Why millennials can't land jobs

[JM Aggie08]

i showed up for an interview (this was for a assistant manager job in a casino's restaurant) wearing casual clothes, and was turned down and told this was because of how i dressed.

here is what i was wearing (i still remember)

Spoiler

full-grain leather, limited run Stylelab (Diesel) jacket
tailored italian silk shirt
azure t-shirt from satellite records, nyc
The Banks Gold (Nixon) limited run watch
Gucci belt
Levis white 505 (out of production) thin leg
Air Jordan shoes
hair by Vidal Sassoon Saloon, perfume by guerlain.

thats about two grand worth of stuff, *if* you can get it.

You're kidding...

 

[IndyColtsFan]

TBH id go back to doing manual labor if it paid better

i actually enjoy it.

I honestly wouldn't mind going into a trade, but I'm too old to lift, lug, etc. At this point though, I'm probably too old to switch (I'll be 44 later this year) and just need to ride the IT wave as long as possible. I am nervous about hitting 50 and needing to possibly find other employment, though.

 

[Sinsear]

You know what? Fuck the assholes with cushy, pointless jobs who like to judge everyone else.


According to every fucking article on the web I have done EVERYTHING correctly at my last 30 or so interviews. Still not hired.

Maybe it never occurred to them the economy is shit and companies only hire people who are practically perfect for the job at hand instead of someone who's good and can learn.
How the fuck is anyone supposed to advance and gain experience in that kind of system?

Maybe you're just a loser

 

[Chapbass]

Has this thread really gone 12 pages in one day? Man, people love jump in on a good ol fashioned bitch session.

 

[Virge_]

Professionalism: a lost art.

I think it's actually just changing times. As usual the old and inundated will refuse to adapt and the progressive will change.

I actually feel bad for these guys, in the statistically likely event that their entire organization goes bankrupt they're going to be fucked trying to integrate into a modern workforce.

 

[Mixolydian]

Not really. It largely depends on major.

Most of us have done hot, sweaty, physical work before and have no desire to do menial labor like that again. That's what high school and college kids can do.

That's what trades are. Some people do it all their lives and make damn good money doing it. Contrary to popular belief, you CAN be successful without going to college and spending your career in an office. The only downside is you might have to get a little dirty.

 

[sze5003]

Maybe you're just a loser

Face it economy blows right now and it also depends on your location. Yes most companies hire those that are perfect for a position because they can't afford to have someone trained and learn. He may be doing everything right at interviews he's just not interviewing at the right places.

 

[Ns1]

I think it's actually just changing times. As usual the old and inundated will refuse to adapt and the progressive will change.

No. It doesn't.

 

[BikeJunkie]

TBH id go back to doing manual labor if it paid better

i actually enjoy it.

Honestly I would, too. I actually work standing up these days. I ***HATE*** sitting at a desk. If I could support my family whilst running a stockroom, doing landscaping, framing houses, I'd do it in a heartbeat:

- Better physical fitness as a result of the job
- Get to leave the job at the job (what I wouldn't give...)
- Fresh air (except for the stockroom scenario)

 

[BikeJunkie]

I honestly wouldn't mind going into a trade, but I'm too old to lift, lug, etc. At this point though, I'm probably too old to switch (I'll be 44 later this year) and just need to ride the IT wave as long as possible. I am nervous about hitting 50 and needing to possibly find other employment, though.

That's pretty much what I'm doing: riding the IT wave :thumbsup:

 

[evident]

About suits: All of my jobs out of college have been at extremely casual places, but I wore suits to each and every job interview I went on. For me, It's not about hiding something or compensating for a weakness, it's about telling the person interviewing me, "Hey, I give a shit".

this this this this. Im shocked when i hear that not all people dont wear a suit or at least dress slacks and a button shirt to an interview.

 

[reallyscrued]

Employed millennial, got job lined up after college.

My University trained us in interviewing as much as they did in course material...I don't know how anyone could make these mistakes unless they lied about where they went to college (assuming they are college Grads)

...but honestly...I don't get it. So you wear Jeans and a Polo? They got dismissed for that? So you don't bring a paper copy resume? What dinosaurs do these things even matter to? Don't wanna get your boss coffee? Grounds for being fired, really? Is that in her job description?

No wonder companies in the silicon valley don't want to hire anyone over 30. I say you old timers need to get over your own selves.

Whatever. I'm gonna make my own job market. With blackjack. And hookers.

 

[Mai72]

I just had an interview last night with a school in Shanghai, China. It was my first Skype interview so I didn't know what to expect. I wore a new black blazer that I purchased in South Korea. Underneath the blazer I had on a blue dress shirt and a blue striped tie. Not having to travel to conduct the interview was awesome.

I think some of you guys are missing the point. When you walk into a building to conduct the interview you are selling yourself. If a person walks in who is dressed sloppily it speaks volumes about the person. First impressions are very important. This is not the time to dress creatively, unless you are applying for a job in the Arts. Even then I would tone it down. You can always ask about the dress code once you've secured the job.

 

[SP33Demon]

You know what? Fuck the assholes with cushy, pointless jobs who like to judge everyone else.


