KEY POINTS:
Younger job candidates would be well advised to check their attitude at the door when entering a job interview, says Kim Smith, division director of finance & accounting recruitment firm Robert Half.
Smith recalls one instance where she actually cut an interview short because the job seeker was simply too arrogant.
"Instead of having a CV, she presented to me a written list of demands for her new employment," Smith says.
This confident candidate was not even a qualified chartered accountant and was expecting a salary of $85,000 a year - "$10,000-$15,000 more than market rate above what she should have been paid".
It's a common complaint that younger workers have an air of entitlement and are not willing to "pay their dues". But Smith said that even though this candidate had been working at one of the big four accounting firms for the past three years, she would not put her forward as a candidate.
"That was her one and only professional job. She hadn't actually taken the time to put a proper CV together but she had taken the time to put together a list of demands for her new employer."
In the accounting world, it is common for firms to pay for an employee's certified accountant exam fees but only if the employee serves out an agreed minimum period of employment. Smith's job seeker had plans for an OE within the next year.
"If you leave within that time, those fees are repayable. Even though she was only going to be giving six to 12 months of employment service to the new employer, she still wanted them to reimburse her the $4500."
Smith was not going to recommend a candidate with such limited commitment.
Smith believes that the sense of entitlement which some younger workers feel stems from the fact that in most cases they largely supervise themselves while their parents work.
"They come home from school. They entertain themselves in front of the television sets, do their homework and wait for their parents to come home. They don't have a parental figure in the house when they come home from school."
Perhaps some parents feel guilty for not being around and try to make up for it.
"That generation in general has been spoilt a little bit perhaps. Here is a generation which gets pretty much what they ask for."
Since their entire lives have been lived in a period of economic prosperity, they have been able to get pretty much what they've wanted.
"The worldwide economy has been going strong for a number of years. They've really known no lack.
"They haven't been through a real prolonged hard economic period."
Smith says younger workers should be willing to put in the time and effort to grow their careers.
Before moving on, they should focus more on what they need to learn and what skills and abilities they need to demonstrate. But the young accountant Smith interviewed baulked at even filling out a form.
"She had had a run-in with one of the receptionists because the receptionist asked her to fill out some paperwork and she just wanted to talk to me. She didn't want to fill out the paperwork," Smith says.
It's this type of attitude which has given an entire generation a bad name and made employers more cautious about hiring younger workers.
"Her demeanour was very interesting. I walked in and she had her arms crossed. I found her attitude to be not congenial."
Even with the skill shortage, employers and recruiters have not reached the bottom of the employment barrel where they have to hire just anyone. Employers still have options.
"There are still skilled candidates out there that are having trouble finding work; that are in categories that are traditionally more difficult for New Zealand employers to get their heads around."
Smith is talking about workers who have been educated overseas, are re-starting their careers, are qualified new immigrants or perhaps are older candidates.
The skill shortage is severe in some areas but does not extend to all levels of employment.
"I've got more candidates than I have jobs at the $120,000 and above salary bracket."
But for those coming in at the bottom of the scale, Smith suggests an attitude check, especially if people need to learn.
* Contact David Maida at www.DavidMaida.com
