When I was just a little boy

[Benny]

I dreamt of being an architect. Don't ask. I achieved someone elses dream and became an IT Director at a successful firm instead.

So why is it that I spend my evenings doing other peoples jobs because they don't do what I expect them to. I worked my tight little ass off to get to where I am, and never passed up an opportunity to be better at what I was doing. Has the axis of evil released a chemical weapon driving apathy and lack of common sense in everyone under 30*? (

Kids (<30) of today...I hope they get Darwin'd real soon. :angry:

*Sweeping statement, may not contain any facts

[T-Bag]

I'm under 30 but I have common sense. However I know exactly what you mean, I've already developed a long list of people and services that are incompetent. As a physicist you'd imagine I'd spend time doing physics, but no I'm a graphical designed, mechanical engineer, computer programmer, electronics engineer and teacher all rolled into one.

Designing posters for conferences, designing and building equipment for the lab, writing full analysis programs, fixing power supplies and building fairly simple circuits, showing kids how cool degree level physics really is on UCAS open days.

When you're a jack of all trades the expectation is you won't be that great at any, but the sad thing is with the half arsed job many people do it's not hard to beat them at their own game...and I'm a lazy bugger. I shudder to think what a well motivated person could do...

[Benny]

Dishwashers, why can't people load them? If you put a bowl on the top shelf, the 'wrong' way, it will fill with dirty water and when you pull the shelf out it will cover all the clean dishes with filthy water. It's not hard.

Why is it hard to hang up a wet towel? Not hang up on top of another wet towel, one towel, one radiator, bins, don't stack them until overflowing, empty the flipping things. Tie handles and empty. I've had enough, I'm going to change the world one step at a time. If you're not a doctor/nurse/architect/fireman/policeman/binman then meet me at Beachy Head, we'll play frisbee and the world will feel better.

[ArithonUK]

Three recruitments I've supervised in the last six years. Interviewing is like a day at the zoo, complete with poo-flinging monkeys!

For the last two positions we've had to recruit the over 40's as the under 30's seem to have come out of education with a master's degree in apathy and GCSE's in unrealistic expectation and bad manners.

We had one graduate, straight out of university, who told us (with a straight face) he expected a salary of at least £50K and wanted to know what company car options we offered. (We're a small company based in Maidstone in Kent) Needless to say we LOL'd him to the door. :roflmao:

What I found shocking was the general reaction to simple programming tests, not just the inability to comprehend a Visual Basic loop, but the incredulity and horror displayed at the prospect of there BEING a test at all! :blink:
"What!, you want to test me? You should just take my word I'm god's gift to programming!"

I think the dumbing down of education and the cult of celebrity is to blame. Children are being given unrealistic assesments of their abilities, which is unfair to them, because when they reach the workplace they find they are not as good as the school examiners told them. Also, they aspire to being rich and famous, but not skilled or hardworking.

Benny, it's not just you. We have an ex-collegue who is now contracting in an IT department in a London Borough and said much the same as you. All his under 30 employees need hand holding and often have to do the job again because they always do things the easiest way, rather than thinking it through and doing it properly.

We're reaping the fallout of two decades of "league table" driven education.

[Gone_Away]

No offence guys but this is easy..
 
Are you confident that you set your expectations clearly and correctly? Have you built in a culture of challenge and openess so your staff are confident enough to walk in your office and clarify things?
 
Have you considered setting progress meetings or review dates prior to deadlines? Do you have recurring 1to1 meetings with your key staff to ensure that they are all swimming in the right direction? Do you key staff do the same?
 
Remember, you get what you measure / monitor. If you don't do either you get what you get and as a manager / director that's your fault.
 
NF

[DrunkenZombiee]

I am glad you have noticed this! I am a grumpy old man at heart (as all of you may have noticed by now).

I have to say you are right.

My generation are pretty bad, the generation below me are going to be awful.

