The general decline in standards today

[vintageTink]

Henry Cho is much funnier and not at all vulgar.
[video=youtube_share;U7_3xxQXgFs]http://youtu.be/U7_3xxQXgFs[/video]
He even covers the stupid topic there.

He cracks me up! "When they going to boldly go?"

 

[Stanley Doble]

Anybody can work dirty. A little girl can say "poop poop" and her little friends will laugh so hard milk comes out of their noses.

It's a dead givaway to a lack of talent.

 

[Stearmen]

Anybody can work dirty. A little girl can say "poop poop" and her little friends will laugh so hard milk comes out of their noses.

It's a dead givaway to a lack of talent.

Then you must have loved George Carlin! Best known for the seven words you can not say on television, he also did a routine where he came on live TV in front of a packed audience, and said nothing. For around three minutes, he was completely silent and the crowd was in stiches, and those of us at home, were rolling on the floor. Pure genius! I tried to find the video, but no luck, hopefully some one here can find it.

 

[Captain Neon]

I may have commented on this elsewhere, but what ever happened to rejection letters after going to an interview? In to day's on-line application process where any one can apply for any job opening regardless of meeting any of the minimum requirements, I can understand why most applications enter a black hole. However, I think that if an employer has enough interest in one's application materials to invite some one for an interview that candidate deserves the closure of at least an e-mail telling the candidate that they weren't chosen for the job. I'm still waiting for feedback over a year later for a job that I drove 45 minutes one way for two separate interviews when the HR Manager promised me that she would get back to me immediately as soon as they made a decision. Actually, I know that they hired some one over a year ago, but is it really so hard to flip some one an e-mail? This isn't the only time that I have gone on an interview where the prospective employer never got back to me, even after they spent a significant amount of money bringing me in.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Then you must have loved George Carlin! Best known for the seven words you can not say on television, he also did a routine where he came on live TV in front of a packed audience, and said nothing. For around three minutes, he was completely silent and the crowd was in stiches, and those of us at home, were rolling on the floor. Pure genius! I tried to find the video, but no luck, hopefully some one here can find it.

Can't stand George Carlin. Tried to dig his stuff but never could.

Except this. He matured a bit when he got to be 70. Not many dirty words in this diatribe but it looks more prescient every year.

Ironic that the dirty talking hippy and iconoclast ended up a prophet somewhat to the right of Nahum the Elkoshite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jQT7_rVxAE

 

[Gregg Axley]

I may have commented on this elsewhere, but what ever happened to rejection letters after going to an interview? In to day's on-line application process where any one can apply for any job opening regardless of meeting any of the minimum requirements, I can understand why most applications enter a black hole. However, I think that if an employer has enough interest in one's application materials to invite some one for an interview that candidate deserves the closure of at least an e-mail telling the candidate that they weren't chosen for the job. I'm still waiting for feedback over a year later for a job that I drove 45 minutes one way for two separate interviews when the HR Manager promised me that she would get back to me immediately as soon as they made a decision. Actually, I know that they hired some one over a year ago, but is it really so hard to flip some one an e-mail? This isn't the only time that I have gone on an interview where the prospective employer never got back to me, even after they spent a significant amount of money bringing me in.

I've had this happen.
The letter came 8 months after they hired someone.
I knew they had hired someone because a friend told me, and it was 8mos to the day before I got a letter.
I understand waiting to see if their new hire works out, if not then you contact the next in line (me) and let me know when my start date will be.
But by 8mos they are past the probation period, and harder to get rid of.
Bad form though, I agree 100% on that.

 

[Virginia Creeper]

I may have commented on this elsewhere, but what ever happened to rejection letters after going to an interview? In to day's on-line application process where any one can apply for any job opening regardless of meeting any of the minimum requirements, I can understand why most applications enter a black hole. However, I think that if an employer has enough interest in one's application materials to invite some one for an interview that candidate deserves the closure of at least an e-mail telling the candidate that they weren't chosen for the job. I'm still waiting for feedback over a year later for a job that I drove 45 minutes one way for two separate interviews when the HR Manager promised me that she would get back to me immediately as soon as they made a decision. Actually, I know that they hired some one over a year ago, but is it really so hard to flip some one an e-mail? This isn't the only time that I have gone on an interview where the prospective employer never got back to me, even after they spent a significant amount of money bringing me in.

