by Heidi Harrell – Asst. Opinion Editor – [email protected]
Employers like job seekers who treat employment with a no-nonsense attitude.
A York University study confirms college graduates enter the workforce unprepared and lacking several characteristics businesses and hiring managers require from new employees.
The York University study partnered with hundreds of human resource hiring managers and top-level executives to determine which qualities new hires and interview candidates lack, including the ability to communicate and listen respectfully, motivation to finish a task and attention to appearance. The study also showed an ingrained sense of entitlement existing among job applicants.
Multitasking is an illusion. In today’s high-tech society, people commonly split their attention between cell-phones and laptops, while also attempting to complete a task. Employers find the ability to focus and accomplish a task within a given time frame extremely important.
Many college graduates created a habit by splitting their attention between gadgets and assignments, and now believe this habit relates to multitasking. Once a graduate enters the job market, he or she must realize this habit only lessens efficiency.
A recent study by Stanford University showed those who attempt to multitask between work and media force their brain to switch back and forth between tasks, limiting the brain’s short-term memory capacity.
Lackluster effort produces lackluster projects. Employers do not offer jobs or promotions based on lackluster performance.
Research from the University of California, San Diego found people consume 12 hours of media a day on average in 2010. Many responsibilities easily slip through the cracks when people waste half the day on technology. The dopamine triggered from modern technology signals a feeling of excitement or happiness in users, and users feel bored when they turn the appliance off.
Turning away from habitual media use will help resolve the bad habits created by social media, particularly regarding individual communication skills.
Studies show more than 50 percent of Generation Y and Millennial workers prefer to use instant messaging or other forms of media interaction in order to speak with their bosses, rather than choosing to speak with them in person. Social networking sites create the belief that relationships can be maintained or even created through the websites.
Employers typically want to speak in person.  Social media conversations do not create the belief the employee maintains a sense of professionalism.  More importantly, when heavy social media users incorporate Internet language into everyday speaking, the average person’s vocabulary is reduced.
Teenagers should have a vocabulary of about 40,000 words by the time they turn 16. Studies from Lancaster University, however, indicate teens today limit their vocabulary to around 800 words in regular conversation.Out of the 20 most commonly used words, the study found ‘yeah,’ ‘no’ and ‘but’ accounted for more than one-third of all words used by young people today.
One must possess strong and effective communication skills when entering the job market.  One cannot achieve this quality by training to speak in 140 characters or less.
Put down the cell phone or tablet in order to leave a positive impression on future employers. Speak clearly to the person with whom you wish to speak.  Look the person in their eyes when speaking.  Any other form or attempts of communication just gives another applicant the upper hand.
In the working world, one cannot pretend to be the best when they have very little to offer.
Many of today’s television programs consist of filthy rich men and women who rose to success through reality stardom.  Very few people will rise to such extreme levels of success without first working for it. No one in this cutthroat world should walk around with a sense of entitlement.
Almost everyone working their way through life must earn their keep and pay their dues before feeling like they deserve anything.
Knowledge must exist before one achieves success.  Hard work creates knowledge, and hard work starts at the very bottom.
Anyone who wants to drive a Bentley usually has to park some first.Those who will soon enter the job market and still struggle with the characteristics essential to gain a job must get their act together.
Do not miss out on an opportunity by refusing to recognize the ample amount of room for growth and the chance to learn.   Do not make the hiring decision easy for employers.