b'Itisonlylogicaltomakeadecisivede- TIP FOUR: GOOD PEOPLEindustrymayprovequitesuccessfulifcisionwhethertogoforwardwiththis VS. GOOD EXPERIENCE their applications show strong worksizeofaninvestmentinquestion. Onechangeobservedoverthepastde- habitsandresponsibilities.cadesistheerosionofemployerfocusAgain,theobservedstumbleofletting uponchecklistexperience/educational CONCLUSIONmarginal employees pass probation is credentialsinapplicantselectionpro- Despite any advice, suggestions, orusuallycausedbytimeandeffortcon- cess.Inarapidlychangingworld,past tipsthatcanbeoffered,successfulem-cerns.Employerscanbejusttoobusy, experienceandskillscanquicklybesu- ployeehiringremainsoneofthemostortheeffortseemstoogreat,tostartthe perseded,andeducationalcredentials challengingfunctionsforanymarineemploymentprocessagainfromscratch. canoftenstandfortest-takingability employer.ThefewtipssharedaboveItiseasiertomakedowithamarginal insteadoftruejoborlifepreparation. fallfarshortofalltheconsiderationshire, than the admitted expense and inhiringnewemployees.demandsofanewsearch.Theresultis Todaysemployerstendtorecruitwithretainingamarginalworker. themaxim,Givemeasmartperson Toreview:carefullyanalyzetheappli-withgoodworkhabits,andIwilltrain cation,makeuseoftheprobationaryTIP THREE: theminwhateverskillstheyneedin period,considerwhetheryourjobwillFIRST JOB SYNDROME my workplace. Employers should satisfytheexpectationneedsofafirst-A recent WallStreetJournalarti- avoidmyopicattemptstohirefroma timeemployee,andconsiderafocuscle contained interviews of certain rigidskillset.Applicantswithnoexpe- onfindinggoodpeople,evenmoresoemployers announcing that they no rienceatallinthehospitalityormarine thangoodexperience.longerintendedtohirerecentcollegegraduates.Thereasonsstatedincludedobservationsrangingfromlaxtimeli-nesstoinappropriateworkdress.A complete ban on hiring first jobseekers seems extreme. Nevertheless,whetherin1974or2024,itremainsatruismthatfirst-timejobberscometothe workplace having never encoun-teredtherealitiesofworkingeverydayforapersonagenerationolderwhoisnotaforgivingparent,notasupport-iveteacher,orothersocialrelation.In2024,afirstjobmaybemorechal-lenging than in the past. One candebate whether a harder transition isbeing experienced by a younger gen-erationwhichislesswillingtoacceptemploymentasdull,repetitive,orslowtoreward.Whilethesesentimentsarelaudable,theinterviewprocessshouldbevigilanttodetectifanapplicantsper-sonaljobexpectationsfortheworkplace(e.g., excitement, challenge, financialgrowth, rapid promotion) are beyondthelandscapeanemployercanprovide.35 OCTOBER 2024'