Deciphering the Chaos

"9 to 5, for service and devotion / You would think that I / Would deserve a fat promotion / Want to move ahead / But the boss won't seem to let me / I swear sometimes that man is out to get me" - Dolly Parton, 9 to 5

"Chaos is ordered yet undeciphered" - Jose Saramago

I had every intention to focus my next post on the spiritual discussion (the notion of starting your own religion) in Kelly's book - it hit home, almost as much as the motherhood chapter. But current events got the better of me and I decided that a more natural topic would be young people in the workplace.

All the outrage on Canadiana Twitter these days is the suggestion by Stephen Poloz, the governor of the Bank of Canada, that unemployed youth should consider unpaid internships as a means of progressing their career path if paid options are unavailable. (The full article can be found here.) Although I recognize that some employers do ruthlessly take advantage of labour, I also know that new hires have a tendency to abuse trusting, brave and kind employers.

Over the course of my official workplace career, I've encountered about 10 interns/early stage hires. One or two were fantastic, and the rest were terrible. Three things that unified them all, without exception, was that they had great resumes, top notch academic accomplishments and incredible interviewing skills. We always followed an extensive screening process, including several rounds of interviews, checking references, searching candidates on Facebook and seeing who we had in common on LinkedIn to do more snooping. Literally everyone we hired blew us out of the water. That is, until they started.

Once offers were made and contracts were signed, most decided the hard part was over. Mind you, these were paid three-month internships, at a rate of $50K/year. Usually, these were individuals in their 3rd year of a four year undergrad program. (That's right, none of them had a degree yet!) Over 100 applications would come for each position. We treated our interns well and their duties included anything from getting us dinner (a blessing to leave the office to go for a walk) to updating databases to doing research. It was real world experience to develop essential skills in a very competitive field, with potential for full-time placement or, at the very least, a nice reference and filled white space on a resume.

For me, Poloz's comments echo those of Kelly Cutrone's in If You Have to Cry, Go Outside - and neither of them is being cruel, demeaning or arrogant. The truth of the matter is, young people are generally useless. But they are useless because they are young and inexperienced. I haven't even touched on the fact that they are naive, entitled and can't function without a clear cut path to success, preferably in textbook format. These are the bright ones who can write a flawless resume and don't stumble in interviews!

I admit that I was useless for about the first three months of full-time work. However, I humbly recognized it and made the most of this paid learning experience and that is probably how I didn't get laid-off that December (even when my five month severance package wouldn't have filled a change purse). If a co-worker was doing something new and I had nothing on my plate, I would ask to observe and get a walk through. If I had a quiet moment, I would update databases with information we would need for our clients or teach myself then-complicated Excel formulas that have made my work more efficient and my life generally easier. I would walk around and ask my seniors for help or if there was anything I could get started on. My friends who have succeeded in their fields have done the same. On top of that, we were explicitly grateful to our colleagues for their patience and taking the time to teach.

I have yet to see this phenomenon with most interns. I have the same problems with new hires as Kelly describes with staff in her book. None of them were the first in the office, none of them were the last to leave, none of them asked for more work or took the time to teach themselves anything. Instead, they opted for Reddit and Facebook at every quiet opportunity or texted whoever. When given simple tasks - you know, the ones that still have to be done right because they go into a presentation for our paying client - they would act like it was beneath them and actually grunt at the work. In short, they didn't take their jobs seriously. What are you getting paid for again? 

For those reasons alone, I find the outrage over Poloz's comments completely delusional. "How dare someone suggest that I learn for free?" His suggestion was a kick in the pants and a healthy dose of tough love, which is exactly what my generation needs to complement mantles filled with participation trophies. A great chunk of new grads are not resourceful, not fast learner and not self starters despite what their resume says. If they're willing to pay huge tuition to acquire non-transferable knowledge, why isn't working for free a fair suggestion if they get a chance to develop some valuable skills?

I admit, I've never had to have an unpaid internship but that was only because I was creative and resourceful enough to secure paid ones. My first summer gig, after 2nd year, was at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and it happened because I developed an online product for them that was actually implemented (and is used by many personal clients to this day). That led to contact in the innovation team and then the HR team, resulting in a summer job. When the economy is in chaos and blasting your CV at every recruiter in your desired field isn't working, your first step to proving that you're a pay cheque worthy candidate is creating your own alternative strategy. 

As an expectant mom, of course Kelly's chapters on her hires and this ludicrous response to a reasonable suggestion make me think first and foremost how I will parent my daughter. Why are so many young people turning out to be such terrible members of the workforce? Is it the quality of the teachers? Or is it the school system, which also produces these teachers? Why are these kids so prone to saying things like "Well, no one taught me this" or "I don't know how to do this, so someone else should"? Why has no one taught them to anticipate, to have a sense of urgency, to want to do things before graduation? How do I teach this to my daughter? 

Kelly's chapters on having incompetent interns who all came from amazing schools and had great backgrounds made me consider home schooling. When I read the response to Poloz's words, I started researching home schooling requirements in Ontario. We all know that the work place can be chaotic and if you're going to go big and go far, as most young people have told themselves they will after hearing The Places You Will Go read at graduation, you have to be able to not only navigate but thrive in chaos. Structured workplace lesson plans don't exist in the real world and the training wheels come off almost immediately.

I've asked my parents how I turned out not to be an entry-level failure but they shrug and say things like "We got lucky." So far my husband has suggested that around age three, we leave our daughter stranded in a park and go hide behind a tree and see if she can find her way back to a predetermined meeting spot. Aside from artificial abandonment, how do I teach my daughter to decipher chaos and feel comfortable with lack of structure? How do I teach her to work hard without anyone standing over her shoulder? How do I make her proactive?

I decided long ago that I don't care what my daughter does for a living, whether she's a surgeon or a make-up artist, as long as she makes the world a better place and she strives to be the best in her field. How do I instill in her the notions of give and take: you give your all to get results and for that, not for your presence, you take a paycheque? How do I teach her not to settle and continue to push her boundaries with curiosity and will power? 

Kelly's book was meant to be an inspiration for young women making it in the world but I am at a point where I will have to inspire a young woman. (Great job, Cutrone, a parenting book and an inspiration for a generation all in one!) Instilling these values in your child has to start at day one and that's coming up.

I worry a lot that she won't be a warrior. I don't want to be a helicopter parent and I definitely never want to physically hit her. But I want her to learn that paths to following your dreams are not always easy, that the world is results driven and no one gives As for effort. How do I balance it with letting her be herself? How do I decipher the chaos of motherhood in this era?