According to every fucking article on the web I have done EVERYTHING correctly at my last 30 or so interviews. Still not hired.

Maybe it never occurred to them the economy is shit and companies only hire people who are practically perfect for the job at hand instead of someone who's good and can learn.
How the fuck is anyone supposed to advance and gain experience in that kind of system?

Shorty, you are in one of the best job markets in the country. You must be doing something wrong. If you want to meet up, shoot me a PM and I can grill/interview you. I'm actually near MP 3-4 days a week.

 

[reallyscrued]

I just had an interview last night with a school in Shanghai, China. It was my first Skype interview so I didn't know what to expect. I wore a new black blazer that I purchased in South Korea. Underneath the blazer I had on a blue dress shirt and a blue striped tie. Not having to travel to conduct the interview was awesome.

I think some of you guys are missing the point. When you walk into a building to conduct the interview you are selling yourself. If a person walks in who is dressed sloppily it speaks volumes about the person. First impressions are very important. This is not the time to dress creatively, unless you are applying for a job in the Arts. Even then I would tone it down. You can always ask about the dress code once you've secured the job.

These ideas need to die unless you are in the business of Sales. They will continue to be perpetuated as long as it matters to people, but I can find no reason to find why it should functionally matter.

I'll tell you this: If I ever am put in a position to interview someone for a job where the dress code is lax and them looking good in a suit has nothing to do with their day to day duties, I would not immediately dismiss them.

 

[BikeJunkie]

...but honestly...I don't get it. So you wear Jeans and a Polo? They got dismissed for that? So you don't bring a paper copy resume? What dinosaurs do these things even matter to? Don't wanna get your boss coffee? Grounds for being fired, really? Is that in her job description?

How I present myself has had a huge impact on my career; especially in the beginning when I didn't have experience and demonstrated successes that could speak for themselves. I routinely got comments about my maturity, professionalism, etc. When you show up to an interview and hand out copies of your resume printed on cream stock paper, you'd be amazed by the looks you'll get. With hardly any effort at all, you've just made an impression that perhaps many of your competitors failed to make.

All the arguments I hear in this thread that are similar to yours boil down to one thing: "what's the point; why should I have to do it." The point is, how fucking stupid is it to not go the extra mile or two when you're looking for work? Who cares if it "matters" in the strictest sense of the word. Like purebeast said, if I have two otherwise equal candidates, and one showed up in a suit and the other in jeans, I'm hiring the suit every time. Why the hell wouldn't I???

You know what your more experienced peers hear when you say "why do I need to do this. why do I need to do that."? We hear your future self saying "that's not my job" when we get into a crunch and need an extra push by our staff to meet a deadline. It doesn't matter if the deadline itself was unreasonable; it still needs to be met. And these things that we're discussing about interviewing are cues that tell us whether you'll be help or hindrance when that time comes.

No wonder companies in the silicon valley don't want to hire anyone over 30. I say you old timers need to get over your own selves.

Us "oldtimers" have been watching companies implode on themselves in SV for the last decade. I wonder if there's any correlation between that and these whipper snappers' lack of work ethic :hmm:

I think the larger issue is just plain pride. "Why should I get coffee???" Probably a fair question, but this isn't a perfect world. When I was getting my start, I didn't shove my pride in everyone's faces. No one gave a fuck about my pride. If I were to be habitually late to work, no manager I had would have asked himself "what am I doing wrong that BikeJunkie can't get here before 10am?" I did my job to the best of my ability and I took whatever opportunities I could find - or even make - to set myself apart. Was I ever asked to get my boss coffee? Yep. Did I bitch about it in my head but do it anyway? Sure did. Within a year or two of beginning my career, I was a lead developer. Then manager. Then architect. Then manager again. I can pretty much take my pick of developer/manager/architect at this point in my career because I don't bitch about being asked to do shit that only minorly dents my pride.

So to the millenials who are too cool to wear a suit to an interview, set their cell phone down, etc., I say get over your own selves.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

That's what trades are. Some people do it all their lives and make damn good money doing it. Contrary to popular belief, you CAN be successful without going to college and spending your career in an office. The only downside is you might have to get a little dirty.

Nothing wrong with a trade like electrician, plumber, etc.

 

[SP33Demon]

These ideas need to die unless you are in the business of Sales. They will continue to be perpetuated as long as it matters to people, but I can find no reason to find why it should functionally matter.

I'll tell you this: If I ever am put in a position to interview someone for a job where the dress code is lax and them looking good in a suit has nothing to do with their day to day duties, I would not immediately dismiss them.

Nobody will ever be penalized for trying to impress the interviewer, nor trying harder than the competition. In most industries such energy expenditure is often rewarded. I've found there are two camps: those who do the bare minimum and those who don't (why am I having flashbacks of Office Space and Flair, ha). Guess which is usually promoted to manager?

