already knew they had a sense of entitlement from the narcissism they exhibit, and from the shunning of hard and dirty jobs that wind up being done by illegal immigrants and other foreigners. But the reliance on government is a bit of a surprise since young people have a long-standing reputation for being politically apathetic and not the type to make demands on Washington.
Now a coalition of young people -- dubbing itself "80 Million Strong for Young American Jobs" -- wants Congress to draft a massive aid package aimed specifically at helping young people brave the recession.
Think of it as a Marshall Plan for the Twitter generation.
Among other things, the coalition wants: free college tuition for low-income students who are willing to do volunteer work; the right to be covered in their parents' health insurance program until the age of 26; college loan-forgiveness programs for young people who agree to serve distressed communities after graduation; and micro loans for young entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. Congress needs to provide all this and more, the group says, because young Americans -- including recent college graduates -- are bearing the brunt of the current recession.
They have a point there. For 20- to 24-year-olds, the unemployment rate is 15.3 percent, compared to 9.4 percent for the overall U.S. population. College tuitions are rising, and students are graduating with both student loans and loads of credit card debt. And young Americans often lack health insurance; those in their 20s represent about 30 percent of the uninsured, either because they're in low-wage jobs that don't provide health insurance or because they feel indestructible and haven't seen the need for it.
Still, the idea of young people lobbying Congress for their own specialized bailout isn't just wrong. It's heartbreaking.
Young people aren't the only ones hurting in this recession. People of all ages could make the same request of the government, complete with their own list of challenges and dire statistics. Besides, speak to most older workers and they'll tell you that they'd give anything to be young again and just starting out in the job market -- even a market as rough as this one. In fact, ironically, in many companies, older workers fear being replaced by younger ones who often start with smaller salaries.
Young people usually don't have mortgages to pay off, or spouses and children to support. That gives them an enormous amount of freedom whether they realize it or not. They also have an advantage in the job market because they can travel the country and go where the jobs are. Or they can simply follow their passions and build careers of their own designs. Instead of seeing obstacles, they should see opportunities.
And yet, when young people ask government to throw them a life preserver and save them from the choppy waters of a rough economy, they've all but given up. Even if they get the short-term economic aid they're seeking, they'll lose their self-sufficiency in the process and become dependent on an unresponsive bureaucracy. That's not good. In fact, it's dangerous.
So you have to wonder where young people picked up this distasteful and destructive behavior. It's obvious. It was from watching their elders with outstretched palms, a sense of entitlement, and a tendency to see government as the solution to all sorts of problems. And to think there are people who actually believe that.
Gimme a break.
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