You can’t teach anyone how satisfying it is to come home exhausted and tired, with a fistful of cash, earned at a J-O-B. It has to be experienced firsthand. With an uncountable number of interviews conducted over the last 10 years as a recruiter, I’ve heard many stories of first jobs and the successes and failures that accompany them. Recently though, I’m seeing many candidates who have never known the fulfillment of working. Not in high school, not in college, not ever!

Entering the Workforce…….

As a teen, I picked up all kinds of side jobs & projects to earn money. It was just what you did. No question. My first job was to detassel corn. It was grueling. The day started early, about 6 am. You stand in a bucket attached to a tractor….all…..day…..long. The day is spent pulling tassels out of corn stalks as you go by in a kind of reverse assembly line riddled with bugs. The corn stained your hands and arms green for days! You’d think wearing this green armor in public would be embarrassing enough to a “tween” to put them in therapy for two decades. But it wasn’t. Anyone who saw you with that lovely lizard like glow knew you had money!

Staying in the Workforce…..

I know that my early work experiences taught me about punctuality, consistency, and teamwork with people who weren’t my friends (all still a constant work in progress). I also learned that a boss is different than a teacher. Without a doubt these early experiences shaped who I am as both an employee and as a supervisor. Are recent graduates with zero work experience learning these lessons? Where? Is this contributing to newbies’ difficulty transitioning from student to employee? I wonder how this trend will affect our future work force? Perhaps these folks don’t need to learn things the hard way and have audited a course on workplace behavior (smirk).

Is this a phenomenon only affecting the southside of Atlanta? If there’s a sociologist in the house, speak up!