ECON So I was down at the local auto repair shop and.....

It has one of those hi-tech carwashes attached and there is a "Help Wanted" sign for it.

So I go in and there is this young couple, about 18 maybe, working on this document and very laboriously, the girl coaching the boy it seemed. I go out and come back 45 min later and they are still working on it. Finally they turned it in. Asked the clerk what it was..a job application.

So I asked to see a copy. Nothing much to it. Work history and current address and that was about it.

So I asked and got told this';

1. They get several apps for every job.

2. About 50% get hired until they need to replenish the supply.

3. Of those, about half do not work out because';

a. They can't do the job or
b. They start coming up with reasons why they can't work that day.

The job? Clean the car after the wash. Six steps. Dry off the windows, remove the mats, vacuum the inside, vacuum the mats, replace the mats, vacuum the trunk, And an incredible % can't do that consistently. Unbelievable

The other losers get their first pay check and then start thinking of reasons why they can't report for work.

Pay starts at minimum ($7.25?) Goes to $8.00 by the end of the first paycheck if they make the grade. Goes up more as they get more responsibility.

As for the kids I saw, it was obvious that the boy could not read. The girl was reading and he was laboriously printing the answers.

We are doomed.

Yeah not very funny, when we lived in VA 18 yrs ago you go down to the dmv anytime and find a worker reading the driving test to someone. They could not read.
I thought ee gads if they can't read how could they be out there on the roads not being able to read road signs, directions, alerts and so on. Be afraid be very afraid.

Troke said:

It has one of those hi-tech carwashes attached and there is a "Help Wanted" sign for it.

So I go in and there is this young couple, about 18 maybe, working on this document and very laboriously, the girl coaching the boy it seemed. I go out and come back 45 min later and they are still working on it. Finally they turned it in. Asked the clerk what it was..a job application.

So I asked to see a copy. Nothing much to it. Work history and current address and that was about it.

So I asked and got told this';

1. They get several apps for every job.

2. About 50% get hired until they need to replenish the supply.

3. Of those, about half do not work out because';

a. They can't do the job or
b. They start coming up with reasons why they can't work that day.

The job? Clean the car after the wash. Six steps. Dry off the windows, remove the mats, vacuum the inside, vacuum the mats, replace the mats, vacuum the trunk, And an incredible % can't do that consistently. Unbelievable

The other losers get their first pay check and then start thinking of reasons why they can't report for work.

Pay starts at minimum ($7.25?) Goes to $8.00 by the end of the first paycheck if they make the grade. Goes up more as they get more responsibility.

As for the kids I saw, it was obvious that the boy could not read. The girl was reading and he was laboriously printing the answers.

We are doomed.

Click to expand...

I bet he could stomp your ass playing the latest 'Call Of Duty' on his X-BOX.

On the reading part...my SIL can read and write and is quite smart, but he can't always 'translate' written questions so as to be able to answer them. It is a form of dyslexia. So maybe?

Anti-Liberal said:

I bet he could stomp your ass playing the latest 'Call Of Duty' on his X-BOX.

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Now THAT'S a highly marketable skill to have.

I could read at a college level by the time I was in 6th grade.

WTF...?

The questions;

Name
Address
Phone #
SS #
Work history (three slots)

I suppose he might have been dyslexic, but that would be a stretch.

Caplock50 said:

On the reading part...my SIL can read and write and is quite smart, but he can't always 'translate' written questions so as to be able to answer them. It is a form of dyslexia. So maybe?

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Could be I have dyslexia and having read a few work applications in my time I really had to wonder what academic wonder wrote the application forms.

K-

Anti-Liberal said:

I bet he could stomp your ass playing the latest 'Call Of Duty' on his X-BOX.

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or Grad Theft Auto

Dennis Olson said:

I could read at a college level by the time I was in 6th grade.

WTF...?

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But you were born to be "The Chief Curmudgeon"!!

My 19 yr. old daughter (who happens to be one of the youngest and fastest promoted to management in her company) was telling me the other day how appalled she is at the young adults her age and early twenties who show up for job interviews dressed in jeans and t-shirts!

"...My 19 yr. old daughter (who happens to be one of the youngest and fastest promoted to management in her company) was telling me the other day how appalled she is at the young adults her age and early twenties who show up for job interviews dressed in jeans and t-shirts!.."

And don't forget their footwear. Flip-flops.

