The unemployment thing is a real problem for many. On the other side, I still hear from business owners that it is hard to get good “help”! How can this be in this market?
I spoke at a high school a few weeks ago and one of the interests was summer jobs. The students had been looking for work as an assignment as well as a way to make some money this summer. Only one had been successful out of a group of ten. I found out that most had just filled out an application and really hadn’t talked with anyone where they were applying. The one who got a job did it by networking via an aunt who introduced her to someone looking for help. She was also the only one in the class who appeared upbeat and happy to be there. The boys in the class almost had the attitude that they would apply for work but didn’t really want to work; as one boy put it “I’m not going to kiss anyone’s butt for a job”! That attitude came across to me with most of the boys and I can see why they aren’t getting any responses.
Attitude is a major thing for young people seeking work. I don’t know if we are born with it or learn it, but if our attitude is bad we will have a difficult time getting any jobs. And when we do get a job, we need to show it all the time in order to succeed. Anyone who has ever been in a restaurant quickly sees the spark in a good waiter or waitress and is much more eager to leave them a good tip when they are through. It is similar in professional careers also, the ones with the positive attitudes are usually the ones who go the farthest. The ones that demonstrate that they really want to work also do the best.
I posted this story on my blog several months ago, it still haunts me!
I was in Door County this week with my wife and grandkids visiting some family. I learned that many restaurants and stores import Russian and other European young people to work in their establishments each summer. The reason? They can’t get people from their area to work!
I also learned that many of these young people can make $5-$10,000 a summer up there and many work two jobs to make as much as possible.
My question is: With all the talk about affording college why aren’t American kids beating the doors down for these jobs? I don’t know how many jobs are available, but it seems some are.
