A British entrepreneur describes his experience with Generation Z workers who say they are unable to even conduct an interview.
Leicester - A British entrepreneur reports in an interview about his "nightmare" experiences with the so-called Generation Z, which has a dubious attitude to work, according to the traumatized 38-year-old Englishman: Many young employees barely manage to get through a job interview, and are not ready to pick up the phone. Some even refused to work on the first day of their employment.
British entrepreneur talks about 'nightmare' behavior of Generation Z
McNeil led the sales team for a company that collected music licensing from companies and often received applications from 20-somethings (i.e. Gen Z) who wanted to apply to join the company. Generation Z follows Generation Y and includes those born between 1997 and 2012 and their relatives are considered the first true “digital natives”.
The man who now runs the car leasing company Ready2Lease describes the behavior of some representatives of this generation as a "nightmare" in an interview with the British daily
Telegraph
, noting that many of them are not even capable of conducting a normal job interview.
Entrepreneurs about Gen Z applicants: “People didn’t come at all, came too late or were unprepared”
“We invited people to interviews, but people either didn't come at all, came too late or were completely unprepared,” says James McNeil about his experiences with young applicants. Some young workers were barely able to cope with the interview and showed no willingness to pick up the phone. McNeil describes examples of applicants who completely refused to work on the first day.
“My old job sucked”: Team leader describes Gen-Z’s negative attitude
McNeil goes on to explain that the biggest problem during interviews was the language the young people used: “They were quite negative.” When you apply for a job, you have to present things as positively as possible. "But they made comments like 'my old job sucked', 'my boss was terrible, I hated him', things like that that immediately turn you off as an employer."
“Simply disappeared from the face of the earth”: Entrepreneurs curse the behavior of young people
He gives specific examples: “We had two occasions where I hired people, one of which was not even a junior position but a senior sales position. It wasn't a top position, but it was £35,000 a year (around €41,000), company car, laptop, telephone. In both cases they simply didn't show up on the first day. They never contacted us again, didn't answer the phone, didn't respond to emails, nothing. They just disappeared from the face of the earth.”
McNeil adds that some applicants are even “afraid of talking on the phone” and firmly believe “everything can be done via email or text.” In summary, he assesses Generation Z as follows: “They are good with technology, but not good with life skills.”