WSJ had a letter to wit; resume's apparently written by illiterates, late for interviews, dressed as above for jobs in management, asking for salaries beyond what the market is paying. (asking $80,000 to start when it is actually $40,000. )

He stated that from here on out, he would interview only people already working. Nobody off the street. That goes along with what my DD told me and I posted here a few weeks ago. She has open slots but Personnel refuses to take people off the street.

We are doomed.

Dennis Olson said:

I could read at a college level by the time I was in 6th grade.

WTF...?

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So could my kids, but they weren't sent to the local PS. They were taught at home.

I could read at 8th grade level or higher when I started kindergarten (grandmother taught me to read when I was four).

If the boy is dyslexic it's possible no one diagnosed it, some school districts and some parents are not up to speed on this. Dyslexia is not a sign of stupidity. However, if he is so dyslexic or illiterate that he cannot fill out the application I wish him luck trying to function on the job.

I don't think all the blame for illiteracy falls on the boy either---where were his parents and teachers? It's possible the parents are also illiterate, but I sure hope the teachers weren't.

This situation does not bode well for the survival of what used to be the Republic.

lisa said:

My 19 yr. old daughter (who happens to be one of the youngest and fastest promoted to management in her company) was telling me the other day how appalled she is at the young adults her age and early twenties who show up for job interviews dressed in jeans and t-shirts!

Click to expand...

About 11 or 12 years ago I wanted to get an extra evening job. I applied at UPS to load trucks for 4 or 5 hours in the evening. So I get the call for the interview and I showed up in dress pants, collared shirt and a suit jacket (I figured the tie would be a bit of overkill for the gig). Anyway- there were about a dozen others waiting for their interview also. Almost everyone else was wearing shorts- t-shirts- flip-flops, sandals and the like. It really surprised me how little care those guys put into their appearance.

I remember this one job interview I went to. I was turned down for the job because..."Dressed as you are, you sure don't need the job". I was dressed nice and the the job was throwing tree limbs into a chipper. Ah well....

I also had a similar experience with a workplace screening test. The job was working for the railroad as a switchman, and the test was reading and simple math at the 6th grade level. The roomful of applicants had people from late teens through about 50, predominately men. After the test was graded, the lead interviewer called out "The following people have not passed the test, and will proceed no further" and read off about 15 names. The people who stood up and left were among the youngest people in the room: the oldest was probably 30. I was amazed so many ADULTS could not pass a 6th grade reading test.

I ended up not being able to take that job, as the house I had just bought in Missouri was too far from their nearest railhead in order to be at work within 45 minutes of a call.

I was also the only guy to show up in suit and tie for the interview session, out of about 50 original applicants.

Well, at least the kid was TRYING to get a job. Give him some credit for that at least.

Troke said:

The questions;

Name
Address
Phone #
SS #
Work history (three slots)

I suppose he might have been dyslexic, but that would be a stretch.

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Anyone I have worked for in the past had closed shop years ago, so what's one to do then?

imaginative said:

About 11 or 12 years ago I wanted to get an extra evening job. I applied at UPS to load trucks for 4 or 5 hours in the evening. So I get the call for the interview and I showed up in dress pants, collared shirt and a suit jacket (I figured the tie would be a bit of overkill for the gig). Anyway- there were about a dozen others waiting for their interview also. Almost everyone else was wearing shorts- t-shirts- flip-flops, sandals and the like. It really surprised me how little care those guys put into their appearance.

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Bet you did not get the job. The only people at UPS that wears suits are the management. They don't even care if can read and would prefer that you couldn't and long as you can unload 6000 boxes an hour. Your interviewer laughed his ass off as soon as you were out the door. If UPS could get Gorillas to work for bananas they would do it.

Publius said:

Anyone I have worked for in the past had closed shop years ago, so what's one to do then?

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List them anyway - I rarely check. I always ask about the previous jobs in the interview, and if they are lying about the places it is usually very obvious.

lisa said:

My 19 yr. old daughter (who happens to be one of the youngest and fastest promoted to management in her company) was telling me the other day how appalled she is at the young adults her age and early twenties who show up for job interviews dressed in jeans and t-shirts!

Click to expand...

My 19 yo son is in the same type of situation and has said the exact same thing. He also tells his employees that they are hired to WORK, not stand around talking - and they argue with him. My son does some of the hiring at his place of employment and can NOT get over how ill prepared (and badly dressed) people come when they are to be interviewed. This is to the interview that they get after they've reviewed the applications.

Dredge said:

Bet you did not get the job. The only people at UPS that wears suits are the management. They don't even care if can read and would prefer that you couldn't and long as you can unload 6000 boxes an hour. Your interviewer laughed his ass off as soon as you were out the door. If UPS could get Gorillas to work for bananas they would do it.

