Gen Z and job interviews

[Patty Hann]

Pretty pathetic...

20% of new college grads are taking parents to interviews, survey says

“One in five employers have had a recent college graduate bring a parent to a job interview.”

By Caleb Wethington (https://www.azfamily.com/authors/caleb.wethington/)

Published: Feb. 29, 2024 at 9:48 AM MST|Updated: 15 hours ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - What’s the most unique thing you’ve ever brought to a job interview? According to a new survey (https://www.intelligent.com/nearly-4-in-10-employers-avoid-hiring-recent-college-grads-in-favor-of-older-workers/), recent Gen Z college graduates are bringing reinforcements to their job interviews: their parents.
According to a survey of 800 U.S. managers, directors and executives who are involved in hiring conducted by Intelligent, nearly 40% of employers are avoiding hiring recent college grads.
Below is a look at some of the key findings from the survey:




38% of employers avoid hiring recent college graduates in favor of older employees
1 in 5 employers have had a recent college graduate bring a parent to a job interview
58% say recent college graduates are unprepared for the workforce
Nearly half of employers have had to fire a recent college graduate


During job interviews, not only are some bringing their parents, but employers said Gen Z college grads are struggling with eye contact during interviews.

“Additionally, half of employers say they ask for unreasonable compensation, and 47% say they’ve had candidates show up to their interviews dressed inappropriately,” the survey said.
More findings in the survey include that a majority of employers believe new college grads can’t manage their workload, are entitled and lack professionalism.
“All data found within this report derives from a survey conducted on December 7, 2023 by survey platform Pollfish and commissioned by Intelligent.com (http://intelligent.com/). In total 800 U.S. managers, directors and executives who are involved in hiring were surveyed,” the survey said.

-----------

For a hilarious sendup for a Gen Z job interview (it says it's millennial but I've been told it's more like Gen Z):


https://youtu.be/Uo0KjdDJr1c

[Dave Anderson NH]

I might be a bit of a grump, but I would automatically exclude anyone from further consideration if they brought a parent to an interview. It would show me a lack of confidence and an inability to stand on their own 2 feet. That does not bode well for either the ability to work independently or the person being promotable to any kind of leadership position in the future. The only exception to this would be a person with a disability needing physical parental assistance.

[Earl McLain]

The math in that headline must be from either Artificial Intelligence or Complete Lack of Intelligence. If the survey results indicate that 1 in 5 employers had a recent graduate bring a parent to an interview, those employers would have to have 100% of the recent graduates bring parents in order to meet the 20% of New College Grads bringing parents with them as noted in the headline. Or the entire body of survey respondents would have to have only seen 1 recent grad each.

Just nit-picking on sensationalism in journalism!!

[Stan Calow]

It's clearly the wrong thing to do, but it's the parents who should know better.

We had this happen a few time back about 25+ years ago. In one case, an applicant asked how many days off we got for Christmas break. I blame the parents for not knowing better.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I might be a bit of a grump, but I would automatically exclude anyone from further consideration if they brought a parent to an interview. It would show me a lack of confidence and an inability to stand on their own 2 feet. That does not bode well for either the ability to work independently or the person being promotable to any kind of leadership position in the future. The only exception to this would be a person with a disability needing physical parental assistance.What Dave wrote times two!!

[Patty Hann]

The math in that headline must be from either Artificial Intelligence or Complete Lack of Intelligence. If the survey results indicate that 1 in 5 employers had a recent graduate bring a parent to an interview, those employers would have to have 100% of the recent graduates bring parents in order to meet the 20% of New College Grads bringing parents with them as noted in the headline. Or the entire body of survey respondents would have to have only seen 1 recent grad each.

Just nit-picking on sensationalism in journalism!!

Go to the "new survey" link mentioned in the first line (https://www.intelligent.com/nearly-4-in-10-employers-avoid-hiring-recent-college-grads-in-favor-of-older-workers/ )
It explains things a little better. (Note: it does NOT make the situation any better :rolleyes:)

[Brian Elfert]

A suit is not an automatic requirement for all job interviews. A co-worker of mine said he interviewed with the IBEW to be an electrical apprentice years ago. He wore a suit and in the waiting room all of the other interviewees were wearing work clothes like you would wear on a construction site as a laborer. He said he was very specifically not chosen to be an apprentice because of his clothing. That may not have been the only reason, but he said they practically ended the interview as soon as he walked in due to the suit.

