Teenagers Who Apply For Jobs (Rant)

Lounge By summernoelle Updated 14 Mar 2009 , 9:23pm by indydebi

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summernoelle Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 3:20pm
post #1 of 152

Today I received the following email. It really bothers me that someone would be so unprofessional when applying for a job position with a bakery! I'm 30 now, which I know compared to this girl makes me ancient, but there is no way I would have applied to any job like this. What about spell check? What about actual cover letters? So my question is-would it be rude to point that out to her for future reference?


"My name is amber, I'm 17.
And I was woundering if you hiring.
I dealt want to learn how to design and decerate cakes.
My dream is to open my own buisness.

Sent from my iphone"

151 replies
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Larrimore Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 3:39pm
post #2 of 152

It is really sad that she is 17 and her spelling is this bad.

OK what does I 'dealt' mean??

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brincess_b Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 4:02pm
post #3 of 152

i think it might be nice and doing her a favour to point out that in a compeitive industry she needs to make sure her cover letter and cv are well written, that there are sites to help do this.
as long as you do it nicely, why not? i wouldnt send in an email like that for a job application, but i would still appreciate the feedback on why i didnt get it.
i suppose maybe she was just asking about a job, and if you were hiring, would bring out the big guns, maybe add in something about hwo even casual enquires should be treated as an application.
xx

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Monkess Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 4:21pm
post #4 of 152

THIS is exactly why I stopped accepting resumes at our place. We have an exhaustive form thats asks pertinant questions and they are asked to fill it out and return to the cashier. This has prevented a pile up of unprofessional letters and applications.
Also I find that sometimes the kind-you-will-never-hire, dont end up filling out the form anyways-its way too much work for them!!!

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luvsfreebies72 Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 4:24pm
post #5 of 152

Oy.

When I was 17, I would NEVER have done that. I would have walked into the shop and inquired about filling out an application.

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cakesbycathy Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:09pm
post #6 of 152

I think if you are able to go about it in a gentle way, it would be a very nice thing to do on your end. However, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if she got offended by your help icon_rolleyes.gif

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dmich Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:22pm
post #7 of 152

At the age of 38, I am feeling like an old fuddy-duddy. I find this sort of "application" shocking. I would definitely give her a little (kind) direction for her future applications. She'll thank you later.

I have a friend who is a university professor of philosophy. He is having to return many papers to students for them to re-write because they are using texting language (e.g., U instead of "you"). On a college paper!!! Can you believe that? I feel my wrinkles deepening as I write this.

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susanscakecreations Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:23pm
post #8 of 152

What with all the texting and IM'ing that teenagers do today, I'm really surprised ANY of them can spell!
But before we are so harsh, you really don't know what her position in life is, maybe she is looking for something to help out her family..........
who knows?

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tx_cupcake Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:24pm
post #9 of 152

icon_surprised.gif Wow... I am speechless.

How is it that a 17 year-old is that clueless about spelling, grammar, sentence construction and etiquette?

The Idiocracy America is becoming a reality... *shudders*

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daltonam Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:29pm
post #10 of 152

Honestly....if I received an e-mail like this I would assume it was junk mail. (I guess if I had a web site & receive it that way, I might think differently.) Just a normal e-mail would get a delete.

If you think it's serious, you may want to find a way to advise her on her grammar/professionalism. (SADLY, I agree w/cakesbycathy, you might not get a nice reply.)

Good Luck!

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pouchet82 Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:30pm
post #11 of 152

Quoting smartin40: "But before we are so harsh, you really don't know what her position in life is, maybe she is looking for something to help out her family.........."
But she has an Iphone!! I am a working adult and can't afford one!!

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kakeladi Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:31pm
post #12 of 152

Has it occurred to anyone that this person may be using English as a second language? That's what I thought reading it.
I do agree if you would take the time to gently inform her how to go about applying for a job it would help her out in the long run.

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Kay_NL Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:35pm
post #13 of 152

Perhaps you could just respond with "I only consider applicants who apply in person with a resume." Then you will find out if her grammar really is that bad, and if she is serious about it, etc....

I'm with others, at 17 I was writing full sentences in my cover letters and extensively researched how to do a proper cv and letter!