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(did we cyber-shake on that?)

I took that job in the Fall before rollover to pay for the Y2k 'preps'. a friend also worked there who was the same age- 37- and we used to grind those college kids into the ground who tried to keep up with us loading trucks. It was a tough workout every night and definitely not worth it. The gorillas/bananas workplace would be ideal and would likely succeed there.

prudentwatcher said:

Well, at least the kid was TRYING to get a job. Give him some credit for that at least.

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I do give him credit for that but where are these kids parents..don't any of them tell them you need to dress appropriately for a job interview?! My soon to be 16 yr. old is talking about getting a part-time job and even he knows he needs to wear at least dress slacks and dress shirt (and probably a tie) for an interview.

Since I'm bragging on my daughter anyway I'll also mention that she has her own apartment and fully supports herself..I have 3 grown children who all live on their own and only have my 15 yr. old with us still. We didn't kick any of our kids out of the house (nothing I like better than feeding and loving my kids) and they all know if there is ever a need they can land here till they're on their feet again but they are NORMAL adults who want to behave like adults and have their own homes...it amazes me how many even mid-twenties are still living with their folks.

imaginative said:

About 11 or 12 years ago I wanted to get an extra evening job. I applied at UPS to load trucks for 4 or 5 hours in the evening. So I get the call for the interview and I showed up in dress pants, collared shirt and a suit jacket (I figured the tie would be a bit of overkill for the gig). Anyway- there were about a dozen others waiting for their interview also. Almost everyone else was wearing shorts- t-shirts- flip-flops, sandals and the like. It really surprised me how little care those guys put into their appearance.

Click to expand...

I'm a receptionist at my job and whenever people come in and ask me for an application to take and fill out my boss will always ask me how they were dressed and what my impression was of them.

You would not believe the apps that businesses get.

Poor spelling. Bad grammar. 15 jobs in the past two years. Reason for leaving often says "Terminated. Will explain in the interview."

We got in an app for a management position. The red flag was that the applicant listed "Department of Corrections" as a work reference. He listed his duties as "Cook, Assembly, Law Clerk."

We typed his name into our state CaseNet and it turns out he did 7 years of a 15 year sentence for statutory rape/sodomy. He was 31 at the time. The victim was 12.

Another applicant told us she was qualified for a management position because she was a high school graduate.

Many people fill out apps but when they are called for an interview they say, "I don't want a job. I am on unemployment."

That response triggers a call from us to the unemployment office to report their fraud.

I could go on and on.

Bottom line? Our schools are failing BIG TIME. The future is not bright.

Caplock50 said:

I remember this one job interview I went to. I was turned down for the job because..."Dressed as you are, you sure don't need the job". I was dressed nice and the the job was throwing tree limbs into a chipper. Ah well....

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WTF?

I'm torn because I've always dressed in a suit in the past. I think from here on out it will be dress slacks & a white or blue dress shirt. No suit jacket, no tie. People don't dress like that anymore.

lisa said:

I'm a receptionist at my job and whenever people come in and ask me for an application to take and fill out my boss will always ask me how they were dressed and what my impression was of them.

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My neighbor is the Regional HR Director for a large oil company...she always talks to the receptionist about the applicant...if the person is rude, or dismissive of the receptionist...forget it.

prudentwatcher said:

Well, at least the kid was TRYING to get a job. Give him some credit for that at least.

Click to expand...

EXACTLY what I was thinking. None of us know where he came from or how he was raised and here he is trying to get a job.

Several years ago I was doing the final hiring interview for a police officer.............This guy had passed everything very well, did a good inteview with the board etc etc,
As we were talking his cell phone went off and HE ANSWERED IT and started talking to his girlfriend..........................I quietly sat there me being the polite type (not really) and when he was through I told him, you dont have this job, go on back to grammer school.

I don't think anyone is picking on the kid for his lack of skills. It's more that we're truly appalled that at his age he lacks the basic skills to even *fill out an application*, much less get a job of almost any sort.

We have a kid working for us who just turned 16. He can- at least- follow written directions, although it took awhile for him to be willing/unafraid to follow up with one of us for clarification if he didn't understand something on the list we left for him. This is necessary because we're not always at the barns when he gets there for work... and we don't need to quit working in the fields or woods an hour early just to guide him through every routine job.