When I was asked to come in for an interview for the job I have had for 23 years now I was specifically told not to wear a suit. I wore nice dress pants and a dress shirt. Not even sure I wore a tie. Now, it is generally never appropriate to wear shorts, a sleeveless shirt, and flip flops to a job interview unless it is a very casual environment and that is what the boss and the rest of the employees wear every day. Even then I would want to wear something a bit better than that.

[Prashun Patel]

I doubt that statistic. A parent may drive their kid to an interview, but highly doubt almost any are going in with them. I've never interviewed a gen-z with their parent, and none of my kids' friends (all gen z) have done that.

Maintaining eye contact is a challenge for some, though...

IMHO, it has become super competitive to get in the door for some jobs. But the bar for nailing an interview is quite low. Show humility, genuine interest, demonstrate willingness to work hard. We can teach the rest.

[Jim Becker]

Like Prashun, I'm very sceptical that that "survey" is legitimate. I have Gen Z kids and don't know of any parent in any family that has "accompanied" their kid to a job interview other than, perhaps, providing transportation if it's local and the kid doesn't drive. I will cite that this might be different for a special needs situation, but that's an exception. There's a lot of suspect stuff that floats around the Internet these days.

[Frederick Skelly]

I don’t know if the statistic is accurate or not. It wouldn’t happen at my work. But if it did, I’d gently take the parent into another room, make them comfortable and get them coffee or soft drink. If they made a fuss, I’d cancel the interview on the spot. But even if the child interviewed well, bringing the parent (who I moved to the other room) would be a negative compared to other candidates.

Aside: I attended a class where the instructor told us that more than half the kids coming out of college have never held any job whatsoever. Not even mowing yards. His point was that the employer was going to have to teach them a great deal - how to dress, how to act, how to get to work on time, how to get along with co-workers, etc. I found it hard to believe at the time, but since then I’ve seen some of that and believe it.

[Bill Howatt]

I was aware of a manager of a unit that was comprised mostly of trades people who had the "a suit is not a good sign" attitude mentioned by Brian. He said is indicated they weren't ready to get to work and get their hands dirty. Seemed a bit silly to me given at that time dressing well for an occasion was recommended. Different today!

[Jim Becker]

Frederick, I do believe that there is a statistically significant number of young folks who indeed did not have employment during high school and college and the job they obtain when they graduate from college is potentially their first employment ever. It's not universal, however. My younger daughter (now age 24) started working for money at age 10 (equestrian facility) and worked all through her four years at Penn State because she chose to go to the local campus and live at home. That let her keep her not-quite full time job at a local eating establishment, (front of house at first but moved to back of house doing the accounting later on) Her struggle with post university employment has been wanting to be in a specific industry which has not yet materialized.

[Patty Hann]

Like Prashun, I'm very sceptical that that "survey" is legitimate. I have Gen Z kids and don't know of any parent in any family that has "accompanied" their kid to a job interview other than, perhaps, providing transportation if it's local and the kid doesn't drive. I will cite that this might be different for a special needs situation, but that's an exception. There's a lot of suspect stuff that floats around the Internet these days.
Sorry you don't agree . I guess the HR rep I know was lying to me.
And my BF's daughter (Age 27) who knows kids in her classes who took their parents to a job interview.
I guess she was lying about it too.

[Brian Elfert]

I was aware of a manager of a unit that was comprised mostly of trades people who had the "a suit is not a good sign" attitude mentioned by Brian. He said is indicated they weren't ready to get to work and get their hands dirty. Seemed a bit silly to me given at that time dressing well for an occasion was recommended. Different today!

This was probably 20 years ago and my co-worker likely had it drilled into him that a suit is required for a job interview. His current job is the first real office job he has had. He had previously worked at various jobs where you get your hands dirty.

[Frederick Skelly]

Frederick, I do believe that there is a statistically significant number of young folks who indeed did not have employment during high school and college and the job they obtain when they graduate from college is potentially their first employment ever. It's not universal, however. My younger daughter (now age 24) started working for money at age 10 (equestrian facility) and worked all through her four years at Penn State because she chose to go to the local campus and live at home. That let her keep her not-quite full time job at a local eating establishment, (front of house at first but moved to back of house doing the accounting later on) Her struggle with post university employment has been wanting to be in a specific industry which has not yet materialized.

Understand and agree with you Jim. It isn’t all of them - some parents (like you) get it and teach them. But I have several kids right nearby whose folks never expected them to work - and it shows.

