by T.J. Paul

Created on: July 19, 2008

As a teacher of "millenials," or Generation Y, for the past 12 years, I do feel partly responsible for being a part of an industry that coddles to the kid who doesn't get the homework in on time. But administrators, unwilling to deal with parents, who then discipline teachers for teaching kids a lesson, create an environment in which kids do not learn the necessary life skills. Add to that the majority of colleges with numerous attendance-optional courses and you have graduates with little chance of surviving in a traditional workplace.

That being said, I am skeptical of giving employees everything to make them happy. That's not capitalism, that's utopia - and utopias never succeed. What then?

I think that employers DO have to realize that it is now their responsibility to do what the parents and schools did not do - teach work ethic. What the hell? Can that even be taught?

The answer is yes and it's probably not as daunting a task as you might think. Let me be clear - many, if not most candidates that are qualified for a position but do not have the requisite work ethic to go along will NOT be able to learn these skills - at least not on a reasonable time for an employer. But many CAN and, in fact, are WILLING to. They may already exhibit the traits necessary to make work ethic success just a few steps away.

For example, if they are proficient in a certain area, they likely have discipline to stick with something. If they were part of a winning team in high school or college, a sense of perseverance and respect for authority is already there (along with a number of other skills too.) Good grades are also signs of goal setting and achievement.

So how do you find the right candidate from Generation Y? Because most first jobs for teens do not enforce important work skills, the less time in the workforce, probably the better. That is unless a previous job allowed the candidate to develop and demonstrate a high degree of success.

The best strategy would be talk to teachers and coaches and ask the following questions:
1. Is he trainable and willing to listen to authority?
2. Does he have common sense?
3. What were his worst flaws, why do you think he had them and do you think with patience I could help him correct these?
4. Was he punctual in attendance and turning in assignments? (if needed) Do you think this can be corrected?
5. Was he mature for his age? Examples.
6. Does he seem like the kind of person who might want something for nothing? Do you think he ever cheated?
7.

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