A "retail traineeship" job listing at a NSW post office is causing a stir on social media. Photo / 123RF
A "retail traineeship" job listing at a NSW post office is causing a stir on social media. Photo / 123RF
A NSW post office has raised eyebrows after posting a job ad which bars "entitled" young people from applying.
The Warilla Licensed Post Office, located in Shellharbour on the NSW south coast, shared a job listing on Seek yesterday for a Retail Traineeship.
The privately owned and operated post office is looking for an "enthusiastic person" of "either gender" who has a "great work ethic" and is "interested in a customer focused job" for the full-time position.
The successful candidate must be "able to interact with a wide range of customers", "honest and reliable", "able to work in a team environment" and "eager to learn and able to take directions".
Other requirements are the ability to work in a "fast paced workplace", to be "literate and numerate with good handwriting skills" and able to use computers and digital equipment as well as being "well presented".
However, screenshots of the earlier version are already circulating on Facebook, and while many have slammed the dig aimed at some young people, others have reacted with humour.
"Love it, at least they know what they want," one Facebook user joked after the screenshot was shared online.
But most of the backlash has come in the form of negative Google reviews, with one person posting that, "Not only is it discriminatory but it also shows that the employer is … horrible to work for."
"You couldn't pay me to walk in here, and if that makes me an entitled millennial, so be it," another wrote.
But licensee Angela Cramp told news.com.au she never intended to create a "firestorm" with the ad and said she would be "delighted" to hire a millennial – provided they had the right attitude.
A job ad barring 'entitled millennials' is sparking outrage. Photo / News.com.au / Supplied
She said she decided to add the line to the job ad after having issues with previous applicants.
"It was tongue in cheek – I didn't expect it to cause all this trouble and in no way am I eliminating millennials," Ms Cramp said.
"But this is a learning position and we need somebody who is keen to accept that the position will not be equal in the business on day one, that's probably the message I was trying to give.
"The customer on the other side of the counter requires a high degree of customer service, that's all there is to it, and if you're not used to being patient and waiting for people to sort themselves out, it won't work."
Ms Cramp told news.com.au Seek had removed the line about the millennials after claiming it was "age discriminatory", but said she had already received more than 30 applications from millennials and around 10 from older people, which shows the ad was "not too offensive".
The job ad has since been amended. Picture: Facebook/Warilla Licensed Post Office. Photo / News.com.au /Facebook
"I didn't read it as a statement that we don't want millennials at all – goodness me, most of our staff and my children are millennials – but we are a service industry and we work with elderly people who need help, so we need someone who understands that and I don't think that's unreasonable," she said.
However, it's not the first time Aussie bosses have hit out at Generation Y.
Last February, Muffin Break general manager Natalie Brennan made global headlines after slamming millennials with an "inflated" sense of self-importance who refuse to work for free during an interview with news.com.au.
"There's just nobody walking in my door asking for an internship, work experience or unpaid work, nobody," Ms Brennan said at the time.
"You don't see it anymore. Before that people would be knocking on your door all the time, you couldn't keep up with how many people wanted to be working. In fact I'd run programs because there were so many coming in."
Her comments sparked widespread anger, and Ms Brennan later apologised via a public statement published on the Muffin Break Facebook page in the aftermath of the scandal.
"The recent article does not reflect my values or those of Foodco," Ms Brennan said in the statement.
