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It became apparent to me on a recent recruitment campaign for trainees to work in our business that many school leavers were now very unprepared about the job application process.

I have had so many poorly constructed resumes over recent years, unstructured with incorrect grammar, presenting the individuals so badly it has resulted in an immediate rejection. The covering letter which evolved into the covering email is now so rare, I may get only one in twenty written specifically for the position whereas the rest are a generic “Dear Sir/Madam” if you are lucky!

Changes in technology with communication changing from letters, to email to text and now Snap Chat encouraging the use of even fewer words… Sadly this change has meant a decrease in ability for many to write business level correspondence.

So back to my recent experience; as I walked into the interview room sat in leather trousers…. sunglasses on head… she didn't even get out of her chair to barely shake my hand for which I was immediately taken aback. To add to the lack of manners she knew very little about us or the role even…… I managed to wrap it up in 20 minutes, time I will never get back!

Over the weekend, I considered the idea of giving her honest feedback;

a) would she be upset and would it knock her confidence;

b) would she take it on board for the future or

c) would she even care!

I decided that it was my role in this instance as clearly no one in the past had done this for her. I called her with my thoughts and was happy to hear her reaction was one of gratitude not offence. She thanked me for the advice and I hope to have helped her for the future.

It is a challenge for us all to educate and make sure that the next generations leaving school are well equipped to meet the needs of the business world otherwise the quality and level of professionalism across the world in the workplace will surely disappear.