[mike stenson]

Another "what's with kids today" complaint? This is as old as time..

[Brian Elfert]

I started working cutting a few lawns at around age 12 to make some spending money. My parents never made me get a job. I then got a summer job that I worked for seven years. I had been working for years by the time I got my first real full time job.

The summer job they loved me because I showed up every day and let them know well in advance if I needed to take a day off. They had a bunch of older adults who worked for minimum wage who simply didn't show up at least one day a week, and they left early on every pay day because checks were handed out at lunch time. I could have worked there as long as I wanted to. I even took time off my real job to work for two weeks every year for more than a decade. I would show up and my old supervisor would give me the plum job even though it displaced someone who had been doing that job all summer. She knew my work and knew I would do a great job even though I hadn't done it for a year.

[Monte Milanuk]

Frederick, I do believe that there is a statistically significant number of young folks who indeed did not have employment during high school and college and the job they obtain when they graduate from college is potentially their first employment ever.

Personal opinion here, but I think that's probably due to the recent tendency of parents to have their kids enrolled in every freaking extra-curricular activity imaginable, every spare hour of the week. Theoretically it's so the kids are busy enough to keep them out of trouble (like that has ever worked for any generation... ever) but it has the side effect of those kids having zero opportunity to get a job of their own. Add in some of the states have some bizarrely specific regulations regarding work hours during the school week, almost to the point where I could see employers saying dealing with students as "not worth the hassle".

[Stan Calow]

Another "what's with kids today" complaint? This is as old as time..

Complaining is one of the few perks of getting old.:)

[Steve Demuth]

Like Prashun, I'm very sceptical that that "survey" is legitimate. I have Gen Z kids and don't know of any parent in any family that has "accompanied" their kid to a job interview other than, perhaps, providing transportation if it's local and the kid doesn't drive. I will cite that this might be different for a special needs situation, but that's an exception. There's a lot of suspect stuff that floats around the Internet these days.

The headline is certainly wrong, since it doesn't reflect the poll results claimed in the brief article. (If you asked all the hiring managers in my last department whether they had every interviewed a Chinese-American applicant, I'm quite certain at least 4 in 5 would say yes, but nowhere near 80% of our applicants where Chinese, it was more like 1 in 20).

And I agree with your main point, that the data probably don't mean much. You do an internet based poll of cold recruits, and ask very many questions at all, and the data is pretty much guaranteed to be junk. I don't doubt that a few people have been dumb enough (and also had dumb enough parents) to actually bring a parent into an interview, but I doubt there are more than a handful who would do it twice, because it will never work to their advantage :)

[Patty Hann]

I sat on two "peer interview panels" when we were hiring another tech.
I seriously doubt that either the ethnicity and sex of the prospective techs would have stood out in my mind compared to the situation had one of them brought his/her parent to the interview.
THAT would have stood out, as in "what the...?... How bizarre."
What I'm saying is that if someone (HR/Hiring manager/etc) says a young "interviewee" brought his parent with him to the interview, I see no reason to doubt the person.

[Pat Germain]

Personal opinion here, but I think that's probably due to the recent tendency of parents to have their kids enrolled in every freaking extra-curricular activity imaginable, every spare hour of the week. Theoretically it's so the kids are busy enough to keep them out of trouble (like that has ever worked for any generation... ever) but it has the side effect of those kids having zero opportunity to get a job of their own. Add in some of the --l states have some bizarrely specific regulations regarding work hours during the school week, almost to the point where I could see employers saying dealing with students as "not worth the hassle".

This is a very good point. Most parents I know have their kids involved in some kind of organized activity EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK. Why? Well, to keep them away from drugs. To keep them away from gangs. To keep them away from kidnappers. To teach them commitment, team work and all that.

Sheesh, it may seem crazy, but I think young people need to be bored once in a while.

While many of us mowed lawns for money when we were young, that is now prohibited by law in many areas. Nobody under 18 is permitted to operate power equipment of any kind. Furthermore, many homeowners are now paranoid of getting sued for most anything. "No way will allow some kid to mow my lawn. He'll get injured and his parents will sue me for millions!". True or not, people believe it. People also believe if their kids are left alone for two seconds they will be kidnapped. The reality is kids are no more likely to be abducted now than they were in 1970. But media outlets love to scare the crap out of parents, so parents are scared. "Shark attack in South Africa! Denver residents want to know; are they next?".

