Dear Editor,
This letter is prompted by the expressed dissatisfaction of an irate parent whose child turned up 18 minutes late to an interview for employment at my company. On top of that the applicant was dressed in ‘hip pants‘ which were literally falling off the applicant when she got up with ample exposure of her waist. Over the phone, the father was very obnoxious that I did not entertain his daughter’s application.
As an employer, I am appalled at how applicants present themselves for interviews. I recall inviting Mr Allan Fenty to my office and showing him equally appalling applications: no dates, no addresses, no signatures, etc, etc.
It puts one to wonder what role parents are playing in the lives of their children, and their teenage children particularly. The disconnect between acceptable organizational norms and the outlook of those who seek employment is widening by the day. And young applicants and their parents are highly offended when an employer chides the applicants for being late or inappropriately attired.
We seem to be heading down an abyss of no return. We are shouting at the number of subjects our high school graduates pass, but we pay very little attention to how ill-prepared they are to venture out into the real world. There is an over-emphasis on passing a large number of subjects at the expense basic common sense. Maybe the time has come for high schools to invite employers to address students in their final term at school.
If the notion that our high school graduates will make up the bulk of our work force has any validity, we have to make sure that the current mediocrity is addressed earliest. We have our work cut out with the large number of functional illiterates we are churning out.
Yours faithfully,
Taajnauth Jadunauth
Chief Executive Officer
Metro Office and Computer
Supplies