Having been in a IT job for the last 3 years after UNI, I have to somewhat defend my fellow graduates in their expectation of a good salary and perks. If you are from a top UNI then they do somewhat brainwash info like: "When you have graduated you are easily worth half a million if you go to a bank and ask for a loan for your own business". That really was said in one of our professional practice and project lectures!

I spent a lot of my time in the Summer and during Uni starting up my own business with a couple of other students making software for large companies such as a now bust "Metronet" (they used to repair parts of a London Underground) and selling them the software at drastically reduced rates compared to other companies. I think we quoted 12k (beer money for the three of us working on it as a Summer project and to cover transport costs to London and back) for the software and other software houses quoted well over 100k.

I appreciate my Boss taking a punt on a snotty nosed kid right out of Uni, but I didn't ask for 50k right out of the blocks! Thats absurd as you need to prove your worth to the company over a period of years.

All of society is going down the pan, particularly in this country. Every Services/Utility company seems to be incompetent. Everything that can go wrong does, no one has pride in offering a good service anymore as everything goes into sales and once they have caught you in the Net you get no service. I know over 40's that are the same way TBH, they may have had the upbringing but by osmosis slowly their membrane has become more permeable to taking the "easy" way out.

As for graduates out of Uni, you cannot expect them to just "Get on with it" and do the job without some degree of hand holding. Uni doesn't prepare you for what it is like in the workplace and even though I had experience with dealing with customers, being sat in a board room for a multi-million pound contract with CEO's and a legal team sitting opposite you as the resident "Techie" is rather daunting in your first month in the job!

To anyone employing my generation, we are not all bad. Crack the whip a little and normally you get a good reaction, if you don't then let them go as they will probably never amount to anything.

I am really worried about this countries future as its is only getting worse!

DZ.

[Benny]

Ninj, you know I'm normally a happy go lucky chirpy fella!

I blame the French.

[BigFatCat]

Gizza job?

[Benny]

Serious BFC? What do you do nowadays?

[Penfold]

I've come to a conscious decide to employ only MILF's. Flippancy aside and taking out the 'ILF' part in MILF, I think mums at the school gates are one of the greatest untapped potential out there.

I'm on the cusp of setting up another business and as I was explaining to my  new business partner, they're perfect for our needs. so long as we recognise the out-of-action before 9.30am and after 2.30pm thing and can cover the unexpected marble-up-the-nose threrefore need time off to go to casualty scenarios then we have a good 5 hours where they can be utilised. Good for them and good for us.

Lots of bright, erudite, intelligent and keen people who would love to do a few hours' work.

(Also,  If they already have their complement of kids then I'm  not going to have to pay maternity for more..... yay).

[Blunt]

mums at the school gates are one of the greatest untapped potential out there.

Can't disagree with that:norty:

[Blunt]

Dishwashers, why can't people load them? If you put a bowl on the top shelf, the 'wrong' way, it will fill with dirty water and when you pull the shelf out it will cover all the clean dishes with filthy water. It's not hard.

Why is it hard to hang up a wet towel? Not hang up on top of another wet towel, one towel, one radiator, bins, don't stack them until overflowing, empty the flipping things. Tie handles and empty. I've had enough, I'm going to change the world one step at a time. If you're not a doctor/nurse/architect/fireman/policeman/binman then meet me at Beachy Head, we'll play frisbee and the world will feel better.

Are you reading this Tox?

[smilodon]

MILFS? Another new seam of labour for the merciless entrepreneur to tap into, although I think the non sexual innuendo term for them is Soccer Mom's..... Just checked and there's a porn category for that too :blink:

On a serious note you make a fair point, the mum's back to work that I know are generally a more sensible bunch than other err younger demographics

[sulky_uk]

got to agree with pen i would *do/hire  milfs any day of the week...

* delete as applicable

[BigFatCat]

Work moving the role to Denver, commuting becomes slightly better than present. Last day August 31st. Feel free to request a CV. All sorts of stuff. Support, testing, graphics, video, broadcasting. I'm like Daddy Pig, a bit of an expert.