After decades of helicopter parents and snow plow parents, it's no wonder young people can't operate independently.

[Prashun Patel]

I am certain it happens. To say that it happens frequently is what I question. I'm not negating your contacts' experience, just countering with my own.

Personally, if someone showed up with a parent at an interview, I'd turn them politely away.

Actually, I take it back. This DID happen once, but because the person interviewing for our warehouse position had to bring his mother because he was her primary care giver. She sat in the parking lot until I realized, then I invited her inside. In this case, the parent worked in the interviewees favor. To be fair, he was not Gen Z.

[Steve Demuth]

I sat on two "peer interview panels" when we were hiring another tech.
I seriously doubt that either the ethnicity and sex of the prospective techs would have stood out in my mind compared to the situation had one of them brought his/her parent to the interview.
THAT would have stood out, as in "what the...?... How bizarre."
What I'm saying is that if someone (HR/Hiring manager/etc) says a young "interviewee" brought his parent with him to the interview, I see no reason to doubt the person.

I probably did a poor job of making my point. I'm not saying that anybody was necessarily misreporting, but that you can't tell much about frequency from a question "have you every experienced ..." sent to a self-selected reporting group. That's for two reasons: first, as I was trying to illustrate with my Chinese-American example, hiring managers and HR professionals see tens to hundreds of interviewees over the course of a year in actively hiring organizations. If one or two of those hundreds brought their parent, then the answer to the question "have you had entry-level interviewee's show up to an interview with their parents?" is yes. So the rate for those reporting "yes" could actually be 1%, and the rate for the whole cohort of managers, where 1 in 5 answered yes, as small as 0.2% - not the 20% the article headline blared. Second, these kind of internet polls generally have a self-selecting bunch of responders. They send out 10000 requests for people in a profession to answer a questionnaire, and a few percent return it, so you get "800 responding hiring managers." But here's the thing: those tend to be people with something they want to report on, not the folks who are conducting business as usual. So you get a high rate of anomalous behavior reported, compared to the actual base rate.

So, I am not doubting your experience, but I do doubt that the survey results mean much about Gen Z applicants. In my 45 years of hiring, I found that every generation brought new perspectives and behaviors to interviews, but not that any were less suited to the task at hand, or generally less capable, or otherwise disabled. That's more or less the way the world works - I as a mid-century baby boomer approached the world differently from my "child of the depression" parents, and my kids certainly have engaged the world differently than I did. Stasis just isn't a thing in modern societies.

[Jim Becker]

Personal opinion here, but I think that's probably due to the recent tendency of parents to have their kids enrolled in every freaking extra-curricular activity imaginable, every spare hour of the week. Theoretically it's so the kids are busy enough to keep them out of trouble (like that has ever worked for any generation... ever) but it has the side effect of those kids having zero opportunity to get a job of their own. .
It's also affected by the very real situation that many of the jobs that high schoolers "traditionally" signed up for are now held by adults, including seniors. Labor laws around minors are a good thing because without them, things would be back to the serious exploitation that historically brought those laws to the table.

[Cameron Wood]

The math in that headline must be from either Artificial Intelligence or Complete Lack of Intelligence. If the survey results indicate that 1 in 5 employers had a recent graduate bring a parent to an interview, those employers would have to have 100% of the recent graduates bring parents in order to meet the 20% of New College Grads bringing parents with them as noted in the headline. Or the entire body of survey respondents would have to have only seen 1 recent grad each.

Just nit-picking on sensationalism in journalism!!


Not sure where that headline came from, but it is not the title, nor does that line appear in the story.

The actual statistic is plenty to riff on, however....

[John Goodin]

Statistics can be massaged and purposely or inadvertently manipulated to get an intended result. I doubt the accuracy of their findings.

However, I do see quite a few parents on a neighborhood social media app posting that their kid is looking for odd jobs or babysitting. While I occasionally hire a teen to do basic work around the house it is never from a post made by a mom. There are quite a few Gen Zs who do pretty good working the gig economy on social media. In particular many young men have done well pressure washing driveways and pool decks.

As far as kids not working. Many are involved in extracurricular activities that prevent working through the school year. In Texas, the way extracurriculars are run and the way in state college admissions are structured you just about need to an activity to get into many of the more competitive colleges. it is difficult to explain briefly but most extracurriculars are double blocked which means students spend 25 percent of their class time in football or band, etc. The easy A’s boost class rank and GPAs. In Texas kids who play football or basketball, etc spend twice as much time playing a game than in math class. I will refrain from the diversion and not discuss the number of academic courses taught by coaches who really don’t much care about anything other than sports. Makes my blood boil.

