Was I ever this stupid?

So-- I just interviewed a potential intern... Not only did she just graduate, but she took the long route, so she had to be almost 24-ish.. So, you would think would have a little more life experience and polish then let's say, a 19 year old who was still in school.

I asked her what led her to advertising, why did she want to get into it.. She sat there in stunned silence.

I asked her to tell me what her ideal job would be-- like, what is she looking to do. She asked me to repeat the question, then again, mouth gaping.

I did not ask stupid bullshite interview questions-- I wanted to get a sense of her interest and passion for the industry-- doesn't anyone tell these people to be prepared??? When I was just out of school, I had an arsenal of answers for questions like these-- and you should KNOW why you want to do what you want to do. PSA, the answer is NOT "just 'cause".

edited for typos

Message edited 6/13/2007 11:33:30 AM.

Re: Was I ever this stupid?

I definitely understand where you are coming from - but coming from someone that FREAKS out at interviews- I can understand a little.

Sorry you felt is was a waste of time though.

Re: Was I ever this stupid?

I get that interviews are scary-- especially your first ones... But, I mean-- you need to know WHAT you want to do.

Re: Was I ever this stupid?

I never thought I'd be the older person saying that young people nowadays don't have work ethics or pay attention to detail. I receive resumes that have spelling mistakes. When I was making my first resume, I don't even think had spell check but I got it right!!!!!!!

Re: Was I ever this stupid?

ITA, they prepared us for any possible question in college and I can't imagine going into an interview and acting like you never thought they would ask one of these simple questions.

Re: Was I ever this stupid?

Re: Was I ever this stupid?

Message edited 6/13/2007 11:57:10 AM.

Re: Was I ever this stupid?

I'm noticing more and more some of the new graduates are ill prepared for the work world. They are looking for a glamourous job with perks and salaries starting in the 40's and 50's but have no clue.

Aren't colleges preparing people? If not, what are they doing to prep them for the real world.

I also want to say, that some people don't interview well.

Re: Was I ever this stupid?

I just fired a temp.

He wanted to run his "ebay" home business while I was training him, texting people at the same time I was explaining things to him. Take a 30 minutes filing job and turn it into a "4" hour job. Go to lunch at whatever time he felt that day, etc..

He was just a graduate from college.

Work ethic... zero! I would think he would have been taught business etiquette. Maybe that's just common sense.

Re: Was I ever this stupid?

Maybe it has something to do with that story that was posted a few weeks ago - that so many kids these days are having their parents hold their hands through everything, that when they get out into the real world they have no idea what to do.

Also, I am sure there were people who were just as naive and stupid when we were that age (and probably still are).

Re: Was I ever this stupid?

I teach college and I am stunned at the excuses students try and give me. The sense of entitlement is unbelievable - I'm not surprised this has translated to poor job performance.

Re: Was I ever this stupid?

We were just discussing firing an intern.

Yes, she's free lablor, but it's not worth it if she is just going to stare blankly & not process anything we are telling her.

I don't know if its just kids today though. Our previous intern was great.

And 9 years ago, when my boss was interviewing for my orignal position, she said she had the biggest bunch of wackos.

People staring out the window, talking about how he wanted to write poetry, one guy showing up with his dad. . . so every generation has 'em , I guess.

Re: Was I ever this stupid?

you'd be surprised, the things people do on interviews and leading up to them. I've never led one per say, but i've heard stories from my ex-boss about people who send resumes with handwritten cover letters, people who send with photos, etc. Or people ON the interview who never took the time to check out the company's website.