Much is made of the ‘I generation’
and of how the future of recruitment and career progression is set for a major
change.
I am not convinced that this general
concern is any different from the observations made by my parents when I first
entered the job market, though in recent years I have started to form the view
that this evolutionary juncture may prove to be more defining than those previously
witnessed.
So where do I start in the
evaluation? And how do I express myself in a way which does not make me sound
like my father. A difficult one, and
probably in truth it may be best to reflect on the landscape which existed when
I took my first steps towards qualifying as a solicitor.
Life back then (yes that well
used cliché) was, it is fair to say, different.
There was less competition and more importantly less pressure on those
looking to pursue a career in the law to leave school and immediately head off
to university. Unlike today, there was
no set route mapped out with an inbuilt expectation to pursue it. Instead, taking a lead from my father who had
to take on three jobs to make ends meet and to provide for his family, I was
left with no illusion that to succeed in life there was only one option - the need
to work and to work hard.
My performance at school was not
spectacular, although I did attend a further education establishment and attained
a diploma in business studies. Finding a
job was not easy and I attended endless interviews. I was eventually offered a job as a clerk in
a firm of solicitors on a salary which compared to salary structures these days
would have clearly fell well below the minimum wage.
Money was not however important – it was a
job and one which I hoped would provide me with an opportunity to gain experience. I knew that to do well I needed to prove that
I was worth investing in and I can recall getting in early, staying late and
also working at the weekends. This was not by any means unusual.
It wasn’t the most glamorous of
jobs. It was however a job and I was grateful
to my then employer for taking me on. I
knew then as I did when moving from that first employer to my next that I
needed to work hard, I needed to impress and that nothing would come my way
unless I put in the hours and showed an appetite to succeed.
It was evident that no one owed me
anything and that to progress in life I needed to make my own way.
By going that extra mile it was
evident that doors would eventually open and opportunities would arise. It was all within my own control. So what has changed?
Employing and working with young
people and indeed having children of my own it is clear that there has been a
major shift in attitude and expectation.
This I believe is fuelled by increased peer pressure which has become
far more transparent due to social media as well as repeated failings of
government with the formation of education policy.
In reporting on this I am generalising,
as I know there still exist self-motivated individuals who exhibit that fast
becoming rare attribute of a work ethic.
In the main however I am coming across more and more of the ‘I Generation’
who have become programmed to expect not only a right to a job but to be paid a
totally unrealistic starting salary.
I say ‘programmed’ as I do believe
that most young people have convinced themselves that to be able to achieve success
there is a particular path to follow and once completed a job and a high salary
will automatically follow.
The situation has not been helped
by previous Governments creating more and more university places and reducing
the past reliance on apprenticeships and other schemes which provide an alternative
option to university. I know this is changing but it has in my view
come far too late in the day to have any positive impact in the current
employment market.
A large number of those looking
for work and those who have been lucky enough to secure their first job seem to
have an unreasonable expectation, commonly centering on working hours and
remuneration. I remain amazed that
having worked hard at school and university I still come across a complete lack
of commitment and drive. I tell all of
my staff that I am not interested in a ‘9 to 5’ mentality and that I expect
them all to put in the ‘extra effort’. I
say I need to be impressed and that the more effort and I see the more I will
wish to reward accordingly.
It is not unusual to find within workplaces
that some young people are only minded to do ‘extra’ hours if they get paid
overtime. Others claim that simply because
they have a degree they should be paid more. Constant moaning
about what they don’t have as opposed to what they do have is not an unusual feature
of most work places. The difficulty is
that due to how they have been programmed and with the unrealistic expectation set
by prolonged exposure to social media and the like, a vast number of the ‘first
time’ employees do not see anything wrong with this approach.
Some may call this confidence,
whilst others see it as arrogance and a misplaced perception of their
value. Interestingly my wife made an observation
on this when we were recently watching an episode of the BBC’s Voice. As part of the contest those chosen to go
through to the ‘next round’ are asked to perform a song which is chosen by the
coach. It was noticeable that when the
younger contestants were told of the coach’s song choice, rather than being
guided by the professional and being grateful for the ‘break’ almost all of
them pushed back and challenged the song choice.
The feedback I hear is some young
people lack motivation because financial necessity is such many of them are
taking on jobs which are outside their first career choice. I do get this, but surely if you choose to
take a job you should do all you can to make the most of the opportunity and to
use it as a solid building block for future opportunities.
So where will all this lead?
The risk as I see it is that
without an attachment and with unreasonable expectations employers will begin
to see less productivity and a dwindling return in the investment made in
training. Indeed it is for this very
reason I have recently changed my view on training contracts. With a contracting employment market in
conveyancing I took the view when establishing the business that I would look
to ‘grow my own’ and to look for training contract candidates. My experience has not however been good and despite
my best efforts a number of those who I decided to invest in decided at the end
of the contract to ‘move on’. This has
led me to look at other options (such as apprenticeships), which is a shame as I
have always been keen to provide training opportunities for those looking to become
a solicitor.
David Pett
MJP Conveyancing are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877067 or via email at davidp@mjpconveyancing.com