The lack of consideration is especially endemic in the service sector. As my daughter's orthodonist seems to prefer being paid in money rather than wishes and good intentions, I've found myself needing a part time job, as my freelancing simply doesn't bring in reliable income. Frequently, I'm told that applicants are under no circumstances allowed to inquire as to the nature of their application, or to ask the manager for feedback if/when they're passed over. And interviews? Forget it. "We'll only contact those we hire, and you're not to contact us with questions." I missed out on a family trip to the cottage with my children this summer over a job that seemed to be sewn up after two interviews, and never heard a word back. I find it very discouraging to not even rate a quick phone call or email after two interviews.

 

[dh66]

I suppose I'm lucky(???) to have worked most of my adult life in the construction industry. I don't ever recall a time when "you're hired" or "shove off" didn't come at the end of the interview. Heck, more than once when I went in to submit a resume, with no interview at all, I was told that if I could be at the jobsite by 6 a.m. the next morning I had the job.

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

 

[Stanley Doble]

I suppose I'm lucky(???) to have worked most of my adult life in the construction industry. I don't ever recall a time when "you're hired" or "shove off" didn't come at the end of the interview. Heck, more than once when I went in to submit a resume, with no interview at all, I was told that if I could be at the jobsite by 6 a.m. the next morning I had the job.

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

That's because the job involved actual useful work.

 

[LizzieMaine]

We live in a world that puts way too much emphasis on the formalities of getting a job and not enough on the realities of keeping one. Resumes for a minimum wage job? Pre-employment quizzes? Background checks?

I can tell within thirty seconds of meeting an applicant if I'm going to hire them or not. Shamble in the door stinking of dope, with eyes going in different directions, and an obscene slogan on your t-shirt and ask me in a slurred voice "you hiring?" and the answer will, invariably, be NO.

That takes care of two-thirds of the kids I see around here right off the bat.

 

[jamespowers]

We live in a world that puts way too much emphasis on the formalities of getting a job and not enough on the realities of keeping one. Resumes for a minimum wage job? Pre-employment quizzes? Background checks?

I can tell within thirty seconds of meeting an applicant if I'm going to hire them or not. Shamble in the door stinking of dope, with eyes going in different directions, and an obscene slogan on your t-shirt and ask me in a slurred voice "you hiring?" and the answer will, invariably, be NO.

That takes care of two-thirds of the kids I see around here right off the bat.

That would take care of 90% around here. lol lol

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

We live in a world that puts way too much emphasis on the formalities of getting a job and not enough on the realities of keeping one. Resumes for a minimum wage job? Pre-employment quizzes? Background checks?

I can tell within thirty seconds of meeting an applicant if I'm going to hire them or not. Shamble in the door stinking of dope, with eyes going in different directions, and an obscene slogan on your t-shirt and ask me in a slurred voice "you hiring?" and the answer will, invariably, be NO.

That takes care of two-thirds of the kids I see around here right off the bat.

Gotta love the pre-employment quiz which seems to be designed to make you look bad no matter how you score on it. I mean even criminals have the 5th Amendment!

 

[Captain Neon]

I used to believe that business operated to make a profit and that it was always in a business' best interest to retain the employees that do the best work. I have learned the hard way that: 1) many young managers fear any one that might supplant them: fire your highest performers!, 2) some managers have pets and they will drive off qualified people just so that they can promote an unqualified pet, 3) if a well-connected colleague dislikes you for whatever reason, they will use their influence to sabotage your job, and 4) regardless of the truth, people are fired simply because it is cheaper to risk a wrongful termination suit from one employee than a discrimination suit and some one needs to be made an example. I guess I've just never been good at office politics, and I've worked for some real "winners" over the years.

I've always treated my employees well, and have never disciplined an employee that wasn't given all the chances and opportunities to turn things around. I've never felt good dismissing or demoting any employee. I only wish that I would have received the same consideration.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I used to believe that business operated to make a profit and that it was always in a business' best interest to retain the employees that do the best work. I have learned the hard way that: 1) many young managers fear any one that might supplant them: fire your highest performers!, 2) some managers have pets and they will drive off qualified people just so that they can promote an unqualified pet, 3) if a well-connected colleague dislikes you for whatever reason, they will use their influence to sabotage your job, and 4) regardless of the truth, people are fired simply because it is cheaper to risk a wrongful termination suit from one employee than a discrimination suit and some one needs to be made an example. I guess I've just never been good at office politics, and I've worked for some real "winners" over the years.