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Ronbob1984 Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:36pm
post #14 of 152

I have a 17 year old daughter and I have drilled it into her head about being polite and appropriate when asking for jobs. As a matter of fact, she is so appropriate, she had 4 jobs this past summer(all at one time), one of them in a bakery/pastry shoppe(she still has it and is going to college in the fall for pastry arts) thumbs_up.gif . My husband deals with this every day as the manager for a restaurant. Manners and basic etiquette are non existent in todays' society.

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melissablack Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:38pm
post #15 of 152

Honestly, you would be doing her a huge favor by correcting her, not being rude. Wow that is really sad. I am 30 also and when I went out looking for my first job 15/16 years ago, I had the whole cover letter, professional resume (on nice paper) and dressed up to go hand them out, filled out lots of applications, etc... I can't believe that only 15 years later someone would be that ignorant about how to apply for a job!

This is not exactly the same subject, but along the same lines... my Dad is a teacher and he said at his school they are planning to start teaching a class on MANNERS, because so many of the kids are just clueless....this is high school!!! It is really said how much society has degnerated!

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summernoelle Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:38pm
post #16 of 152

BWAHAHAHAHA! Yes, an iphone! How many disadvantaged people out there can afford a $300 phone, and the service for it? This girl is just a flighty teenager who was thinking "OMG a cute bakery! With pretty little cakes! OMG that would be SOOOO much fun to do! And I would get paid for it!" Smacks gum, twirls hair around her finger, sends idiotic email.

Thinking it over, I don't think I will send her any tips. She would just get offended and wouldn't understand what I meant, anyway. icon_lol.gif

dmich-I cannot believe that kids would do that on college papers. I don't think I'm so old yet that I don't understand-it hasn't been that long since I was in college. If language and writing is deteriorating this quickly, we are in some serious trouble. If this is the generation that is going to help us get out of the impending depression-we are in some trouble.

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allie73 Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:38pm
post #17 of 152

I am a high school English teacher, and YES, you should tell her about her mistakes, and make it clear that she won't be getting an interview because, if she won't even take the time to proofread her application, you have to "wounder" what else she will be too lazy to do. Every teacher in the land will thank you.

After having worked for several years in corporate America, I am frank with my kids about what life in "the real world" entails, but accountability for these kids is at an all-time low.

What you have to understand is that No Child Left Behind penalizes school districts who don't meet certain graduation rates. So, to get greater numbers of students to graduate, most districts have lowered expectations, and lower expectations ALWAYS cause a corresponding decrease in achievement. The end result? Kids who wounder how decerate cakes and own there own buisness.

Write to your congressmen and senators and tell them that No Child Left Behind needs some serious revamping.

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cakedout Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:38pm
post #18 of 152

In my son's first year at Drexel University he had his first 'professional' job interview for an internship position. He got the job, but the interviewer let him know that he had misspelled something on his resume, and gave him some tips on how to better conduct yourself during an interview (he had several more interviews at various companies after this one...and all of them offered him a position!)

He totally appreciated those tips and I know he will use them throughout his life. So I think it would be fine for you to make some gentle suggestions to this young gal as she continues her search for a job.

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tx_cupcake Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:39pm
post #19 of 152
Quote:
Originally Posted by kakeladi

Has it occurred to anyone that this person may be using English as a second language? That's what I thought reading it.
I do agree if you would take the time to gently inform her how to go about applying for a job it would help her out in the long run.




I did consider this initially, and then I remembered an email I received from my 17 year-old BIL in which he misspelled the following words: "sorry", "institute", "something", "anyway", "appreciate", "you" and "popular". The whole email was one long run-on sentence with one comma in an inappropriate place. Needless to say, I was horrified.

My MIL says he's in AP English. I fear for the future.

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summernoelle Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:42pm
post #20 of 152

allie-that is the exact reason why my husband and I are very nervous about sending our kids to public schools. In TX, they have the TAKS test, which is pretty much all the kids will study the entire year. Everything revolves around it, to the point they are not taught actual substance, just strategies on how to pass one exam so that the school will get appropriate funding. Scares me to death.

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allie73 Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:42pm
post #21 of 152
Quote:
Originally Posted by summernoelle

BWAHAHAHAHA! Yes, an iphone! How many disadvantaged people out there can afford a $300 phone, and the service for it?




You would be utterly amazed. I can't tell you how many of my students arrive to school with iPods and cell phones, and have Wii and X-box systems at home, but don't have any money for school supplies, breakfast, or lunch. But then again, it's these priorities that have helped land the American economy in the mess it's in.

