I've been following the recent unemployment statistics with horror, but no surprise. In particular, the recent figures I saw with regard to college graduates: 53% estimated to be unemployed or underemployed. Sure, I completely understand, from what I've seen, most are unemployable.
Throughout my long career as both attorney and in the entertainment business, I hired people for some of the best jobs imaginable...traveling around the world selling television programs to international broadcasters.
Tough life? Well, a bit on the go for several months a year. Tough places to visit? Ummmm...not so much. Think Cannes, Monte Carlo, Paris, London, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York City. First class hotels and restaurants, air travel and all expenses paid. A decent salary. What were we selling? Only "Spiderman," "The Hulk," "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe," "Fat Albert," documentaries, action series, animated features. You get the picture. We entertained top brass from The Discovery and The Learning Channel, Canal Plus, French Networks, PBS, the BBC and so forth. All interesting people, educated, charming and informed. My job was to wine and dine them at the world's finest restaurants and sell them programming.
These were plum jobs and most of the people I hired went on to even higher positions. Why? Because I took the time to train each one of them not only how to do their work, but also how to dress and behave within the business culture, and they took the time to learn. It was a serious endeavor and we made a lot of money. I've worked as a consultant training people in the entertainment business. I've been a speaker at industry functions for over two decades helping business people, attorneys, accountants, IT, understand the mechanics of the business. At UCLA Extension I taught "The Business of Television in a Digital Age" and my 'students' were executives from FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC, HBO, Wells Fargo Bank, Warners, Sony, DIC Entertainment, Saban Entertainment, Disney, international television networks, attorneys, talent agents, independent producers, actors, directors, writers, and composers. All wanting to get ahead in business.
As a member of the Television Academy Arts and Sciences I judge the college Emmys. Why? Because I believe that the young people are the ones who need the encouragement to succeed. The programming they turn out is spectacular. Their professional and business culture sense is naive and crippling.
My goal is to help the talented graduates colleges and universities are turning out find their way to success. The reason for dramatic unemployment statistics answer is scarily simple. Most of the applicants are unemployable because they have no clue what it means to work. They lack respect. They feel entitled, and they don't understand the culture of the workplace. An "Ah-hah!" moment.
Then I collected stories. Those coming to interviews with their parents, animals, friends. Inappropriate attire. Texting and taking phone calls during interviews. Asking when they would have a raise before they were hired. Profanity. Using slang and 'like,' 'gotcha' and 'you know' to the point of nausea. Applicants proudly sporting tattoos, piercings, ear gages, sexually inappropriate clothing. And worse, interrupting interviewers, over-talking, failing to listen. Poor hygiene! Depressing.
Certainly not what I looked for in the people I hired.
I looked for people who had the ability to go much further than the job they were hired for, people who had the stuff for success.
I could tell who they were in the first few minutes of an interview. I didn't want people who would work for me for a few months and leave, it took too much of my valuable time to train them to earn their keep. I wanted someone who was in for the long haul and had the potential to be a winner.
There are things that human resources will never say. Things that are politically incorrect, but that every person in charge of hiring looks for and will never admit. They have nothing to do with the color of a person's skin, their sex or their religion, but they have everything to do with their attitude and bearing. Things that mother and dad did not teach to most of the new graduates. Time for a lesson in reality before it's too late.
"How To Get And Keep The Best Jobs" by A. Donenfeld shares these secrets in straight-forward no-nonsense language. Buy it and learn.
It's available in both book and Kindle format through Amazon.com The book is a guide to navigate the currents and sharp obstructions on the swift river to success. How to conduct yourself in an interview, what to put on your resume, how to behave in the office, what to do and never do.
www.amazon.com/How-Get-Keep-Best-Jobs http://amzn.to/17c20LN
