AttentionTeens - Win at the Job Game

It was 2003 and I was a supervisor of hospitality at a major medical center in Brooklyn. I needed to hire a part-time hostess, and one of my staff recommended a volunteer who had helped her on the weekends. I contacted this volunteer, a young college student who I will call Kristen, and was quite anxious to meet her since I thought my search for a hostess would be over based on my employee's recommendation. I set up an interview with Kristen and she came on time. I noticed that she was very attractive and had a very bright and warm smile.

However, I noticed that she was wearing jeans. That was my first disappointment. I thought that she would dress more appropriately for a job interview. The individual who recommended her was also disappointed in her appearance. Nevertheless, I took Kristen to a private room where we could talk. Kristen was 19 years old and I thought she would have a resume or summary of her background to give me. When I asked her if she had a resume, she said that she did not prepare one. I then asked Kristen what her major was in college and learned that she wanted to be a nurse. I explained the job to Kristen and also continued to question her, but she spoke barely above a whisper and did not elaborate on her past experiences or background. She did not have any questions for me either. I brought in a senior hostess to interview her and to explain the job to her in more detail. Once again, Kristen didn't ask any questions.

Although she came highly recommended, I could not hire Kristen. She was woefully unprepared for the interview. Her dress, her communication skills, and lack of an organized written work summary did not give me a good idea of what her "whole person" was about. Kristen did not give me confidence that she could do a good job.

Kristen's story is not an unusual one. Last year I surveyed a group of 15 to18 year old hospital volunteers, and most of them stated that they were surprised by many aspects of the work environment when they first joined the hospital. Eighty-five percent of the volunteers surveyed said they did not know how to dress, and were amazed at what they didn't know about work. They were very glad for the opportunity to learn about the work world through their volunteer work.

If someone offered you a part-time or summer job today, would you be ready?

If you are in the early years of high school, I'm sure that the work world seems far away. I remember my teenage years as times of alternating study and fun. I loved to listen to music, hang out with my friends, and think about boyfriends. I thought about a career, but knew that I still had college in front of me, so I thought I had time to prepare. I didn't realize that looking for work, and succeeding at a career needed a particular strategy.

After a career as a recruiter and administrative manager in a major financial services company, then a second career in health care, I learned that it wasn't just education, or "luck" that led me to where I am today. It was about how I prepared, how I performed, and what I learned along the way. It was about how I developed my "whole person" for the workplace. The way my career developed depended on who I was as a person, and how I approached work, as much as my talents and abilities. This is the important message for you today. As a teen, you need to begin to develop your whole person now, so you are truly prepared for the workplace. The work place is like a playing field where you need to prepare and have a strategy to win at the game.

What is the "Whole Person"

Many young people believe that when you apply for work, whether it is for volunteer or paid work, full-time or part-time, that education and experience are the most important factors in obtaining work. While these factors are very, very important, these are only two factors out of many that an employer looks at when considering a person to work in his or her organization. As a recruiter, I looked at everything about the person in addition to his or her education and experience. I, along with other employers, look at the whole range of individual characteristics that I call the whole person. We look at how the job candidate is dressed, how he or she presents his or herself. In other words, does he or she enter the room with confidence? Does the candidate look us in the eye, appear alert, friendly, and smile? This is what I call "deportment". How well does he or she speak? Can he or she communicate well? Does he or she appear truly interested in the job? Does he or she ask questions about the job? Has he or she researched about the company and the job? Along with all of this, we consider the resume and education.

If the candidate is very young and has little or no experience, the presentation of the whole person is even more important. I will gather from the person what type of employee he or she can be. I will either see potential, or a person who is not ready for the job.

How You Can Begin to Prepare Your Whole Person

In order to begin developing your whole person for the workplace, the first thing you need to do is to look at yourself. Look at your physical presentation. Look in the mirror. How do you dress on a regular basis? I know that all teenagers want to impress their friends and look hip. You can look good, but do you look sloppy? Do you know that dressing sloppily can really take away from your good looks, and it gives the impression that you may not be a very responsible person? You should focus on being neat first, and then look at the type of clothes you wear. While you'll dress a certain way to go to the beach or hang out with friends, that will not be appropriate when you go to a place of employment to inquire about a job. Look to your parents and other working people for advice when you are going job hunting or applying for a volunteer job.

