What's with 20-somethings?!?

[Mulhollanddose]

Never hire a liberal.

[Drdogface]

Originally posted by Mulhollanddose
Never hire a liberal.

Oh...I like this man....if I weren't retired I'd hire you !!

[techweenie]

Originally posted by jorian
So many just seem, disenfranchised, apathetic, vacant - insert your own adjective.

I helped a guy hire help for his car lot. Used Craigslist. Got 2 good candidates... or better said, got two good interviewees.

Chose the stronger one. He showed up for 2-3 days on time, then started dragging in at any old time without apology, explanation nor recognition of his responsibility. He made customer commitments and blew them off with no sense of regret. But he was so charming most everyone put up with him.

Later found out he was into heroin and ultimately found crack. 26 years old. Life down the tubes.

[jorian]

"I helped a guy hire help for his car lot. Used Craigslist. Got 2 good candidates... or better said, got two good interviewees."

I found this guy on Craigslist too. Hmmmm... I think alot of people are really on their game in the interview and once they get a job lose their game or leave it at home. We do have historically low unemployment numbers right now so maybe he found something better. I suppose the lack of respect/courtesy is what peeves me the most.

I would love to hire a semi-retired, gray-fox type. Hired one years ago but he and the missus left for warmer climes.

No. 2 is coming for another interview.......

[Vapors]

What ever you do don't hurt his feelings.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I'm 25, and I still say can his ass. I've worked since High School, and never just not showed up. If something happened, or maybe I was sick, I always called. I get up at 6am every morning just because, typically to work on homework because I have returned to college after working a few years. Right now I'm on vacation, which will consist of working 60 hours a week for a month at my in-law's lumberyard. So we're not all a lost cause, people like that reflect badly on our entire generation. Jorian, you'll probably think twice before hiring a guy his age again, won't you?

The only positive to this is it makes the people willing to work look that much better, and with the boomers retiring more and more people will be needed. Fast track to management, here I come!

[deathpunk dan]

Can his stupid ass.

I'm 27 and am the E commerce director for a growing and not-so-small company. I have a lot on my plate. I work 11+ hr days like its nothing and still do outside consulting on the side.

I also manage to find time for my GF, my family, the punk rock band I play in, and playing in a roller hockey league. I live below my means and aggressively save/invest.

Not all of us are lazy slackers.

But then again, I'm a strange m@ther****er. Liberal too!

Mul. way to add great insight like usual!

[Jay Auskin]

It's Bush's fault.

[Tishabet]

I'm going to chime in with the other young gents on this thread (I'm 25, I manage a 5 person software dev team for a financial services company) and say that if one of my managees ever pulled something like that, they'd be kicked to the curb, no second chances.
My first CTO taught me to ask two questions when interviewing a new candidate:
CAN they do the work?
WILL they do the work?
It's surprising how many qualified-on-paper developers don't pass muster on the latter question.
Character counts!

[island_dude]

There is no excuse for this sort of behavior. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't get two offers. He stopped in to check out the other deal and then gave you a good half day to see how your shop runs. It seems he decided on the other deal after all.

We had not one, but two different guys at different time pull this stunt (IT guys). The guy would come in really early in the morning turn on his radio to Rush limbaugh, and answer all of his emails. He would return his calls and set his phone to forward to his cell. He would disapper until late in the evening. He would return, answer all his emails and do some work and repeat. This went on for over a year before the company figured out he was working two jobs at once. Two years later another guy did started almost the same routine.

Amazingly enough, it took a year to figure it out the second time too!

[Jims5543]

My staff is all 20 somethings except for my 2nd in command.

Everyone shows up early and ready to rock. Well I take that back everyone except one. He is not paid very much and really has not shown me any reason to advance him.

My field guys are all in their 20's with the exception of 2 19 year olds. All 6 of them show up 1/2 to 1 hour early every day. A competitor drives by my office every morning on his way to work and sees my guys all getting ready. I had lunch with him one day and he wanted to know what I do to get everyone in so early. His guys barely show up on time. I could not answer his question. I am lucky to have a good crew.