Hubby came close to firing him about 6 times in his first 6 months, out of frustration with a lot of the kid's ignorance- basically, we had to teach him *everything* about basic work ethics, about doing a job completely (he cleaned calf pens one day, leaving a full 12" of sh*t around the entire outside of the pen... just cleaned the middle! LOL!)

But to his credit, he's willing to learn. We have had to confiscate his Ipod and Blackberry if he's going to be working on machinery. And I finally pretty well cured him of his tendency to stop working and gab... for an hour if you let him... when he and hubby both started a detailed discussion while hubby and I were in the middle of trying to get some recalcitrant heifers into stalls. After I struggled for about 5 minutes alone while they were chatting, I screamed at both of them about concentrating on the job at hand.

The next time the kid needed to ask something when we were in the middle of moving animals, he was very careful to not interrupt until we had a break, and made a point of saying "I know you don't want to talk while you're working, but..." ROTFLMAO

OTOH, we have a milk truck driver who is the biggest PITA ever. You'd think in this economy, people would do what they could to keep a job. This guy has caused major damage because he forgot to set the emergency brake, (and then tried to blame us, saying the driveway wasn't plowed- there were NO skid marks; the truck just rolled)

He comes in the barn and walks around in the mangers, which is a biosecurity issue, and despite repeated requests to stay out of the animal areas.

The milk inspector had to actually hide at farms to catch him not following basic (required) protocol- they have to agitate the milk in the tank for 5 full minutes before taking a sample, etc... he was in and out of the farms within 3 minutes, which was a physical impossibility.

He has ragged on hubby to finish milking earlier so HE can get his route done faster. We are not about to mess up the routine of 50 high producing dairy cows for this moron's convenience... and he does NOT. GET. IT. He actually had the grapes to tell hubby that maybe if he doesn't want to get up any earlier, it might be time to retire... he's lucky hubby has a sense of humor (and thinks that going to jail for beating on a worthless piece of shite wouldn't be worth the trouble)... hubby already gets up at 4:30 and works a 16 hour day! The problem is, we get done the earliest of any of the farmers on his route... so obviously no one else is willing to get up earlier to suit him either! Sheesh...

The last straw was when he "forgot" to bring new record sheets to write the milk weights down on- for TEN DAYS. Those are the legal record of how much milk we've shipped, and they are important. We had to call his boss to get it resolved.. and the kid's feelings (kid! This guy is at least 30) were hurt because we "made a big deal out of it".

I think he's going to get fired, and we're hoping he doesn't decide it's all our fault (we're not the only ones complaining about him- we know that). Of course, Bandit doesn't like him either, so if he happens to show up "off schedule", he's likely to get a little warmer "welcome" than he expects. (Bandit knows he has to let the guy on the place when he comes on schedule with a milk truck... I suspect he also would know the difference if he showed up in his personal vehicle at an odd time)

As far as interview clothes... I wouldn't expect someone to wear a suit to interview for a farm job. I WOULD expect at least clean jeans and a decent (no holes or naughty sayings or pictures) shirt. For other manual labor jobs, I'd think a pair of khakis and a polo shirt, or a sport shirt - FULLY BUTTONED- would be sufficient.

Summerthyme

I've run into the "dress code" issues before myself.

Every job interview I've ever gone to I wore AT LEAST my nicest pair of jeans and a nice dressy casual shirt, like button down collar short sleeve. I've been in places in recent years doing other business and seen guys come in for interviews looking like they just stepped off the bus from Parchman (state prison here in MS). Crappy looking old t-shirts, ratty jeans with holes all in them, Croc shoes or ratty old tennis/running shoes that look like they should've been thrown out ten years ago.

I can understand someone in desperate financial straits not having a super-nice outfit to wear to an interview, but you'd at least think they might try to borrow some decent duds from a friend or family member for the occasion.

Another thing for the guys: Don't go into a job interview with that "I'm growing a beard" look. If it's not already grown out into a real beard/goatee and well trimmed and neat, get a f***ing shave already!

Also, tattoos coming up out of the collar of your shirt and running up the side of your neck also look like sh*t, so if you have any of those, just go ahead and do us all a favor and shoot yourself in the f***ing head.

the problem today is also the parents. I saw a show where the parents were complaining that there was not enough recess and too much homework. Meanwhile the asian and indian kids were in school 10 to 11 hours a day.

I saw a young man in wally world the other day wearing a t-shirt that read "old skool". I really wanted to "aks" him to really spell school. I didn't but I just knew he would have said really proud SKOOL.

future convict with 10 kids that we the taxpayers will support.

