Interns, Part-Timers, Entry-Level Workers...
 

Once upon a time...

The interns were easy to spot. They had a sense of entitlement. They wore clothes that met the casual dress code, but perhaps had not been washed in a few uses (and were certainly never ironed). They were basically on a paid vacation for the summer and spent most of their time texting their friends. They complained loudly about the working conditions and rarely came back full time because they decided to pursue their dream job instead.

The call center part-timers were easy to spot. Being college students, they tended to wear either revealing bar clothes or sweat pants and t-shirts. They took more smoke breaks than phone calls, and could frequently be heard talking in inappropriatly loud voices about how wasted they were laste night and who hooked up with who.

The entry-level employees were easy to spot. Sure, within a few months they were dressing like the veterans and they knew they were here for the long-haul, but didn't know what that meant. They didn't volunteer for assignments and didn't try to learn more about their job. They just seemed to hope to keep their job for as long as possible without being noticed.

Well, that was before the Great Recession.

Today, the interns are aggressive and engaged, hoping desperately to land a coveted job offer and working their asses off to make it happen. They quickly assimilate in dress and mannerism to try to show that they fit in. The call center people are now often dressed in suits to make a good impression, and spend their breaks networking and trying to land a full-time position. They are also working hard in an attempt to establish a positive reputation. The entry-level people are thankful that they have a job, but realize there are a hundred applications in their manager's drawer of people with ridiculous credentials. They volunteer, they take classes on their own dime to show comittment, they try to make themselves valued so that they survive the next round of budget cuts.

There are slackers everywhere, even in today's recession.
Last time I heard there were 30 million of them.




Benny

I've landed an intern gig for the rest of the year, and I'm scraping up cash to buy a new wardrobe for the gig. Gotta look good. I know if this goes well I'll get a good offer at the end.

Where are the Interns, Part-Timers, Entry-Level Workers of "once upon a time" now?

running the show

Back during the oil boom of the 80s our company needed new employees. We had ad's in the paper. There was no internet then. After several weeks the only responses were phone calls that all started with "I presently be incarcerated but I be getting out in a few days and I needs a job"

Just a year after the oil bust we would put an ad in the paper and we had to put "resumes only" because we would get 50 applications for a position. We saw some horrible resumes.

My thoughts exactly.

These are of course broad generalizations and there are plenty of exceptions. I based the "entry-level" observations largely on myself when I just started. This is just what has stuck out in my mind over the past few years. What I have seen is a shift in attitude from entitlement to gratitude and enthusiasm.

Being in IT, it seemed like from 2000-2007 many of our interns really wanted to work in Silicone Valley are were angry that they had to accept a "lesser" position or thought they were just taking the job to pay the bills until their Internet business idea took off.

I haven't seen this. Good help is still hard to find. There are only about 4% of college grads out of work and the good ones are snatched up very quickly ...

G

I created an entry level, part time job here at my shop a few months ago. My goal was to get a local college student in this line of work who would like to get some hands-on experience. I got a few calls, but repeatedly was told that they didn't want to work for the pay I was offering.

I finally did get a guy who said he was interested in the "hands on experience" aspect of the job. He f*cks up just about every job he is assigned to do, and when he's not f*cking something up, he's riding the time clock.

I have a project coming up in two weeks that will require two persons to accomplish. After that, he has to go.

My points:
The college students think they should get high pay in an entry level job.
The guy who took the job just wants an easy paycheck - he doesn't want to learn the trade.

Maybe the engineering environment is different, but I have only had positive experiences both as an engineering intern and now as an engineering manager over the last 27 years in the business. I worked my rear off trying to get a job in the 80s and have seen the same commitment from the interns we hire. Are other businesses different? I know some do not pay their interns, what do you expect for free?

If I meet one more kid who wants to design video games for a living... Or create the latest hot app - everyone sees an easy million doing that, too. :rolleyes: I always point out that the most common profession for millionaires is dry cleaning. :)

IT is a different world altogether...

I've been in IT since 1990 - the technology may have changed quite a bit, but the workers have similar attitudes today as they did years ago. There are those 'lifers' that will spend more hours than required to ensure the systems are up - real IT folk understand this to be part of the job.

-Z

How old are you guys? I'm 31 and I have experienced a vastly different corporate culture from what most of you describe. I have a few peers who have become very successful (in software, go figure) but for most of us, the job market has been **** to us for our whole careers. I had 4 quarters of internships in college... and when I got out, my interviewers didn't give two ****s about them.

28 here. I see the majority of those interns and part-timers as the ones out there at OWS movements (not trying to PARF this up, just an observation). They want to get by with everything handed to them. The hard-working earners are out there, you just have to find them.

I have an entry-level position I just filled - the guy wanted only 38.5k/yr, but because he had excellent skills in the form we needed, I brought him up to 40k. Entry level.

I remember when entry level was a hair over minimum wage. :confused:

To the point of hiring, last week we had an educational course for all of the managers & exec level for something called Impact Hiring. The presenter was Brad Remillard. It was leaps and bounds above any prior hiring training I had. I suggest checking it out:

Brad Remillard - brad (at) impacthiringsolutions [dot] com

Entry level for college grads better be good. I can go make 100k with no education out here in the oil field.

Do you think I'll be too happy working for 30k? ;)

Welcome to the oil field, son

Ummm. Did someone say Oil?

I am directly tied to the rig count in the US and these have been good days. Now if only nat gas would come back up in price I would probably be receiving a bonus with each check.

Times are very good.

Slow me someone with an engineering degree and I'll show you someone with a good work ethic. In college, you can tell the engineering students in the cafeteria. They sit alone and eat with their books open. Bachelor degrees are four years, except for engineering bachelors, which are five years. Or should be.

We had excellent interns and recent college grads at Ford. They were motivated, intelligent and good folks to work with. Ford was pretty selective and seemed like they always picked the good ones.