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summernoelle Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:45pm
post #22 of 152
Quote:
Originally Posted by allie73

Quote:
Originally Posted by summernoelle

BWAHAHAHAHA! Yes, an iphone! How many disadvantaged people out there can afford a $300 phone, and the service for it?



You would be utterly amazed. I can't tell you how many of my students arrive to school with iPods and cell phones, and have Wii and X-box systems at home, but don't have any money for school supplies, breakfast, or lunch. But then again, it's these priorities that have helped land the American economy in the mess it's in.




Shaking head. That's all I can do with that comment. icon_sad.gif

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Ayanami Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:45pm
post #23 of 152

icon_eek.gificon_confused.gif

Man, I'm only 27 but that really gets me. I have always been very ... aware? ... of how I present myself? Even when I was in HS & getting after school jobs I still presented myself the best way I could.

You can only imagine the guys we get here at my J.O.B. icon_confused.gif The type of person we need here has to be a hard worker (I know ... "a what worker?") icon_razz.gif Physically strong to a certian degree, willing to work very long, very very hard hours. It's hot in the summer, cold in the winter & if you go home clean & smelling nice, you're probably gonna get fired. icon_rolleyes.gif

So you can only imagine how many guys we hire, then either have to let go or they just up & leave on their own. Sometimes after only a week!

Well, that was way off track wasn't it! icon_redface.gif

icon_lol.gif

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tx_cupcake Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:48pm
post #24 of 152
Quote:
Originally Posted by summernoelle

that is the exact reason why my husband and I are very nervous about sending our kids to public schools. In TX, they have the TAKS test, which is pretty much all the kids will study the entire year. Everything revolves around it, to the point they are not taught actual substance, just strategies on how to pass one exam so that the school will get appropriate funding. Scares me to death.




My husband and I feel exactly the same way. We don't have any kids yet, and we are already saving money for private school tuition. We both went to public schools in Texas, but that was in the 80's and 90's before TAKS began. Remember TAAS? I didn't have ONE teacher in middle school or high school that even remotely cared about teaching that crap. Now, it's all they do!

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summernoelle Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:52pm
post #25 of 152

I graduated in 97. We took the TAAS, but I don't remember it being a big deal?

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Arriva Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:54pm
post #26 of 152

You can try helping her, but it probably won't help. These kids and their phones ! She was probably DRIVING when she sent the "application".

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SUELA Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:55pm
post #27 of 152

Decerate cakes? Does she mean decorate or decimate? I can see her being on Cake Wrecks in the future.

And since when did it become appropriate to psuedo apply by iphone? I don't have an iphone either!

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tx_cupcake Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:58pm
post #28 of 152
Quote:
Originally Posted by summernoelle

I graduated in 97. We took the TAAS, but I don't remember it being a big deal?




Yeah. I graduated in '99, and none of my teachers "taught to the test".

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summernoelle Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 5:58pm
post #29 of 152

So, would this be too harsh? If so, I think I will just ignore it and not respond. There really is no gentle way to tell someone they acted poorly, and perhaps it isn't even my place.

Amber, I want to offer you some advice. In the future, it would be a good idea for you to spell check your emails about job inquiries, as well as make sure you use proper grammar. Your email was written where one of the sentences did not make sense, and you misspelled several words. You did not even capitalize your own name.
I only take the time to tell you this because you may not know better or be aware of the proper way to interview for a job position. If you are interested in applying for a position somewhere, you need to have a cover letter with a resume. You also need to approach a business with respect, instead of with a hurried text message. I do not mean to offend you, but instead to help you so that in the future you can obtain employment. Most employers would never give you a second thought if you sent them an email like the one you sent to me. Here is a good book on amazon.com about writing cover letters. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1593573642/?tag=cakecentral-20

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sweetlayers Posted 11 Mar 2009 , 6:01pm
post #30 of 152

This may sound slightly evil, but I'd have her send you a resume.

Not because you want to consider hiring her, but because she will have to actually think, research the process and learn what it means to be professional.

Then when she brings it back to you, politely tell her you are not hiring but her new resume is very nice and will help her get a great job someday.

That way you are indirectly teaching her something she obviously does not know. She may not say "Thank You", but your "Mr. Miyagi" lesson will be appreciated by her one day.

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