33dInd said:

Several years ago I was doing the final hiring interview for a police officer.............This guy had passed everything very well, did a good inteview with the board etc etc,
As we were talking his cell phone went off and HE ANSWERED IT and started talking to his girlfriend..........................I quietly sat there me being the polite type (not really) and when he was through I told him, you dont have this job, go on back to grammer school.

Click to expand...

The cell phone sh*t irks me to no end.

Most everyone here on our job has a cell phone and I let them know in no uncertain terms that as far as I'm concerned, the ONLY reason they have their phone on the job with them is so *I* can get in touch with them when I need to. I've got one employee that I've had to warn several times when he didn't answer his phone when I called, "You answer that f***er when I call or you leave it at home!"

And don't even get me started on people who text all the f***ing time!

He didn't know how to do the resume because all the dude does is text the whole damn day!

**verbally spoken to him** What happened at your last job?
**picks up phone**
**applicant texts back** wel i didn wok god w mi boz n the pay waz suck wtf so i wat btr pay n banifts i can do god job her so cn i hav this job plz ty

FREEBIRD said:

I could read at 8th grade level or higher when I started kindergarten (grandmother taught me to read when I was four).

If the boy is dyslexic it's possible no one diagnosed it, some school districts and some parents are not up to speed on this. Dyslexia is not a sign of stupidity. However, if he is so dyslexic or illiterate that he cannot fill out the application I wish him luck trying to function on the job.

I don't think all the blame for illiteracy falls on the boy either---where were his parents and teachers? It's possible the parents are also illiterate, but I sure hope the teachers weren't.

This situation does not bode well for the survival of what used to be the Republic.

Click to expand...

The same with me; my grand mother (who took me to raise - when I ran away from home) taught me to read at 4-5 years old. *Lucky for me* She also taught me to think, before I reacted! (If not for her - I don't know how I would have survived).........

A long. long time ago - I use to fight at the drop of an 'preceived' insult... She was desperate to break me from the "habit" "Son" she'd say. "Think before you fight; think about what you are doing, to yourself, to me."


=


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Caplock50 said:

I remember this one job interview I went to. I was turned down for the job because..."Dressed as you are, you sure don't need the job". I was dressed nice and the the job was throwing tree limbs into a chipper. Ah well....

Click to expand...

I am with you on that one cappy!

Quite a few years ago I applied for a job working on a pipeline, They told everyone that applied to show up monday morning. I figured it was for an interview sence starting pay was $19. an hour (in 1986) So I showed up in a $600. suit and tie! I got the surprise of my life when the boss yelled for everyone to "get on the bus"! It turned out they conducted interviews and hired based on wether or not you survived one day on the job!

Needless to say, the suit was trashed by the end of the day but I got the job!

Dress appropriately for an interview!

"... wel i didn wok god w mi boz n the pay waz suck wtf so i wat btr pay n banifts i can do god job her so cn i hav this job plz ty.."

I have been claiming for some time that will be the King's Written English in another generation.

We are doomed.

BTW, in my OP, that kid really worked on that application, I watched for at least 15 minutes of the nearly an hour he put into it. He wrote very laboriously (in fact I think he was printing). I figure he wanted the job bad. Clerk kind of indicated that orders at the bottom of the work chain were verbal so maybe he will work out...I think written would sink him.

"...He comes in the barn and walks around in the mangers, which is a biosecurity issue, and despite repeated requests to stay out of the animal areas..."

Heh..I used to know dairy farms where he would do that only once. Bovine TB was a problem in my youth (do they still test for it?) and once your herd was certified free, you went to some lengths to keep it that way.

This jerk is going from farm to farm with the chance of carrying whatever?

Deadly.

Troke... yep. We don't have the problems with TB and Brucellosis which used to be so tragic... nothing he could bring in could cause us to have to kill the whole herd, which both of those could and did back then.

But we've had severe winter dysentery go through the entire herd, killing two cows, when neighbor kids who used to play in the local trash farmer's barn came to visit and played in ours.

This guy is on his last chance and then some, as far as the job itself. He's finally gotten it through his thick skull that he isn't welcome in the barn, which he considers an insult. What he can't apparently figure out is he is just HIRED HELP... he may be someone important at his house, but when it comes to the job, we're the boss, because we pay (indirectly, through our hauling charges) his wages. It's not a demanding job... you show up, pick up the milk using proper procedures, and leave. No one cares about your opinion of how the cows look, whether or not the farmer is getting up on time, or anything else.

I found out he grew up in California. I think that explains a lot. (public schools= "self esteem", whether you have any reason for it or not)

Summerthyme