[Brian Runau]

I got played pretty well by employers when I was younger. I didn't have any "street smarts" about the tricks they use to screw you. Learned over time.

Brian

[Bill George]

Both my boys had jobs in High School, after school that is to pay for their toys. Both my granddaughters did also, no gifts or money from parents in either case. The parents today Give the Kids everything.... they do not need Jobs!!

[mike stenson]

Complaining is one of the few perks of getting old.:)

The irony is the people doing the complaining, are ultimately responsible for that which their complaining about.

[Stan Calow]

The irony is the people doing the complaining, are ultimately responsible for that which they're complaining about. Absolutely right. Guilty as charged. But it's other people's kids that are the problem, not mine. :)

[Steve Demuth]

The irony is the people doing the complaining, are ultimately responsible for that which their complaining about.

This thought has come to me during many different interactions with young people coming into the work force, and haunts me in darker reflective moments in retirement. If we're producing adults poorly prepared or unprepared for the world they are entering, that's not the fault of the students, but of the institutions and people who have brought them to that point - which of course means us oldsters, and perhaps especially, oldsters who had leadership roles in educating and raising the young people.

That said, I think an awful lot of the complaining is rather vapid - yeah, the younger generations are not just like we were, and we may need to change some of our expectations and the ways we do things to fit them fully into their new roles. That's hardly new. Past the surface layers of "they are different," I still encounter highly capable, highly motivated new entrants into the work force.

[mike stenson]

This thought has come to me during many different interactions with young people coming into the work force, and haunts me in darker reflective moments in retirement. If we're producing adults poorly prepared or unprepared for the world they are entering, that's not the fault of the students, but of the institutions and people who have brought them to that point - which of course means us oldsters, and perhaps especially, oldsters who had leadership roles in educating and raising the young people.

That said, I think an awful lot of the complaining is rather vapid - yeah, the younger generations are not just like we were, and we may need to change some of our expectations and the ways we do things to fit them fully into their new roles. That's hardly new. Past the surface layers of "they are different," I still encounter highly capable, highly motivated new entrants into the work force.

I agree. I'm currently mentoring several junior engineers. Both millenials and gen-zers. I'm a gen-xer. Really, I find that they're not so different. They just have a different point of view, largely one that was not their choice anyway. I'll be honest, in many ways we had it easier anyway.

So, from this slacker... The kids, they're alright. It's generally the "adults" that are the problem.

[Earl McLain]

At age 13, my oldest son made a mistake. Arrested, expelled from middle school, home detention, a year of probation. I introduced him to the owner of a machine shop, where he worked sorting hardware & organizing tool room 3 hours/night 3 nights a week (max allowable, even when not in school)--had to drive him 30 minjtes each way (2 hours total drive for me!!) to drop him off & pick him up. He used his checks to pay off his attorney, probation fees, and fines. He home-schooled until he stopped about grade 11 when he became kind of a semi-pro BMX rider. Went on to work fast food, a check cashing place, retail banking, selling hydraulic parts.

Now...he turned 38 yesterday, is a good husband and great dad of 2 kids. Along the way, did an online BS in technology & business, got his MBA about 8 years ago. Works as a senior project manager for the international division of a major corp--one step from using corporate aircraft to go to his offices in South America. Makes a great living, yet lives a great life.

Something about having to make your own way, being self-responsible and responsible to others...seems to strengthen the soul and build character. Always a bright kid, it was adversity and being force to pay for it that turned the corner in my son's life. Not a path i would encourage for any child (or parent!!), but proof that nose to the grindstone still can reap dividends!!

[andrew whicker]

I don't understand why (seemingly mainly baby boomers? )want kids to work in high school anyway. I ran track and xc. I was in winter running club. I played a ton of street basketball. I hung out with friends and laughed and screwed around. I had an absolute blast in hs. I did work in the summers and I did work one winter break.

But idk, if someone else took those breaks to travel w parents, play a sport etc, who cares?

After all, once you start working it's a looong road of working. Work isn't the end all be all meaning of life. I enjoy building stuff so I made it my living, but it's also not the entirety of who I am.

Before we are working full time adults we chase opportunities to work and after we are full time we chase time off.

