Tricky article for your readers ... on the one hand, most Americans have to deal with a corporate culture that, in it's valuation of status and posturing over real productivity, kills off people's natural drive to innovate - either through ignoring them, overloading them with busywork, or getting rid of them on some minor infraction. So in it's saying that our corporate culture drains the productive capacity of our country, it's entirely correct. However, the examples the author gives don't really give us the sense that these are very productive people. Corporations won't, and shouldn't, pay people to translate German literature, because it isn't profitable. And the whoever with a wine blog should just move out to Santa Barbara and get a job at a winery.
The German guy with the brandy distillery sounds pretty cool, and maybe some of her friends doing contract work will turn out to be serious entrepreneurs. But as for the writer herself, when she says:
"I’ve thought seriously about changing my LinkedIn profile blurb to something like, “My career goal is to gain a position that energizes, excites, challenges, and values me, so that I can continue to develop my skills and talents, and grow as a person.” I wonder if that would catch anyone’s eye?"
...it would certainly catch MY eye, and would raise my "Do Not Hire This Person" flag.
What strikes me is that the super awesome writer and her fabulous social circle that she just loves to death struggle to find that magical job to save them from their own self-absorption; a "story" that seems to be cut straight out of OKCupid. Awesome women like these seem to view and engage in the dating market just as they do in the employment market. I've just dipped my toe in the infinity pool of solipsism called online dating and the tone, language, and desire (entitlement) read just the same.
Its sad that people still cannot put two and two together and realize that a college degree does not guarantee a job or career. For that you will have to put some comfortable shoes on and start walking the beat. The job situation is not good for these young people trying to make a mark on the world.
Following the go to college and get a good job has become out dated. People may want to look outside our borders. I believe it will get to a point that our youth will begin to leave the country and work somewhere else where more opportunities are available for them.
The issue gets even harder when you spend thousands of dollars getting a worthless degree. I know some Business Admin degree holder who is making $10.00 an hour which is shit money in the northeast. I wounder how is he paying off his student loans.
Unfortunately the streets here are no longer paved in gold but in lead.
The author's comment about wanting excitement and challenge would send up red flags for many companies because, let's face it, most entry level positions may have interest aspects to those jobs, but they also have 90 to 95% monotonous tasks that a boring as hell but need a diligent person to get it 100% right, which means anyone like her who would 'feel' unchallenged after having to do the same thing more than twice would probably be in the wind, along with your investment in her training and in her. Aspire to management or to great things, sure, but I respect people who acknowledge that they need to get X years experience at their current level BEFORE declaring they deserve to take over the business.
Yeah, something tells me that those precious little snowflakes don't really give a hoot about not having "positions that don’t take full advantage of what they’ve got to offer" or wanting "to do more work and use their talents to the maximum – so that they can grow as people and employees".
They want the prestige positions & the prestige pay, but I would be willing to bet that they don't necessarily want to do all that prestige work. After two months of getting the position they want, they would become just as unproductive as the people they replaced.
Notice the difference between the author and the German distiller...
The distiller - “here’s something I could do, and I think I’ll just do it.”
The author - "just hoping and waiting for either the next better job outside, or some radical shift inside"
One can't help but respect the distiller for seeing an opportunity, taking it, and profiting off the fruit of his labor. He did not sit around and think "I hope someone does something with all those wasted apples". Plus, kudos must always be given for craft liquor.
Of the author's super amazing friends mentioned at the end, at least the swimsuit designer is staking her own claim to the world. Yes, she is struggling, but so do all entrepreneurial people at some point. The question is, does she throw herself full-tilt into her design work, or does she keep one foot on the corporate ladder to pay the bills. That is where success will be defined.
The author of the Globe and Mail article managed to write an entire page with only 2 paragraphs of actual content - the German immigrant who started his own apple distillery. The reason for the lack of career progression on the part of the author and her friends should be quite obvious.
@David is right on the money. I would NEVER hire this snowflake, and I have interviewed a ton of them.
Why wouldn't I hire someone like her?
Simple: the career is all about HER.
The job is a contract between two parties: the worker and the hiring company. It is a two-way street: I will provide my labor as the worker and the company will provide compensation. That is IT. Granted, if the company's management was smart, they would figure out that people are important parts of the operation and need to be able to excel, create, produce and innovate, but that is a different discussion.
Her simple statement sums it all up:
“MY career goal is to gain a position that energizes, excites, challenges, and values ME, so that I can continue to develop MY skills and talents, and grow as a person.”
My, me, I, and my....I would next her ass as soon as I looked at her resume after laughing at the degree and experience. What are you going to do for me? Are you going to develop a set of plans or analysis fast enough and without mistakes? Are you going to help me put together a package to deliver to clients or stakeholders when I need it? Can I take you to meetings with clients and stakeholders and help land new business or get their approval on the project? ARE YOU GOING TO HELP GET THE PROJECT DONE FASTER AND MORE EFFICIENTLY?
