The Next Generation

As I mentioned, we have two interns working with us this fall, and I would like to preface this post with a disclaimer: Both of them have been doing a fantastic job, and that the following (at least so far!) does not apply to them. Okay, that being said...

This weekend I had a conversation with a friend of mine that is a professor at large public university here in west Michigan. We were discussing the things undergraduate students do to irk him. His primary complaints? A lack of responsibility or sense of accountability, general laziness and poor quality of work combined with an expectation of high grades in return! (The "A for Effort" mentality) Of course, dishonesty and cheating really top the list, but those are not as widespread, at least we hope not!

So today when I read Rowan's post on The Next Generation of Job Hunters discussing the issues he's seen with recent graduates and their general disregard for accuracy and quality. I thought I'd put my two cents in on the topic as well:

Rowan suggests adding this little disclaimer to job advertisements:

Please remember that this application is all we have to go on - if it is careless or sloppy, we can only presume that you are careless and sloppy. Here at XXXX, we pride ourselves on providing 100% accurate service to our clients. One misplaced word or comma in a contract could leave a client vulnerable to litigation. Therefore, spelling, punctuation, grammatical or formatting errors in your application will not be tolerated. One error and you are in the bin. Don't say we didn't warn you...

(It was my turn to spray hot caffeinated beverage from my nostrils on that one!)

And here is my advice to all you new grads and soon-to-be job seekers of this generation:

Before Graduation:

• Start now by taking responsibility for your academic career (translation – it wasn’t the professors fault you failed economics if you didn’t bother to read the text or even show up to class!)
• Make an effort to understand the business world before you try to join it; learn what “professional attire” is and embrace it

When seeking employment:

• Write carefully worded, clear, concise resumes, cover letters, thank you notes, etc. with zero errors and remember, spellchecking doesn’t know the difference between their vs. there, hear vs. here and [my personal favorite] inconvenience vs. incontinence
• Practice your verbal presentation skills – work hard to eliminate vocalized pauses (err, umm, ah, and the MOST irritating “like”)

When entering the workforce:

• Apply those lessons about taking responsibility to your new job
• Give your work the same attention to detail that you gave your well written, error free communications

So what am I saying? – In short, “Don’t be a slacker!”

(I really hope there are not any spelling errors here!)