I have had a few interactions with the less-than-21-crowd recently that leave me a bit...concerned? dismayed? Whatever the right word is, I have been unimpressed.
The biggest 'issue' I have is related to two alumni interviews I did for my alma mater. This is actually the first year I have volunteered to interview, but I know several people who have done it for years. The two applicants were very different, and I had different impressions of who they are and their level of interest in the college after talking with them. For one of the interviews, I had to contact the applicant twice to try to set up a time, AND the applicant was off reading in the library and only found me at the front 15 minutes after we were supposed to meet...as in I guess she thought I would wander around the library asking young women if they were her? Aside from that, the most surprising thing is that neither applicant sent me a thank-you after the interview. They both had my email address and phone number. It would have taken less than five minutes to thank me for my time and the opportunity to add to their application package and blah, blah, blah. On top of that, I thought parents were supposed to be all over-involved in their children's lives (stereotypically speaking about those helicopter parents, of course). Did none of those parents (and one applicant was driven by a parent lest you think they met me without a parent's knowledge!) check in with their child after the interview to tell them to send a quick thank you?
The second 'issue' has to do with a sense of, I think, entitlement I often encounter in undergraduates. This is not meant to apply across all undergraduates, but my example illustrates what I mean. The grad student in my lab just got married, and we did not have an end-of-semester lab get-together in December as my boss likes to do. So she teamed up with the head of the grad student's wife's lab for a joint "happy wedding!" get-together. We have some new work study students in the lab, and the one who is a freshman was able to come. After we had all eaten and we were sitting around in various places chatting, said freshman came in holding a beer. He had his hand completely over the label at all times, as if that would prevent us from figuring out what he was drinking. Is drinking really SOOOO exciting that as a non-21-year-old-freshman you would grab a beer at a professor's house???? I think this exhibits a clear lack of respect for our hosts. For those of you into judging others, this kid also wears a baseball hat with a flat rim, which I personally find looks silly.
5 comments:
I'm half and half with ya on this. The thank you letter would have totally slipped my mind. I guess I would think of an interview like that as a normal part of doing business, I was raised by wolves. The beer thing was totally disrespectful...
Ron, I guess I just figure if they really want to go to the school, there would have been more effort. Particularly with the girl who left me hangin' for 15 minutes!
LOL... OK the late thing I would totally understand. I'm a bit of a nut about punctuality. As far as getting in a school... ok maybe I understand then. I'm used to schools where if you cut them a check you go to school, but one that actually screens you to get in would require more effort.
We talk about this at school sometimes. Evidently, the art of sending a thank you note is becoming lost on people when it comes to interviews of all kinds (admissions, jobs, internships, etc.)
As for underage drinking at a small gathering, I don't see that happening usually. I would hope that is an isolated issue and specific to the clueless-ness of that particular person, but it is certainly hard to know.
Kids these days... My experience with younger people, and I'm talking anyone under 30, is that there is way too much of a sense of entitlement. Not everyone in that age group, but it does tend to be a very common problem.
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