I've always treated my employees well, and have never disciplined an employee that wasn't given all the chances and opportunities to turn things around. I've never felt good dismissing or demoting any employee. I only wish that I would have received the same consideration.

Ambition and cronyism certainly aren't new phenomena. If anything, I see less of it today than say 20 years ago.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Yes, the Manager's Worst Nightmare: The punk kid he hired ten years ago who is now his boss.

 

[Stanley Doble]

I used to believe that business operated to make a profit and that it was always in a business' best interest to retain the employees that do the best work. I have learned the hard way that: 1) many young managers fear any one that might supplant them: fire your highest performers!, 2) some managers have pets and they will drive off qualified people just so that they can promote an unqualified pet, 3) if a well-connected colleague dislikes you for whatever reason, they will use their influence to sabotage your job, and 4) regardless of the truth, people are fired simply because it is cheaper to risk a wrongful termination suit from one employee than a discrimination suit and some one needs to be made an example. I guess I've just never been good at office politics, and I've worked for some real "winners" over the years.

I've always treated my employees well, and have never disciplined an employee that wasn't given all the chances and opportunities to turn things around. I've never felt good dismissing or demoting any employee. I only wish that I would have received the same consideration.

One more reason: a lot of bosses don't know who their best employees are. I am not kidding, they don't notice who does the best job, or who never misses a day and always hands in their assignment on time, or whose department always runs smoothly and never has a crisis.

They seem to be easily taken in by plausible liars who put up a big front but never do their job and by people who always seem to be working hard putting out fires caused by their own neglect and bad management.

 

[LizzieMaine]

One more reason: a lot of bosses don't know who their best employees are. I am not kidding, they don't notice who does the best job, or who never misses a day and always hands in their assignment on time, or whose department always runs smoothly and never has a crisis.

They seem to be easily taken in by plausible liars who put up a big front but never do their job and by people who always seem to be working hard putting out fires caused by their own neglect and bad management.

The tree rots from the top down.

 

[Virginia Creeper]

We live in a world that puts way too much emphasis on the formalities of getting a job and not enough on the realities of keeping one. Resumes for a minimum wage job? Pre-employment quizzes? Background checks?

Pre-employment quizzes have been getting up my nose something fierce. Why can't we just agree that I've got excellent references and over a decade of retail/customer service experience and call it a job? Back in the long-ago times, before kids kept me out of the workforce, I never had to do any of this inane stuff.

As it turns out, one of my husband's high school friends is looking for part-time seasonal staff at the bookstore he manages, so cronyism seems to be working in my favour.

 

[Captain Neon]

Gotta love the pre-employment quiz which seems to be designed to make you look bad no matter how you score on it. I mean even criminals have the 5th Amendment!

I'm sure if Thomas Edison, Nicola Tesla, Albert Einstein, and Werner von Braun had to submit to these absurd personality tests, Americans may still be burning candles at night, using steam power in its factories, the Axis would have won WWII, and the Russians would have landed on the moon first. These pre-employment quizzes were designed to screen human resources employees and salesmen; not technical employees.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

The most infamous is the Stanton (or Pinkerton) Survey which is supposedly designed to gauge a prospective employee's honesty. Among the questions are:

Do you agree with this statement: "Some of my friends are a little honest but I do not put them down."?

Would you return money to a store if a clerk gave you too much change?

Is it all right to bend company rules as long as it does not become a habit?

Is it all right for employees to use a sick day for reasons other than illness?

Have you ever hurt anyone's feelings?

Do you always finish what you start?

Did you ever help a friend by letting him/her have your employee discount without a supervisor's approval?

Would most employees steal if they would not get caught?

When there are no opportunities to advance in a company, do employees turn to stealing?

Is it fun to see how much your supervisor will let you get away with?

The problem is that even if you score high, that is answer the questions "correctly," they're probably going to think you're lying because, after all, "nobody is perfect."