Millennial Job Interview

[ArlyA]

I've got a kick out of this thread. Every few years, I need to hire one of these "Millennial's" to work with me. No, I'm not a HR person and have no training at that whatsoever, nor I'm I any good at it.... . I work for a small municipality with less than 5000 residents so its to small to have a HR department. Hancock, Michigan - Wikipedia I do seasonal work for them which is very much a team effort and city manager "sorta" give me the right to find my own people. There are plenty of great 18 to 30yo out there, but most of them are already employed by someone who's sees there value, so they're not looking for work. I do struggle to find someone with there head attached, who can work for lows wages, no benefits, hard work with terrible hours. Nonetheless, I've learn how to filter them out and do find them.... I've got a WONDERFUL one working with me now!!

On another note as others have a eluded to, for the past 200,000 years, people have been said "this younger generation is worthless". Can you tell us who was right?

 

[3930dave]

I've come across useless people in all the generations I've known..... often older people are better at disguising that trait though.

"Normal" attitudes within a generation will change from one to another; that's some of what we have been having fun with here.....

Getting to be an old dog myself, but I can sometimes learn something from the "kids"; not talking about tech though.....

Youngster's take on the standard corporate policy of "No References will be given for Employees" seems to be "OK, then I don't see any point in me having to give any Notice if I decide to leave."

Food for thought, esp. in a tight job market.....

Rgds, D.

 

[Creamer]

I think there is problem that employers do not want to train anybody, this has undercut community college programs, as they have no apprentice students going thru. Companies simply refuse to train anybody, then complain about no suitable employees. Additionally, the pay still lags in manufacturing, a welder averages $19 per hour, manufacturing, about 21. I think those are probably skewed higher by union factories that pay quite a bit more. Non union companies around here are at least $5 per hour less, and usually nada for benefits. Manufacturing is one area of the economy that is exposed to foreign competition. Service jobs aren稚, so the pay for those jobs keeps getting better, especially medical.

Many companies are happy to train once they know somebody is committed to work. The key is that they want someone who is ready to go to work.

 

[Creamer]

An interesting story my Dad told: It seems one of his friends who owned a grocery store married and brought his new wife into the store, but she could not make change. Keep in mind this was probably 70 or 80 years ago. My dad was enlisted to help teach this woman how to count out change. In those days in a small country store there wasn't any machine to tell you how much change to give back. People counted out change to the nearest dollar and went from there. He said it took him a long time to get this technique pounded into her head, but he was finally successful. I remember her when I was a small child and going to that same store to buy candy and bubble gum. So there have been "challenged" people all along. And there has always been those of us trying to help them.

Counting change is a useless skill when you pay with a debit or credit card. Kind of like not needing to know how to harness or saddle a horse. My daughter's Hyundai came with a 200,000 mile roadside assistance warranty and no spare tire - why does she need to know how to change a tire?

 

[MossRoad]

I've come across useless people in all the generations I've known..... often older people are better at disguising that trait though.

"Normal" attitudes within a generation will change from one to another; that's some of what we have been having fun with here.....

Getting to be an old dog myself, but I can sometimes learn something from the "kids"; not talking about tech though.....

Youngster's take on the standard corporate policy of "No References will be given for Employees" seems to be "OK, then I don't see any point in me having to give any Notice if I decide to leave."

Food for thought, esp. in a tight job market.....

Rgds, D.

Indiana is right to work state. An employer can fire you at will. And you can quit at will. Neither one is optimal for good relations, but that's the way it is.

 

[Oaktree]

Many companies are happy to train once they know somebody is committed to work. The key is that they want someone who is ready to go to work.

Maybe in some industries, but not others. The tech field is one of those "others" where employers seem to be looking for very specific backgrounds/skills and if you don't have exactly what they're looking for then you're outta luck. Then they wonder why these jobs can't be filled.

Sadly, the days when a willingness to learn and work hard will get you a job are pretty much gone.

 

[Creamer]

Maybe in some industries, but not others. The tech field is one of those "others" where employers seem to be looking for very specific backgrounds/skills and if you don't have exactly what they're looking for then you're outta luck. Then they wonder why these jobs can't be filled.

Sadly, the days when a willingness to learn and work hard will get you a job are pretty much gone.

Not in our state. Almost any company will train you if you show them you are committed. Of course there are limitations - they only train for their needs. One company I consulted with set up their own journeyman tool and die program with the help of a community college and are doing the same for maintenance and controls people. This is a paid program where the company funds the schooling and and you work half day and are in a lab half a day for six months and then go to the site as an apprentice and put through a formal apprenticeship program. The employee is even paid for a 40 hour week while he/she is going to the class part.

 

[Redlands Okie]

Not sure how to put this. It seems typical now that people do one narrow field of work and have a very narrow set of skills to get that job done. It does provide for a lot of jobs since it takes more people to get something done. With this setup and it seems to me basic human behavior you get what we have today.
Many youngsters are raised pretty comfortably and are not informed or taught that it took mom and dad a while to get to the point fo providing that style of living. The attitude of “I do this, not that and I deserve a good living from it” seems to be common.
As a side note I am amazed at what seems to me to be the lack of interest in anything beyond the basic requirements needed to get some money and be able to be entertained. Increasing ones knowledge of the world, of how things work or function around you or ones work environment seems to be very l limited.
One of the neat things about these forums is the people in here with and interested in a variety of skills and experiences.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I'd like to see that roadside assistance vehicle with all those makes and models of tires he must carry.

No, now the car gets towed because it had a flat tire. What progress!

I simply can't tell you how many young and older people I stop and ask for directions (I don't use a GPS as I like to know where I am) and I get the impression that the people don't have a clue about their environment or where on the earth they are!

 

[k0ua]

I'd like to see that roadside assistance vehicle with all those makes and models of tires he must carry.

No, now the car gets towed because it had a flat tire. What progress!

I simply can't tell you how many young and older people I stop and ask for directions (I don't use a GPS as I like to know where I am) and I get the impression that the people don't have a clue about their environment or where on the earth they are!

I had the benefit of living in both worlds. The "old ways" and the modern world of the present. I grew up knowing how to make change, "back in the day" of outdoor toilets (yep that is what we had the first 6 years of my life), we finally got a party line telephone. 10 parties too. Phones in automobiles were unheard of in my time. Yes I know IMTS a form of automatic mobile phone came into existence about 1964, but no one had ever seen one where I lived. That was a New York or Los Angles thing. And somehow even in those huge cities, there were served by the 13 radio channels of IMTS (Improved Mobile Telephone Service). Imagine that, 13 little channels to serve a city of millions. That tells you how many persons had them. Satellite navigation wasn't even a gleam in some military planners eye yet. And I will place my "dead reckoning" inertial navigation system in my head up against anyone else's. We had huge maps in our heads of vast areas built up over years. But all of these "old ways" while not forgotten, I am happy to supplement with the latest technology too. I am an adopter, and lover of technology. If tech fails, I can revert back to the way we used to do things in a heartbeat. I can kill animals and live off of the land if I have to, I have done it before. I have changed plenty of flat tires. One not long ago, and ruined a good pair of suit pants. .