Maria Reyes, who came to the United States from the Dominican Republic when she was six years old, remembers watching two neighbors going to work when she was still going to school. Maria admired how nicely they were dressed. Maria copied their way of dress throughout her schooling and into the workforce. Maria is one of my former employees when I worked in Merrill Lynch. She started as an Administrative Assistant and was promoted to Assistant Vice President within a few years. Maria is now an Assistant Treasurer in the Bank of New York.

I know that today many jobs allow employees to "dress down". If you are told by your manager that you can dress casually, that's fine. However, on a first interview always dress more business-like, and then take instruction from your manager when you are finally on the job.

The next thing you must look at is how you communicate to others. Do you use good English? Do you use a lot of slang? If you are a recent immigrant, are you working on your language skills? Remember that in school you are attending English classes that teach you the correct way of speaking. I don't mean that you need to use big words or have a very large vocabulary. It's about speaking properly, using correct grammar and an appropriate tone of voice. It is about having a strong and confident voice. It is very important to enhance your communication skills so that you will be ready when it comes to interview for a job. Pay attention to classes that focus on speech and debating. These classes will come in very handy when you are ready for work.

Probably the most important part of your whole person that is apparent to others is related to your attitudes and feelings. How do you feel about yourself? Do you feel good about yourself? Do you have self-confidence? Do you have a generally good attitude towards other people? Danese Giacchino, an 18 year old recent high school graduate got her first part-time job at age 17. Danese told me that what helped her in her first job interview was her self-confidence. When I asked her how she gained self confidence, she told me that it was the feeling she had within herself. She felt "positive" about herself and looked positive. When it came to interview for the job, Danese told herself that she could do the job.

Unless you feel good about yourself, the other parts of your "whole person" will not come together in a positive way. If you do not feel good about yourself, try to examine why that is so. If you are having problems at home or at school, it is very important that you discuss these problems with a parent, a friend's parent, a teacher, a pastor, or other individual whom you respect that can help you. This is a very critical time in your development, and what you feel and do during your teenage years will affect the rest of your life. It is important that you seek out whatever help you need, including counseling if necessary, if you are not feeling good about yourself and are experiencing problems. Having bad feelings is not very comfortable. I know, because I lost my mother at age 14, and had to struggle with anxiety for several years. I was determined to overcome it, and I sought help.

When you feel good about your self and have a good attitude about life and people, what I call the "Success Equation" takes effect. Good feelings about your self, plus a good attitude, equal valuing and respecting yourself, and this equals confidence. Valuing yourself leads you to value others, and this builds relationships. The workplace is full of relationships. The better you feel about yourself, the better your attitude, and the better you will work and foster good working relationships.

Your feelings about school are also very important. How you approach school, and how diligent you are in your studies bear a direct relationship to how well you will do in the future and what you can attain. This does not mean you need to be the smartest person in class. As you long as you apply yourself and persist in your class work, and seek assistance with your class work when needed, you will succeed. Applying yourself and persisting in life, school and in work is what truly makes the difference for success. It doesn't matter what type of work you are doing. It's how you approach it that matters.

The other aspects of finding a job - preparing a resume and preparing for the job interview, will not take a lot of your time. There are numerous books and web-sites dealing with interview tips and resume preparation. In a matter of hours, you can have a good resume prepared, and a list of interview tips to study. On the other hand, the preparation of your whole person is an on-going process. It does not happen overnight. It involves a continuous and honest evaluation of your Self. It involves developing a positive feeling about yourself, your abilities and the world around you. It involves persistence in school and work and a can-do attitude.

As a teen, you are at the crossroads of the rest of your life. When you go to college or for other training, you should already be on your way to your future career. The way you examine your image and develop your person now will serve you for the rest of your life. If you can look at yourself honestly, you will begin to discover more of yourself. If you can act on the personal issues in your life today, and seek help to solve your problems if you need to, you will feel good about yourself and find confidence. It's up to you. Your future person is in your hands. Now is the time to act, so that when you approach the workplace you will approach it will confidence and achieve your dreams.