Recession isn't only thing holding millennials back; basic skill sets missing

[NRSKarenRN]

Recession isn't only thing holding millennials back

Pittsburgh Business Times by Jordan Markley, Editorial Intern

Date: Friday, June 29, 2012

..."I'm hearing that a lot of the millennials that are entering into the workforce are struggling with some basic skill sets," she said. "The basics of grammar and writing have been taken over by texting."

She said the millennial generation's penchant for electronic communication has also created a more relaxed, short-form style of communication that doesn't always sit well with older managers.

"Because of the relaxed nature of shortened communication like texting and the casual nature of email, the biggest complaint about millennials today is that they've taken (a) casual demeanor into the work environment instead of graduating to a professional level," Dietrich said....

..."They have to understand their audience. The millennial needs to understand things like wearing a suit and tie, turning off your cellphone, not texting in the lobby while waiting for the interview," Bender said. "Focusing on face-to-face interaction and doing that well will really make them stand out from the crowd."...

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

so are we trading quality for quantity. sometimes i don't understand why people are even in college since they aren't trying to do anything expect a grade which won't mean anything if they don't have the knowledge.

some people are in college because their parents expect it and will pay for it. if they're not in college, they're expected to have a job and pay their own way. so they go to college. and hang out year after year with their sole goal of staying in college.

[MN-Nurse, ASN, RN]

You really can't do anything but sit demurely with your ankles crossed while waiting to be interviewed? What if you are fifth in line and its going to be an hour? Can you read a magazine or something, or does that too say you are too unprofessional?

THIS is exactly what they are talking about. Not the magazine. Your attitude.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

this article and others like it really make me angry. i am 24 years old. i know how to write well and proofread. i also know that the courses i took in high school were much more difficult and required a greater variety of assignments than those of my parents. it used to be that a project consisted of a poster and a speech. now it is standard for a teacher to expect a paper, powerpoint presentation, and a verbal recitation of the summarized contents. let's not forget that the standards for plagiarism have also expanded, and students are expected to cite any fact with a source. you want students to have more original thought? ask them to write a 5-page paper without 5 sources and quit threatening them with expulsion if they happen to make a smart conclusion without quoting someone else.

please stop stereotyping my generation and look for those of us that don't fit into your preconceptions. it's as silly as my generation talking about how our parents and grandparents look like idiots using social media. if we can have patience with your shortcomings, it's only fair to reciprocate.

i'm probably a bit older than your parents. a poster and a speech were just as much work as a paper, a powerpoint presentation and a verbal summary. and believe it or not, those of us born pre-texting were also expected to cite any fact (or quote) with a source. the thing is, we had to go to the library to find those pesky old sources -- we couldn't just sit in our dorm rooms in our pajamas with our laptops (paid for by our parents) and surf the internet looking for facts. in fact, having done both sorts of projects, i'd venture to say that the power point and paper is much easier than the old poster and and a speech . . . i'm not artistic and the posters were a real problem for me. with power point, even those of us who aren't artistic can make a nice presentation.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

i can't wait until i'm old enough to complain about the younger generation!! it solves everything!

l?

​amazing how complaining about the older generation solves so much, isn't it.

[Inkynurse]

THIS is exactly what they are talking about. Not the magazine. Your attitude.

I usually have a pretty good attitude and my behavior and demeanor are sometimes dependent on the environment. I see nothing wrong with pointing out how silly something sounds on a message board, which I would not treat the same way as an interview. To clarify my question so as not too sound snarky, what is the difference between quietly texting or otherwise using your smartphone and quietly reading a magazine? Are both disrespectful? Because I just see both as a means to pass the time.

[tothepointeLVN, LVN]

Swap out the word phone for game boy and then consider whether it is different or not. Because honestly that is what people often think when they see someone sitting with their phone they don't think your reading your phone they think your playing with your phone. It doesn't matter what you think your doing its what the other person sees. Judge not lest ye be judged you say? Well your interviewer might not subscribe to that philosophy. A interview is all about judging who is going to be worth the money they are paying them.

Personally I wouldn't read a magazine either I would be taking in my surroundings, thinking over quietly what I was going to say and just being quiet, still and poised. Your interview time is forfeit to you. It's been allocated to the "get a job so you can pay your bills" account.

[OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN]

I can't wait until I'm old enough to complain about the younger generation!! It solves everything!

Possibly I am not the "typical" 24 year old, but I have plenty of friends around my age and we're all fairly intelligent. Maybe I do not hang out with these inferior young adults that are being described here. However, if you were to judge me off the fact that I'm texting while waiting for an interview, or that I wear jeans with holes in them while I'm out at the mall, or because I'm laughing with my friends about a joke, then so be it. It doesn't really affect my life and just makes you come off as old and bitter. Here's a theory: why not look at the fact that society is changing? We do not value the same things that the older generation values. We interact in different ways than the older generation did. You can get into a philosophical debate over whether one is better or worse, but that's not the issue at hand here. It has always been this way. To think otherwise is strangely naive.

If you think technology makes things easier, you're out of touch. It makes us more accessible, and because of that, it means that the goalposts can shift at a teacher's whim. I don't know how many times I've been contacted at the last minute because of a schedule change through email. Because we have the ease of access of finding sources, we are expected to turn in assignments more quickly and in greater quantity. If you think that Google is an acceptable search engine for collegiate papers, you were lucky. I've never used it for more than a starting point, and certainly it's never led me to a legitimate resource.

