Employer Quotes

The quotes below are about this issue:
Employers look for candidates who are able to hold themselves accountable, are adaptable and have a strong work ethic. Some employers feel that professionalism is lacking in new hires, and some suggest this is due to generational differences.

Employer Quote	Region
"Employer 1: Adaptability is very key. I don't know if this is a generational thing or not but just the understanding that when you come into the workforce, any organization, your job is probably going to change and evolve. It's not going to be the same two or three years from now as it is today, so you have to have some kind of willingness to roll with that. It's not all going to be based on what you want as the job-seeker. It's normally based on what the employer needs, and sometimes you don't see that sense very much—that it's not about me, but it's about what the employer needs. And it's about what I can offer the employer, not about what they can offer me. So, we're looking for applicants who are adaptable. Employer 2: And who have a good work ethic. Employer 1: Work ethic. Yeah."	Northeast
"Employer 1: I don't know if it's just this generation, but it seems it's just so easy for them to not follow through with what they are supposed to do. Or, I don't know, do you guys have an attendance problem, too? Employer 2: We do. Employer 1: I'm just saying that maybe they need more life skills."	Northwest
"Employer 1: I know that a lot of those things you don't learn in college, but I just don't know where they will be able to learn that? You know, to be more professional in what they do? Question: If you went back a few years, was this as big of a problem or a concern as it is today. Employer 1: I don't think so. Employer 2: I agree. I think that it's more prevalent now."	Northwest
"Employer 1: I've asked that—if they are professional—to act and look like a professional. To not look like somebody that we pulled off the street to work. And with our society today, that's a change. They're like, 'What are you talking about?' They don't get that. And I know I'm an old codger. I'm an old fuddy-duddy. But the reality is that's what our patients expect—a degree of professionalism. Employer 2: That's right. That's right."	Central
"Employer 1: Parents have done so much for them. And the calls that we get from parents are really surprising and shocking. Question: Calls from parents? Employer 1: Yes. And we get applications that have been filled out by the parents for positions. Employer 2: We've had letters of recommendation from parents."	Northwest
"A lot of the staff, a lot of the newer people, don't seem to understand that people don't get sick at their convenience, they get sick when they get sick. And it's a 24/7, 365-day thing. And if that's the profession you choose, then you choose everything that goes with it—the good, the bad, and the ugly. And it's a fulfilling industry. There are lots of opportunities, but it's not a one-way street. And I think the sooner we can get some of that really understood—that these are good jobs, but you also have requirements and things that go with it. It's not, you know, I'll show up whenever I want to show up, and those kinds of things. Sometimes, it's life or death kinds of things. It's that big of a deal, and that's just something that I think isn't well understood by maybe some of the younger people coming out of school right now."	Southeast
"And I think part of it—I don't know if it's cultural or generational versus educational—I mean, there is a big difference in the generational attitudes that we are seeing in the younger employees versus employees in their 40s or 50s. For the younger employees, there's not a lot of willingness to go above and beyond at all. If you can teach that that's part of the expectation, that would be wonderful."	Central
"Especially in the health care setting where you're taking care of people. Your patients are not supposed to be taking care of you, you're going to be taking care of them. And that sounds really silly, but there are times when that expectation is there even in nursing or caregiving situations."	Southeast
"From the medical lab standpoint, we can relate to what has been said about willingness to work. I also find a big difference in the older generations versus the younger generations in terms of compassion. And the need to be compassionate comes with what we're doing. From the laboratory standpoint, it's really hard when we get so many automated tests and we get so departmentalized that we don't put it all together to form a picture of that patient behind it. Unless you have a passion for it, you lose that whole piece of what your job is and what your profession is. If medical technology students and staff can understand the big role we play in that whole medical picture, it would really make a difference in dedication—such as their willingness to stay late or their willingness to pick up an extra shift. I've worked at this clinic for over thirty years. And you just didn't think twice if someone wasn't able to come in for their shift, you just filled in. You were needed. You were a part of that health care picture. I just don't feel that commitment any more. I don't know how to bring that back. Because I still have that passion, and I wish I could see more of that in our new grads."	Southeast
"I guess my only other comment is we talk a lot about the communication piece and the professionalism. I want them to show up as professionals, not with spikes in their noses."	Central