I feel like it's that general idea of "I had it rough so you have to too!" thing that we all tend to do to each other.

[Patty Hann]

I don't understand why (seemingly mainly baby boomers? )want kids to work in high school anyway.....

Some kids will have to work part time if they want pocket money. They can't ask their parents for something that doesn't exist (extra money lying around).
I know that when I was in high school (well my whole life until I went in the Navy) if any of us 5 kids wanted spending money we had to [somehow] earn it.
There was simply no extra money to hand out to us.
If we wanted to play a sport that required buying stuff (shoes/rackets/gloves) we paid for it ourselves or we didn't play.

[andrew whicker]

I completely understand that and I can empathize with that situation. But we shouldn't be AIMING for that reality. That should hopefully not happen. It shouldn't be the norm.

If we aren't careful we find ourselves celebrating the things we should be trying to fix.

[Warren Lake]

at 11 had a paper route. After a year they gave you money they had held back., What a concept so at 12 bought a mini bike. Working just seemed normal after that. Got a better route two apartments instead of sub division start at the top work your way down much faster. Fair bit of weight in those bags on saturdays.

[Frederick Skelly]

I don't understand why (seemingly mainly baby boomers? )want kids to work in high school anyway. I ran track and xc. I was in winter running club. I played a ton of street basketball. I hung out with friends and laughed and screwed around. I had an absolute blast in hs. I did work in the summers and I did work one winter break.

But idk, if someone else took those breaks to travel w parents, play a sport etc, who cares?

After all, once you start working it's a looong road of working. Work isn't the end all be all meaning of life. I enjoy building stuff so I made it my living, but it's also not the entirety of who I am.

Before we are working full time adults we chase opportunities to work and after we are full time we chase time off.

I feel like it's that general idea of "I had it rough so you have to too!" thing that we all tend to do to each other.

I worked 30 hrs a week for much of high school. Paid for my jalopy car, my gas, my dates and things I wanted to buy. I still feel it was good for me. YMMV.

[Warren Lake]

good story Earl thanks for sharing it. We are all in this bowl of soup together and you taught your son lots and had to put out lots of time to do it. You could teach a few people I know about integrity.

[roger wiegand]

Utterly inconsistent with my experience, which is admittedly getting to be a few years out of date. I found the kids I was hiring for biotech jobs to be incredibly well prepared and poised far beyond anything I remember of myself and my cohort growing up and moving into first jobs. Their level of sophistication in their questions and thinking about what they wanted to do, why, and how far surpassed anything I would have been capable at that age. Typically their technical knowledge and experience was far ahead of where new hires were 30-40 years ago. I see the same thing now with high school kids I have the opportunity to interact with now. Of course there are the goofballs and screw-ups, but on average I'm finding kids who are scary bright, articulate, and motivated. Maybe I'm just becoming a serious dim bulb in my advancing years so everyone just seems brighter (but I don't think so).

[mike stenson]

I worked 30 hrs a week for much of high school. Paid for my jalopy car, my gas, my dates and things I wanted to buy. I still feel it was good for me. YMMV.

Those jobs, they don't exist.

Mostly because they're being filled by adults. That economy, is gone, dead, killed intentionally.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Utterly inconsistent with my experience, which is admittedly getting to be a few years out of date. I found the kids I was hiring for biotech jobs to be incredibly well prepared and poised far beyond anything I remember of myself and my cohort growing up and moving into first jobs. Their level of sophistication in their questions and thinking about what they wanted to do, why, and how far surpassed anything I would have been capable at that age. Typically their technical knowledge and experience was far ahead of where new hires were 30-40 years ago. I see the same thing now with high school kids I have the opportunity to interact with now. Of course there are the goofballs and screw-ups, but on average I'm finding kids who are scary bright, articulate, and motivated. Maybe I'm just becoming a serious dim bulb in my advancing years so everyone just seems brighter (but I don't think so).
The kids who you describe almost certainly spent multiple years working, they just did so for free. Instead of being paid for their entry level work, they probably started as “volunteers” in high school before shifting graduating to a series of unpaid “internships.”

You probably are not seeing the kids the article describes because your hiring process has already screened them out.