I think the OP's grudge is that he's seen mostly millenials in the bare minimum camp, and that could very well be true on a general scale if some of the evidence in this thread is true (e.g. Adecco survey that millenials didn't get the job due to not dressing up). I've seen similar attitudes in millenials, most often that they are absolutely attached to their phones and gadgets, even during social gatherings. Even a group I meet with once a week (mostly millenials) are like that, but even they would agree with the OP's rules. So not all are like that (shitty, unprofessional attitude). It's a mixed basket.

 

[Imp]

I just had an interview last night with a school in Shanghai, China. It was my first Skype interview so I didn't know what to expect. I wore a new black blazer that I purchased in South Korea. Underneath the blazer I had on a blue dress shirt and a blue striped tie. Not having to travel to conduct the interview was awesome.

I think some of you guys are missing the point. When you walk into a building to conduct the interview you are selling yourself. If a person walks in who is dressed sloppily it speaks volumes about the person. First impressions are very important. This is not the time to dress creatively, unless you are applying for a job in the Arts. Even then I would tone it down. You can always ask about the dress code once you've secured the job.

I don't think the point's being missed. I think "their" point is that all of that stuff is superficial bullshit. How one dresses doesn't affect one's skill or ability to complete a job. And instead of blindly accepting what is "standard" and "proper", these "millennials" (bullshit term because I've seen old people do the same) are rebelling or directly challenging it.

The Desscendants (based on a book written by a resident, or even native, of Hawaii) with George Clooney summed it up nicely in the monologue: those people in Hawaiian shirts and sandals, those dressed like bums are businessmen and executives.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Nobody will ever be penalized for trying to impress the interviewer, nor trying harder than the competition.

This is the point in a nutshell.

 

[Veliko]

How I present myself has had a huge impact on my career; especially in the beginning when I didn't have experience and demonstrated successes that could speak for themselves. I routinely got comments about my maturity, professionalism, etc. When you show up to an interview and hand out copies of your resume printed on cream stock paper, you'd be amazed by the looks you'll get. With hardly any effort at all, you've just made an impression that perhaps many of your competitors failed to make.

I see we're going down the route of self-aggrandising bullshit life stories.

I've been praised on my work and professionalism, all without turning up to an interview with copies of my CV etched onto the dried skin of a crocodile.

All the arguments I hear in this thread that are similar to yours boil down to one thing: "what's the point; why should I have to do it." The point is, how fucking stupid is it to not go the extra mile or two when you're looking for work? Who cares if it "matters" in the strictest sense of the word. Like purebeast said, if I have two otherwise equal candidates, and one showed up in a suit and the other in jeans, I'm hiring the suit every time. Why the hell wouldn't I???

Who has actually said that they turn up to interviews in jeans?

You know what your more experienced peers hear when you say "why do I need to do this. why do I need to do that."? We hear your future self saying "that's not my job" when we get into a crunch and need an extra push by our staff to meet a deadline. It doesn't matter if the deadline itself was unreasonable; it still needs to be met. And these things that we're discussing about interviewing are cues that tell us whether you'll be help or hindrance when that time comes.

Of course it matters if the deadline is reasonable, it's the entire point of working out a schedule that works.

Us "oldtimers" have been watching companies implode on themselves in SV for the last decade. I wonder if there's any correlation between that and these whipper snappers' lack of work ethic :hmm:

No, because companies have been imploding for centuries rather than it being a recent thing only witness in the last decade or so.

I think the larger issue is just plain pride. "Why should I get coffee???" Probably a fair question, but this isn't a perfect world. When I was getting my start, I didn't shove my pride in everyone's faces. No one gave a fuck about my pride. If I were to be habitually late to work, no manager I had would have asked himself "what am I doing wrong that BikeJunkie can't get here before 10am?" I did my job to the best of my ability and I took whatever opportunities I could find - or even make - to set myself apart. Was I ever asked to get my boss coffee? Yep. Did I bitch about it in my head but do it anyway? Sure did. Within a year or two of beginning my career, I was a lead developer. Then manager. Then architect. Then manager again. I can pretty much take my pick of developer/manager/architect at this point in my career because I don't bitch about being asked to do shit that only minorly dents my pride.

More self-aggrandising bullshit life stories.

 

[Veliko]

Nobody will ever be penalized for trying to impress the interviewer, nor trying harder than the competition. In most industries such energy expenditure is often rewarded. I've found there are two camps: those who do the bare minimum and those who don't (why am I having flashbacks of Office Space and Flair, ha). Guess which is usually promoted to manager?

Ah, such naivety.

 

[Ruptga]

Can we all just get along?

 

[Mixolydian]

hot, sweaty, physical work ... That's what high school and college kids can do.

Nothing wrong with a trade like electrician, plumber, etc.

clearly you have no idea what those jobs are.

 

[BoberFett]

These ideas need to die unless you are in the business of Sales. They will continue to be perpetuated as long as it matters to people, but I can find no reason to find why it should functionally matter.

I'll tell you this: If I ever am put in a position to interview someone for a job where the dress code is lax and them looking good in a suit has nothing to do with their day to day duties, I would not immediately dismiss them.

If you can't put forth a tiny bit of effort to convince me that I should hire you by dressing over and above what's required for the position JUST ONCE, why should I expect you to put forth any effort at all?