"I think the younger generation doesn't seem to have the work ethic as much as maybe the older generations do. That you come to work, and if you're supposed to be there at six in the morning, that means you're there 15 minutes early, ready to go. They don't get that."	Northeast
"I want to continue the talk about the generational issue. I just want to remind everybody that it is a two-way street. Number one, having work/life balance is not a bad thing. The younger generation might teach us something about that, but there is no doubt that there's still needs to be that commitment to the job. I think we all need to be prepared to talk about that with open minds to figure this out. I think organizations who are hiring people need to figure it out as well. I'm not so certain that we have all the answers. I'm one of those workaholics, too. And when I'm on my deathbed, am I going to be thankful that I put in all those hours? Will I think that I probably should have done something else? Those are questions that I'm asking myself. I think we need to be careful with that."	Southeast
"I would say one of the things that's challenging for us today with new employees is maybe the demeanor of the younger people. There's really almost a sense of entitlement sometimes in terms of how they perceive the world, their worldview. I don't know if we can change that, but maybe somehow if we can include some reality that the workplace is not going to be all about them. And help them understand that it is important to be able to communicate and express needs and that kind of thing. I don't how to do that, but that is sometimes a common problem with new people coming onboard. Especially some of the younger people."	Southeast
"It comes down to a work ethic. You know, what are their soft skills? Do they have work discipline? Do they know how to work in a team? Do they have customer service skills? All of those things are things we really still look for and have a hard time finding. I think some of that is related to that 'helicopter parents' thing."	Northwest
"It's the attitude of the applicants, and sometimes that they don't have a good work ethic anymore. Their attitude is often 'Why should I have to work? I only came here and applied because somebody told me that I had to.' Those attitudes are really in those direct care staff."	Central
"Just to follow up on the idea of work /life balance with older workers versus new grads, there seems to be an expectation that new grads will work the day shift or that they'll get their choice of shifts. I'm actually finding that new grads will choose not to work at all instead of working a shift that they would prefer not to have."	Southeast
"Not only the sense of entitlement, but just that lack of work ethic. I mean, since I was a caregiver, an aide—how things have changed! It's just not there like it used to be."	Southeast
"Some of it, too, is accountability. Some of the people we have, if they make a mistake, they just kind of blow it off. And that's hard for me to understand because we all should take responsibility. Question: So, they blow it off, meaning they don't report it or they don't try to fix it? Or maybe you get the impression that they won't self-correct? Employer: That's very possible."	Northeast
"Something that we've found is the generational diversity. The current incumbent worker is challenged by the individuals coming in today on issues of work/life balance. Maybe expectations of the new people coming into the workplace are different than what they've encountered in the past. The newer people are not as committed or as willing to pull a shift-and-a-half or do double-time in managing things."	Southeast
"The other piece that I think we are seeing is when the program—you know, it's a transitional program from an LPN to an RN—so it's maybe a different sort of graduate. And maybe that's where some of those skills, the ability to see the big picture and focus, have that sense of professional practice—and that's one of the concerns that we've seen."	Central
"These were all people who committed time out of their school week to shadow and do a lot of different things. They were very interested in pursuing health careers. And one thing I noticed with this group of students is that they all had part-time jobs. Some of them started really early on, working for family members. I mean, that little entrepreneurial thing. And I know, at least there were quite a few of my friends or my children's friends who had never had a part-time job. They were never expected to work at McDonalds or anywhere and earn money even in the summer. Now, it wasn't like that at our house, but it's good just to have had that responsibility—where you had to be someplace at a certain time and then you got the satisfaction of that paycheck. But that experience seems to be lacking more. Another thing I noticed with these students that I was interviewing is that they're very motivated. They had a career path. They were very good students, and they'd all had some kind of a part-time job, whether it was at the grocery store or something else."	Northeast
"We get a ton of people apply, but if you tell them they are going to have to scrub a floor on their hands and knees, or they will have to give somebody a bath, they'll say, 'That's not what I'm here for.' And I just think, 'So, then, why did you apply for a job that does that?' Question: So, is it a lack of awareness of what the scope of the job is? Employer: I'm not sure that it's a lack of awareness. I really think it's an attitude of, 'I don't want to do that. I know that's what the job is, but I'm not going to do that.'"	Central