[Jim Becker]

I don't understand why (seemingly mainly baby boomers? )want kids to work in high school anyway. I ran track and xc. I was in winter running club. I played a ton of street basketball. I hung out with friends and laughed and screwed around. I had an absolute blast in hs. I did work in the summers and I did work one winter break..
I only did summer work, myself. Between school work, football and all the musical activities I was in, working during the school year was not going to happen. As I noted previously, my younger daughter did work during middle school and high school but it was a reasonable number of hours. It's how she funded gas and a contribution for for auto insurance once she was driving, too. Every kids' situation is different.

[Bill George]

Those jobs, they don't exist.

Mostly because they're being filled by adults. That economy, is gone, dead, killed intentionally.

Not around here!! We are at like 3.5% unemployment rate.... lots of jobs here, IF you want to work.

[Pat Germain]

I agree adults all too often throw shade on young people. But I do see some definite differences in the young people I work with compared to my generation.

I work at a Space Force Base. Until recently, electronic devices were not permitted inside the building. No Fitbits. No cell phones. No bluetooth headphones. No kidding. Furthermore, all social media sites are blocked on the network. No Facebook, no "X", no YouTube, no TikTok. No kidding.

Every year it became more and more difficult to hire and retain people to work in this building. Younger people simply could not adjust to being without their mobile phones all day. And they hated not being able to access social media. I've heard people complain about being unable to wear a smart watch or Fitbit, but I don't know how big of a deal that is.

So last year the policy changed. We can now bring mobile phones into the building, but not into the workspace. Phones had to placed in lockers in common areas. Comically, management placed about 100 lockers for over a thousand people. So, of course, mobile phones were placed on top of the lockers. They were placed on tables beside the lockers. They were literally sitting on the floor next to the lockers.

And now the common areas are virtual Internet cafes. People are always in these areas staring at their phones. I see some older folks doing this, but the vast majority are young people.

Relating to this issue, a few years ago I saw an interview with a Realtor during a TV news story about housing. One point she made which I found very insteresting was if she showed a young couple a house where broadband Internet was not available, it was an immediate, "Now way!". She said, "If the house doesn't have broadband, it may as well not have running water."

So anyway, I do think that's a very big difference between older and younger generations. I certainly like my Internet access. And I like having my mobile phone when I'm out and about. But it's not a big deal if I don't have Internet or phone acess. For younger people, this tends to be a very big deal.

[Jim Becker]

So anyway, I do think that's a very big difference between older and younger generations. I certainly like my Internet access. And I like having my mobile phone when I'm out and about. But it's not a big deal if I don't have Internet or phone acess. For younger people, this tends to be a very big deal.
I'm about to turn 67 in a couple of days. I also would not consider a home in an area where (good) broadband isn't available. (And I do mean good broadband, not what some carriers call "broadband" out there) I worked in tech for most of my 38+ years in the workforce and even in retirement, a lot of my life revolves around connectivity. But yes, for my generation and even the one after it, this is less of a factor than it is for current generations who grew up "connected".

[Pat Germain]

I'm about to turn 67 in a couple of days. I also would not consider a home in an area where (good) broadband isn't available. (And I do mean good broadband, not what some carriers call "broadband" out there) I worked in tech for most of my 38+ years in the workforce and even in retirement, a lot of my life revolves around connectivity. But yes, for my generation and even the one after it, this is less of a factor than it is for current generations who grew up "connected".

You know, I'm probably in the same category when it comes to a home with broadband. Mrs. Pat really likes to watch a TV show when she gets home from work. And she really likes to watch movies at home on the weekends. All my TV viewing is streamed via broadband.

When I was looking for another house a few years ago, I thought I wanted something in a rural area with few people and some acreage. Then I started thinking about it and realized that would mean no city water, no city sewer, no natural gas and no broadband. Oh, and no paved roads. Suddenly, it didn't seem so attractive. I had to accept the fact that I'm a suburban brat. I lived in a very remote, rural area of Oklahoma when I was in high school. We had constant issues with frozen pipes, broken well, broken septic, trying to get the propane tank filled and sliding all over muddy roads. I know some people really like all that stuff. As for me, no thanks. My decision was confirmed when my coworker recently told me he spent over $45,000 having a new septic system installed. He had to pay for engineering surveys, grading, perk tests, trenching and other things in addition to the tank and piping. It ain't like the old days when you could just dig a hole in the ground, cap it and call it good; or just build an outhouse. :)

[Jim Becker]

^^ Tru dat!!!

[Frederick Skelly]

Those jobs, they don't exist.

Mostly because they're being filled by adults. That economy, is gone, dead, killed intentionally.

