By Jim Roha

This is probably one of the most inhospitable labor markets that we’ve seen in decades. Employers enjoy a distinct advantage with a labor pool whose sheer size significantly exceeds the number of jobs available. So I’d like to offer advice to young people in search of jobs. While some comments might seem a bit obvious, this advice is evidently not being taught in schools, or in some homes.

Get as much education as you can, particularly while someone else is paying for it.

One guidance counselor’s idea of mentoring was to ask a student if he wanted an easy senior year, and then to put him in an unchallenging math course. What an intellectual insult and colossal disservice! Education is not about having an easy year. That student must now pay college tuition to obtain the mathematics credentials needed for his chosen career — credentials which could easily have been earned in high school. Education, like athletics and the arts, should present a challenge and promote an individual drive to excel.

If you are thinking of quitting school, don’t do it!

You figure you can always go back and get your GED, right? Well stay in school anyway and get a real high school diploma. Some employers do distinguish between a GED and a diploma from an accredited high school. Do you want your application to be in the “If All Else Fails” pile or the “Likely Candidates” file? It’s your choice.

Bad credit or a criminal conviction can disqualify you from the job of your dreams.

Back in the old days, employers needed warm bodies to fill production vacancies, and hiring standards were more relaxed. Today, a number of employers conduct credit checks and background checks on prospective employees as an effective means of narrowing the gigantic field of applicants, so pay your bills on time and keep out of trouble with the law.

Just say no.

This was good advice when Nancy Reagan offered it, and it is excellent advice today. One high-paying industry conducted a job fair and 50 applicants showed up. After a morning of aptitude testing, the human resource people announced a lunch break, after which drug screenings would be conducted. Nearly half of the applicants failed to return that afternoon. They disqualified themselves from an $80,000-a-year job because they had controlled substances in their systems. That was a pretty expensive joint, wasn’t it?

Leave the pink hair and nose rings at home.

Nose rings, tongue studs, and ear grommets set off the metal detectors and disrupt the workplace. Call me narrow-minded, but if a prospective employee’s eyebrow rings caused my facility to go into lock-down mode, that would negatively influence my hiring decision. By the way, pink, purple, and green hair are OK only if you are applying for a position as a parrot. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard of any such openings, but I’d be glad to let you know if one comes up.

They measure pants by waist size, because that’s where the pants should be worn.

My young friends inform me that only nerds and old people wear pants at waist level. OK, I’m kinda old, but when I was young, if a guy’s pants were hanging at hip level, that meant he was about to “moon” somebody. So when I see your Wranglers hanging mid-thigh, I tend to think of that as a sign that you are telling someone to kiss your #@@. That may not be the message you intend to send, but it is definitely the message that is being received by old people who make the hiring decisions.

Common courtesy is an uncommon commodity.

Sometimes what you don’t say is more important than the spoken word. This is known as nonverbal communications. An applicant who shows up late for an interview without a reasonable explanation is telling his employer that he has no respect for his time. When someone is conversing with me while texting a friend on his cell phone, he is conveying the message that he finds my company dull and uninteresting. He might be correct, but since I am the guy offering a job, you’d better not let me see that side of you until after you’ve been hired.

Too much information is not necessarily a good thing.

Once upon a time, my partner and I were interviewing one of the finalists for an administrative assistant position. We asked the candidate, “Why are you leaving your present employer?” Of course, this was intended as a trick question, but the idiot actually gave us chapter and verse about how terrible her old boss was. She was so absorbed in her story that she didn’t notice the look that passed between my partner and me. Obviously, we didn’t hire her, and the moral of the story is this: NEVER, EVER bad-mouth a former boss to a prospective employer. If you bad-mouth him, then you would do the same to us, and we’re better off without you.

“Thank you” — the two most important words in the English language

Recent experiences after a spate of weddings, birthdays, and graduation parties lead me to believe that nobody writes thank-you notes anymore. I miss the old ways sometimes. My hat-and-gloves-to-church Irish Catholic mother and my German Episcopalian (Republican) father taught me that you should always say “thank you, no matter how small the gift.” A two-word note of gratitude is a small accommodation, especially if it makes someone else happy. In fact, I’d be happy with one word — thanks! Then I would know that the gift reached its intended recipient, which is half the reason thank-you notes are written.



We finally hired an administrative assistant. It was an easy choice, really. The successful applicant was the person who took the time to write a brief note expressing appreciation for the opportunity to be interviewed.

Who you are, what you are and what you have to offer are all part of the message you are communicating. Let us hope that the message being conveyed is the one you intend to send.



Roha is a former Meadville city councilman. He can be contacted at jroha@windstream.net.