By the way, how many miles uphill in the snow was the walk to school?

I love your posts and agree. I am a bit older then you and started school before technology and finished with it, as well as I am going to college now. I guess I should complain the most since I had to suffer both ends. I completely agree though because many ofmy classmates are your age or even younger and they are very mature, hard-working individuals.

[nursel56]

I am beginning to think that the media is shaping the narrative that 20-somethings are a good-for-nothing lot so that the powers-that-be can forever have their lost generation, forever dependent on the government just for basic living. The Democrats have their voting base for years to come, and the Republicans have their convenient scapegoats to blame for why our country is in the toilet. [/quote']

The person who wrote the article and one of the three professionals interviewed are millennials. The tone of the article isn't derogatory towards your age group at all.

Back to the general subject matter. I get the impression that younger people don't like to read much these days. It's surprising how often I find that someone who has a college degree replaces a fairly common word with a word or phrase that sounds sort of like the actual word, sometimes with humorous results like "I felt like a pee-on". I honestly don;t understand how it's possible to take the general ed classes in English and History and come out with such mediocre language skills. This isn't a complaint about millennials, it's a complaint about the system itself.

As long as I'm on an old and bitter roll here -- why is it that whenever someone suggests what sort of behavior, dress, or type of resume HR people are looking for, at least half the respondents become defiant and assert their right to wear what they want, say what they want, spell the way they want, or put their experience as a pole dancer on their job history? Don't you want the job? Sounds like a simple equation to me - I think I'd rather be employed than sitting at home reveling in my victory over the old bag who interviewed me.

[decembergrad2011, BSN, RN]

For the record, I wore a pair of slacks, a suit jacket, and a blouse that did not show my cleavage to my interview. My 30-something competition wore jeans and a pretty tight shirt. I will allow you guys to deduce who was offered the position. I guess my resistance and anger at this article comes from the fact that it targets young people when these attitudes are present in all age groups. Honestly, the texts I receive with my stepmother's text shorthand make me laugh out loud because she writes as ridiculous as you've described.

I agree that people in general do not read the way they used to, but again, I do not believe that is an age situation entirely. My mother used to read every night before bed; now she watches Netflix before checking out. I cannot agree more that lack of reading contributes to lack of language skills. The younger you stop reading, the greater the impact.

My nursing school prepared me with interviewing skills and a courses in career management. I knew the hoops I would have to jump through as well as how my generation would be perceived by others. I guess some graduates are not so lucky.

[tothepointeLVN, LVN]

Agree with you entirely on the reading aspect. During nursing school students from my cohort asked me what my "secret" was or how they could improve. I told them they needed to learn how to read. That their primary problem was they spent to much time reading the textbook very slowly and then still not comprehending. Or getting a test question wrong because they didn't understand what it was asking without realizing they didn't understand. I advised them to read anything and everything they could get their hands on. To write notes in their own hand so it would become encoded into their heads. If you type your notes your brain doesn't really differentiate between typing one word or another as much as writing does because the movements are so similar. Most likely in 10 minutes I'll forget I wrote this post and read again as if someone else wrote it.

I don't wear suit jackets to interviews because it's often to hot for it but I do take one with me and decide when I get there.

[VICEDRN, BSN, RN]

I can't speak for her, but yes, I would. You should sit straight, with your ankles crossed and your hands in your lap like a lady and wait patiently. The phone (if you even had to bring it in) is off, not on vibrate, OFF, in your pocket book, on the floor. Well, if you want the job that is. If you don't, text away and I'll hire a person that knows how to behave. geez.

And yes, I am perfectly serious. They are called manners.

Had to read this to several of my coworkers, husband and friends. We seem 50/50 split on whether or not you are serious. We did however have a great laugh about it since your attitude seems to be universally considerd silly either way.

I admit, I am now torn: I would like to weed out potential managers like you before I get hired. I am hardworking, experienced ER/Trauma nurse with excellent job reviews: a fierce patient advocate, assessment skills above my experience level, hardworking, knowledgeable, and professional. Should I read the NYT in the waiting room on my phone or no?

[leenak]

Had to read this to several of my coworkers, husband and friends. We seem 50/50 split on whether or not you are serious. We did however have a great laugh about it since your attitude seems to be universally considerd silly either way.

I admit, I am now torn: I would like to weed out potential managers like you before I get hired. I am hardworking, experienced ER/Trauma nurse with excellent job reviews: a fierce patient advocate, assessment skills above my experience level, hardworking, knowledgeable, and professional. Should I read the NYT in the waiting room on my phone or no?

I think it is the fact that those before you have caused a bad reputation. It is disturbing to me to see the number of students that can't be with their iPhones or what not for 5 minutes, even during class. Sure, if you have priorities in life that require you to have your phone, on and on vibrate, then go right ahead but step out and make a call if you need to but the constant texting in every class is annoying.

And in terms of interviews, I'm guessing interviewers have seen similar things where someone is waiting for an interview, doing whatever on their phone but they don't put the phone away as soon as they are called. That is a bad sign and would definitely count again someone. If you keep seeing something like that, then you will of course have a knee-jerk reaction if you see someone on their phone while waiting.