I think it may be different here than where you live Mike. There’s work for high schoolers here.

[Jerome Stanek]

My mom and dad had a greenhouse that we grew tomatos for a living. I started making baskets at 7 and had to work in the grennhouse until I moved out after high school. Their were 6 of us kids and we all had jobs to do.

[Earl McLain]

You know, I'm probably in the same category when it comes to a home with broadband. Mrs. Pat really likes to watch a TV show when she gets home from work. And she really likes to watch movies at home on the weekends. All my TV viewing is streamed via broadband.

When I was looking for another house a few years ago, I thought I wanted something in a rural area with few people and some acreage. Then I started thinking about it and realized that would mean no city water, no city sewer, no natural gas and no broadband. Oh, and no paved roads. Suddenly, it didn't seem so attractive. I had to accept the fact that I'm a suburban brat. I lived in a very remote, rural area of Oklahoma when I was in high school. We had constant issues with frozen pipes, broken well, broken septic, trying to get the propane tank filled and sliding all over muddy roads. I know some people really like all that stuff. As for me, no thanks. My decision was confirmed when my coworker recently told me he spent over $45,000 having a new septic system installed. He had to pay for engineering surveys, grading, perk tests, trenching and other things in addition to the tank and piping. It ain't like the old days when you could just dig a hole in the ground, cap it and call it good; or just build an outhouse. :)

$45,000 for a septic?? We had ours done last summer for $12,000 including getting some old cast iron out of the basement, it was another $500 for the soil survey and $150 for the permit. Of course...we have 12" of loam on top of 60" or so of sand, and the glaciers took care of flattening the land before retreating to become Lake Michigan--so the geography may have some impact on pricing. The soil scientist was a young man from the Tennessee mountains--i asked what brought him up to NW Indiana. He said the starting wage was what he thought he was worth, and that our soil structure was some of the best in the country and he loved working with it. Before he started coring, he told me our loam layer would be between 12" and 13"--we measured actual to be 12.5".
Oldest son works from home about 75% of the time, managing the distribution logistics platform (for beverages) on 2 other continents. They moved to where they wanted to be (pretty rural), and he rented an office (really a cubicle) in town for broadband access for a few years until he got fiber to the house. Just a hiccup in his eyes.

[Pat Germain]

$45,000 for a septic?? We had ours done last summer for $12,000 including getting some old cast iron out of the basement, it was another $500 for the soil survey and $150 for the permit. Of course...we have 12" of loam on top of 60" or so of sand, and the glaciers took care of flattening the land before retreating to become Lake Michigan--so the geography may have some impact on pricing. The soil scientist was a young man from the Tennessee mountains--i asked what brought him up to NW Indiana. He said the starting wage was what he thought he was worth, and that our soil structure was some of the best in the country and he loved working with it. Before he started coring, he told me our loam layer would be between 12" and 13"--we measured actual to be 12.5".
Oldest son works from home about 75% of the time, managing the distribution logistics platform (for beverages) on 2 other continents. They moved to where they wanted to be (pretty rural), and he rented an office (really a cubicle) in town for broadband access for a few years until he got fiber to the house. Just a hiccup in his eyes.

Colorado is different. I expect it's even more expensive in California.

[Jerome Stanek]

Colorado is different. I expect it's even more expensive in California.

In California they just do their business on the sidewalk

[Bill Dufour]

A few years ago San Francisco passed a law that naked people had to put down a towel before sitting on a park bench. I guess there are enough naked people running around they needed to pass such a law.
Bil lD

[Jim Becker]

The whacko stereotypes of people who (likely don't) live in certain areas do not serve this thread at all...so let's stop with that please.

Jim
Forum Moderator

[Warren Lake]

first time i pulled into San Fran people approached me for money buying gas. i was to see my friends daughter who was a big deal breast cancer researcher there then after many years came to toronto to the top cancer hospital. The people there didnt threaten me and I wasnt in the mood to let them if they did.

I saw you tubes of San Fran maybe month ago and it way less than stellar. You may not want want that posted but im glad I saw it id likely never go there again. Look up LA you will the same, then how half a gazzilion people have left. I had stellar time there but was in santa Monica Brentwood Culver city Mission Viejo san juan Capistrano and all of those places were fine. Nice to run into movie people at the grocery store.

[Jason Hennry]

Well, looks like the struggle is real for some Gen Z grads – bringing parents to job interviews and eye contact issues. Time for a crash course in adulting! 😅