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

[scrawnypaws.livejournal.com]

I am, I gave it a lot of thought.) But, sure, there's that trend, too due to the same leisure and extended longevity. In France anyone under 26 is a "youth" and hence entitled. Makes one smile sadly -- I'm thinking about the Black Prince who had his first command at 15 and carried the day.
Please, bear in mind the whole concept of "childhood" and special entitlement was engendered by the Industrial Revolution - suddenly the pie was large enough and such charity* became affordable. Before that children were just small adults, with lesser strength and wits.
The uptake - they could actually learn from real adults. Now the youth* is confined to itself, but what can it learn about life and its demands from peers who are equally clueless? And the extended childhood (that parent shielding you've mentioned) is exacerbated by modern media creating a vicious circle, if you wish.

I know this because we've spent the last 20 odd years in different countries (I worked as set and production designer and my wife as costume designer). Sure, our daughter had her share of childhood*, but most of her early formative years were spent among adults, brilliant in what they were doing. Who, BTW, treated her as equal (that's the entertainment business for you).

The difference was staggering - she was and is much more mature in her thinking than her peers.
But, yes, you're right, too. There's a global shift to brainlessness and general ignorance - strangely belligerent and full of self-importance.
We all know it's happening but is there a solution to that? I don't see one.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

I'm glad my post forced you to think so much yesterday. :)) Age - this is just a number. Maturity comes in all forms, at all ages. I've dated men in their 20's who were much more mature than men in their 40's. :)) Everything is relative.

[scrawnypaws.livejournal.com]

Thank you Shannon. It didn't force me, though.) This is something's been on my mind for quite a while (BTW, I'm 52).