The nightmares of a self-entitled generation and employment

[peacetraveler22]

Every spring, I find myself in the same position. I'm tasked with interviewing and hiring summer interns for our office. In the process, I have to weed through a lot of resumes, or CVs as you call them. :) I'm constantly amazed by the way young adults portray themselves to potential employers. Most of them have just graduated high school, or completed their first year of university, so I never expect some grand list of achievements. But there's a common scenario that repulses me, and it's symbolic of the newer American generations.

I will immediately toss in the trash any piece of paper that even remotely suggests a sense of self-entitlement. This is a personality I despise more than most - those who think they should be worshiped and praised only because they exist, and for no other reason. In other words, there's no foundation for their bravado or arrogance, except that their parents have coddled them since well past their baby years. We call them "helicopter parents," because they constantly hover over their children, watching their every move in order to protect them from pain, disappointment and failures in life. Yet no human can ever escape these things.

Of course, all parents should protect and instill a strong sense of self-esteem in kids, but this quality has now drifted into a very sick realm of narcissism, in my view. What else can you expect from an American generation who grew up playing in sports leagues where every kid is handed a trophy - they are taught there are no winners or losers, and it's a brutal slap in the face when they quickly discover life isn't fair. They lack the coping mechanisms to deal with rejections and challenges, because they have been shielded from such things their entire life. Now, I'll show you an example of a CV I immediately tossed away.

This is a 19 year old girl named Rachel Williams. I redacted most of her personal information, but she works at Subway, a fast-food chain in the U.S. There's nothing wrong with this job, as most young people have worked in the retail or food sectors at one point in life. In this position, she makes sandwiches, fills catering orders and cleans bathrooms.

Rachel created a grand term to describe her position by calling herself a "sandwich artist." :)) Then she goes on to make sloppy grammar errors and poor word choices. For instance, there's double capitalization in the short word "AS", she mistyped two commas at one point, and there are other errors. The mistakes would have been obvious with one quick review, yet they are still there. This implies Rachel is lazy, sloppy and careless. Who wants to entrust their work to someone like this? Not me. This is only one example of many horrible CVs I've forced to review.



We live now in a "me, me, me" world, where people want a lot out of life, but aren't willing to give much. Just hire me, just pay me, yes, I'm great...!! This is the over-arching mentality of many people, but it's especially prevalent with millennials.

Btw, I've noticed that for a lot of job listings in Russia, it's necessary to put your age and a photo on the CV. This is very strange for an American, as it's not customary to place pictures on CVs. What's the point? Also, many times the job description will state that the person must be highly attractive, very young in age, etc...I've never seen these requirements in American job postings. Unattractive, middle-age people don't deserve to work? :))

Comments

[koji-ajimofu.livejournal.com]

In Denmark photo is also nice to have. As well as in russia.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's just a way to make the CV more personal? However, it seem like the photo could have a negative impact if you're unattractive. Or, an unfair advantage if you won the genetic pool and are beautiful. :) I guess the issue is now moot anyway, because you can usually find photos of someone on the Internet in a matter of moments if you look.

[koji-ajimofu.livejournal.com]

1. With some Photoshop even ugly people can look attractive :)
2. Sometimes you just need to know you are reading about a human, not an application-writing-machine.
How we can talk about searching information about candidate on the internet if employers can't even read more than one page of the resume?

BTW, a funny article here sponsored(?) by free resume-generator: http://uk.businessinsider.com/elons-musk-resume-all-on-one-page-2016-4

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

I don't like the imaginary resume they created for Elon Musk! :)) It's too busy with the graphs/charts. But it's definitely eye-catching and unique. Originality goes a long way when you're reading dozens of these a day.

[koji-ajimofu.livejournal.com]

Ok, then maybe you can suggest anything better? Actually I'm into creating my new resume now, so any help will be appreciated :)

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

I'm simplistic in almost all areas of life, including resumes. :) I think resumes should be short and clean, with bullet points and not a lot of graphs, and useless data about hobbies, goals, etc. All of these things I can ask about in the interview, if I'm interested.

Just list essential skills, and past work history so I can ensure you are stable. It is very suspicious if a person has huge gaps of unemployment, or changes jobs every 1 - 2 years. Maybe hiring and resume practices are different in Russia and Europe, not sure? Also, I'm speaking in the context of law, which is my profession. Perhaps for the IT sector, programming or engineering, there are different nuances. Recruiters/HR people - they are reading tons of resumes every day, and don't want to be burdened with a lot of useless crap that's not essential to the core tasks of the job.

[corpowner.livejournal.com]

As an employer, I am even more simplistic. I just want to know how much money an employee can commit to earning for me. I don't care how she or he will do it - it can even be some illegal activity, so long as I'm not directly involved in it. Just tell me how much you will bring me every week, and how much you want for your services - and I will gladly hire you if the difference is positive.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

I guess this strategy is good if you own your own business, but I work in a big law firm, in which I have no real stake or share. So, what matters to me most is that the person is competent and personable.

[koji-ajimofu.livejournal.com]

You are practical person! Same as me. I like that. But maybe it's a bit too much.
Of course, it's cultural issue: it depends on who is going to read this. E.g. danes just love to read about personal things as marital state and interests. It's not only about work when they hire, it's about friendly atmosphere also.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

It's also about friendly atmosphere for me! I need to "feel-out" someone's personality to make sure we are a good fit. It's like dating, kind of. :) You will be around the person a lot in the work environment, and I want to make sure the man or woman is pleasant and has a gentle, relaxed disposition. I don't like to work with aggressive people. You cannot tell such things from a piece of paper. :)) Good luck with your resume and job search!

[elarbee.livejournal.com]

But then what about people who have taken legitimate leave, like to raise children or care for a sick person? I just read a discussion today about writing a resume with a 5-year gap for raising children, and I didn't see anything there that would look good to me as an employer. I think I'm pretty lucky that I can write in my resume that I ran 2-3 businesses at a time while raising my children, but some people have zero jobs during this time. What kind of wording would you like to see on a resume in such a situation, or would you just discuss a 5-year gap in an interview?

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Hmm, it's a good question. I think most stay at home moms still remain active somehow by doing volunteer work or side-projects, so I would highlight those somehow to show that you weren't just sitting around for years, and still kept your skills sharp and active.

[elarbee.livejournal.com]

I know plenty of women without side projects. Some children are enough of a handful that there's no capacity for it.