No....not at all.
No because everything is about you.
No because you are a spoiled, entitled ass who needs me to help you get a job "that challenges you and makes you a better person" more than you need to help me develop and deliver a productor get new business.
No because you didn't get a STEM degree.
No because you are getting nexted EVERY time.
Corporations are not clean and pure as the wind-driven snow, but there are clearly problems with the next generation of workers. Over-educated, under-achieving and entitled as the day is long.
I agree with you. But its actually worse than you say. The Author never says any specifics about what she and her friends do for a living or about their educational backgrounds. Her article, other than the 2 paragraphs about the German immigrant guy, is complete devoid of any details at all. It's all nothing more than vacuous ranting and raving.
There's a grain of truth to the story. There are, to be sure, plenty of firms with plenty of old fogies who won't move over.
Simple reason why. The taxman got half of every cent they ever earned, and their wives (past and present) squandered the other half and then some, along with the loot from their own make-work jobs (financed, of course, by the taxman). Only the top brass will get to retire and enjoy the decline in anything resembling the comfort they're accustomed to. That's because they've made more money than their mistresses could ever spend and figured out long ago how to avoid taxes (hint: campaign contributions). Middle management isn't going anywhere, unless it's in a coffin. They can't afford to.
This stuff stinks of a pampered middle-class girl kicked in the teeth by reality. My last dime says her mom encouraged her to "follow her dreams" while spending the old man's money on rooms full of futniture nobody's allowed sit on. Maybe next time she goes to see her mom she ought to ask how much the furniture cost.
As a 25 yr. Construction & Engineering professional (who is now is 3rd yr. Philosophy at a downtown liberal arts university), I can tell you that today's students are without a clue on the economic ramifications of an Arts education. Synopsis? $60,000 of debt, and NO chance of a decent paying job (due to, primarily, a lack of available vacancy, from the demographic clogging effect. I feel sorry for them (though, by the time they're 35-40, openings in mgmt may finally develop) YT Niall from Winnipeg
Tricky article for your readers ... on the one hand, most Americans have to deal with a corporate culture that, in it's valuation of status and posturing over real productivity, kills off people's natural drive to innovate - either through ignoring them, overloading them with busywork, or getting rid of them on some minor infraction. So in it's saying that our corporate culture drains the productive capacity of our country, it's entirely correct. However, the examples the author gives don't really give us the sense that these are very productive people. Corporations won't, and shouldn't, pay people to translate German literature, because it isn't profitable. And the whoever with a wine blog should just move out to Santa Barbara and get a job at a winery.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to induct poor little Katie into the infantry for a three year contract. No whinging allowed there. Pay is pretty good too.
ReplyDeleteGood Lord; we truly are Doomed. Enjoy the Decline!
ReplyDeleteThe German guy with the brandy distillery sounds pretty cool, and maybe some of her friends doing contract work will turn out to be serious entrepreneurs. But as for the writer herself, when she says:
ReplyDelete"I’ve thought seriously about changing my LinkedIn profile blurb to something like, “My career goal is to gain a position that energizes, excites, challenges, and values me, so that I can continue to develop my skills and talents, and grow as a person.” I wonder if that would catch anyone’s eye?"
...it would certainly catch MY eye, and would raise my "Do Not Hire This Person" flag.
What strikes me is that the super awesome writer and her fabulous social circle that she just loves to death struggle to find that magical job to save them from their own self-absorption; a "story" that seems to be cut straight out of OKCupid. Awesome women like these seem to view and engage in the dating market just as they do in the employment market. I've just dipped my toe in the infinity pool of solipsism called online dating and the tone, language, and desire (entitlement) read just the same.
ReplyDeleteIts sad that people still cannot put two and two together and realize that a college degree does not guarantee a job or career. For that you will have to put some comfortable shoes on and start walking the beat. The job situation is not good for these young people trying to make a mark on the world.
ReplyDeleteFollowing the go to college and get a good job has become out dated. People may want to look outside our borders. I believe it will get to a point that our youth will begin to leave the country and work somewhere else where more opportunities are available for them.
The issue gets even harder when you spend thousands of dollars getting a worthless degree. I know some Business Admin degree holder who is making $10.00 an hour which is shit money in the northeast. I wounder how is he paying off his student loans.
Unfortunately the streets here are no longer paved in gold but in lead.
The author's comment about wanting excitement and challenge would send up red flags for many companies because, let's face it, most entry level positions may have interest aspects to those jobs, but they also have 90 to 95% monotonous tasks that a boring as hell but need a diligent person to get it 100% right, which means anyone like her who would 'feel' unchallenged after having to do the same thing more than twice would probably be in the wind, along with your investment in her training and in her.
ReplyDeleteAspire to management or to great things, sure, but I respect people who acknowledge that they need to get X years experience at their current level BEFORE declaring they deserve to take over the business.