We had a 20 something a couple of years ago that was exactly like the original poster described. Late every day, did not show up some days, disapeared once for 3 days. I kept giving him breaks. One day he came back from the field to drop off a rush job and quit on the spot without warning. Putting me out.

He is lucky no one called me for a referance on him. He actually landed a job with one of my clients and is still there. He never learned a lesson about ethics and probably never will.

Not all 20 somethings are bad. I prefer them, they have more energy and no bad habits yet. I find the 30 somethings to be more lazy and set in their bad ways. I guess we could generalize every age group if we wanted.

[notfarnow]

Here's my take:

When hiring 20 somethings, make sure they have work experience. Too many have gone through highschool & university without having to work, so they really haven't had to "fit" in a work environment. They have to be spoonfed work (ie, can't be left unsupervised or they will just say "I didn't have anything to do"), and they think they can be excused for late work like they were for late homework.

Find someone that worked through HS and college. I bet the 20 somethings that made good points above did. (Tshabet, deathpunk dan, onewhippedpuppy... err... me)

[legion]

I'm 27.

The pace of my work can vary greatly, but I usually have quite a bit of warning before a change in pace.

When the workload is slow, I'm a little late in the morning, I'm on Pelican during the day, and I take a longer lunch.

When the workload is high, I show up early, nose to the grindstone all day, stay late, and take lunch at my desk.

The thing that matters most in my job is producing quality results while meeting deadlines. Quick sloppy work, late perfect work, and late sloppy work all are equally bad.

The bottom line is that I take advantage of the down time, but I also don't hesitate to kick it in gear when needed.

The last 3 years I've been on the same project but not on the critical path, so that creates more down time for me as other teams play catch-up.

[deathpunk dan]

notfarnow-

great point. I think what you are describing is emblematic of an even larger issue.

People just don't seem to strive for anything anymore. There was a great Salon.com article on this rudderlessness we keep seeing. All people seem to want is to set life on cruise control so long as they keep up with their perceived peers in terms of free time/toys/social life etc.

I want to either make my mark or go down in flames. I have a chip on my shoulder. So many of my friends don't get fired up and its getting harder for me to be around them.

[ken_xman]

maybe he was hurt from the accident? I would call the police department and see if there was an actual accident where/ when he claims. If not can him.

[dtw]

If you buy the snackies, they will come.

[turbo6bar]

Hire Mexicans.

It's a character thing. Many Americans need a healthy kick in the a$$. My dad kicks me in the ass all the time.

[notfarnow]

Deathpunk Dan,
I guess it depends on where you want to "make your mark". My major focus is family and friends... I sacrifice my career a bit (avoid jobs that require lots of travel and huge hours) but I think it's worth it. However, I take my job very seriously and do my best to exceed my goals and my employer's expectations. I'm not necessarily looking to "make my mark" at work, I prefer to be steady and solid. I work hard, I respect those around me and I make a point of being part of the team. We have our share of "all sail and no anchor" types, and they are great to put on a project but can be hard to fit in long term roles and responsibilities.

I think the larger issue here is a lack or responsibility and accountability with younger employees, and that's not an easy thing to fix once you're in your 20's. I remember reading that our ability to learn languages goes into sharp decline once we hit our teens, and have often wondered what other skills and abilities only have a certain "window" to develop. Maybe our "window" to learn work skills "closes" in our late teens? It seems that anyone I know who hasn't worked by the time they finished college REALLY struggle in the "real world".

[arcsine]

I have the "opportunity" to manage between 4-7 college work study students at any given time. The freshmen newbies are the worst as one could imagine. 1 of 5 is useful and can be expected to do the job asked and maybe look around and see what else can be done. The other 4 need repeated reminders weekly of what their job is.

The best story is about a guy that has aspirations to go to med school. He was working at the same time four other people are. The other four are busting butt and doing their job. He is sitting down doing homework. So I ask " What are you doing?". He replies, "Homework, there was nothing else to do.". After a deep breath or two I wonder out loud "You could ask me what to do". Our hero's response; "I meant to".

Med school is going to slap him hard upside his head with that mentality.

[stevepaa]

I gave a little CAD job to a youngster. Explained what I needed. Came back in a week to find him working on his school project and hadn't done what I needed. Gave it to another. Will check today and see how he is doing.