Hey wait a minute. Aren't these the same awesome amazing friends who can't seem to find MEN worthy of their awesomeness? Now jobs too?
ReplyDeleteLegends in their own minds, methinks.
Yeah, something tells me that those precious little snowflakes don't really give a hoot about not having "positions that don’t take full advantage of what they’ve got to offer" or wanting "to do more work and use their talents to the maximum – so that they can grow as people and employees".
ReplyDeleteThey want the prestige positions & the prestige pay, but I would be willing to bet that they don't necessarily want to do all that prestige work. After two months of getting the position they want, they would become just as unproductive as the people they replaced.
They don't even know why this is happening to them! ARRRGH!!!!
ReplyDeleteNotice the difference between the author and the German distiller...
ReplyDeleteThe distiller - “here’s something I could do, and I think I’ll just do it.”
The author - "just hoping and waiting for either the next better job outside, or some radical shift inside"
One can't help but respect the distiller for seeing an opportunity, taking it, and profiting off the fruit of his labor. He did not sit around and think "I hope someone does something with all those wasted apples". Plus, kudos must always be given for craft liquor.
Of the author's super amazing friends mentioned at the end, at least the swimsuit designer is staking her own claim to the world. Yes, she is struggling, but so do all entrepreneurial people at some point. The question is, does she throw herself full-tilt into her design work, or does she keep one foot on the corporate ladder to pay the bills. That is where success will be defined.
The author of the Globe and Mail article managed to write an entire page with only 2 paragraphs of actual content - the German immigrant who started his own apple distillery. The reason for the lack of career progression on the part of the author and her friends should be quite obvious.
ReplyDelete@David is right on the money. I would NEVER hire this snowflake, and I have interviewed a ton of them.
ReplyDeleteWhy wouldn't I hire someone like her?
Simple: the career is all about HER.
The job is a contract between two parties: the worker and the hiring company. It is a two-way street: I will provide my labor as the worker and the company will provide compensation. That is IT. Granted, if the company's management was smart, they would figure out that people are important parts of the operation and need to be able to excel, create, produce and innovate, but that is a different discussion.
Her simple statement sums it all up:
“MY career goal is to gain a position that energizes, excites, challenges, and values ME, so that I can continue to develop MY skills and talents, and grow as a person.”
My, me, I, and my....I would next her ass as soon as I looked at her resume after laughing at the degree and experience. What are you going to do for me? Are you going to develop a set of plans or analysis fast enough and without mistakes? Are you going to help me put together a package to deliver to clients or stakeholders when I need it? Can I take you to meetings with clients and stakeholders and help land new business or get their approval on the project? ARE YOU GOING TO HELP GET THE PROJECT DONE FASTER AND MORE EFFICIENTLY?
No....not at all.
No because everything is about you.
No because you are a spoiled, entitled ass who needs me to help you get a job "that challenges you and makes you a better person" more than you need to help me develop and deliver a productor get new business.
No because you didn't get a STEM degree.
No because you are getting nexted EVERY time.
Corporations are not clean and pure as the wind-driven snow, but there are clearly problems with the next generation of workers. Over-educated, under-achieving and entitled as the day is long.
Enjoy the decline!
Green Steelhead,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. But its actually worse than you say. The Author never says any specifics about what she and her friends do for a living or about their educational backgrounds. Her article, other than the 2 paragraphs about the German immigrant guy, is complete devoid of any details at all. It's all nothing more than vacuous ranting and raving.
There's a grain of truth to the story. There are, to be sure, plenty of firms with plenty of old fogies who won't move over.
ReplyDeleteSimple reason why. The taxman got half of every cent they ever earned, and their wives (past and present) squandered the other half and then some, along with the loot from their own make-work jobs (financed, of course, by the taxman). Only the top brass will get to retire and enjoy the decline in anything resembling the comfort they're accustomed to. That's because they've made more money than their mistresses could ever spend and figured out long ago how to avoid taxes (hint: campaign contributions). Middle management isn't going anywhere, unless it's in a coffin. They can't afford to.
This stuff stinks of a pampered middle-class girl kicked in the teeth by reality. My last dime says her mom encouraged her to "follow her dreams" while spending the old man's money on rooms full of futniture nobody's allowed sit on. Maybe next time she goes to see her mom she ought to ask how much the furniture cost.
Ahoy Cap'n,
ReplyDeleteGood article.
As a 25 yr. Construction & Engineering professional (who is now is 3rd yr. Philosophy at a downtown liberal arts university),
I can tell you that today's students are without a clue on the economic ramifications of an Arts education.
Synopsis? $60,000 of debt, and NO chance of a decent paying job (due to, primarily, a lack of available vacancy, from the demographic clogging effect.
I feel sorry for them (though, by the time they're 35-40, openings in mgmt may finally develop)
YT
Niall from Winnipeg