Entitlement Infection

When I work on behalf of any client company seeking to hire and, similarly, whenever companies look to hire new employees it’s never only about matching qualifications. I contend an individual’s accomplishments are equal and often carry more weight. However, there is an additional and no less important component that can make up for minor shortcomings in a person’s suitability - that being a candidate’s own attitude.

 

You can look great on paper, have exemplary qualifications, good accomplishments and even stellar references, but a person’s attitude can render all of it meaningless. To be clear, bitter, angry and whiny people wearing their grievances on their sleeves do not get job offers and are their own biggest obstacle as they tend to self-destruct before your very eyes. Likewise, these same people also refuse to consider their own failings, instead engaging in blame–throwing to explain why they are so “unfairly” discriminated against. Rhetorically speaking, what manager would willingly subject their employees to this kind of toxicity?

 

So, imagine a group of people with a sense of entitlement who feel owed a livelihood and show disdain for merit-based advancement; of having to demonstrably earn their professional and monetary advancement through merit. These are people who use phrases like, “I want…”, “I expect…”, “I deserve…”, and they always proclaim, “…you don’t understand…” I’m quite unimpressed with these types; most of them have never faced real adversity in their lives. Perhaps years earlier, they were the students who got 7 out of 10 wrong answers on a quiz but were praised for trying and given a B grade. Or they were over indulged, never grounded or punished by parents who wanted to be their pal; or parents who were  AWOL leaving them to learn their values from the TV or video-games that served as an aux pair. Sure I am generalizing in describing what is a growing demographic of the un-deserved who shout the loudest yet have invested the least in real terms; of course they’ll rant about why they feel  most entitled.   

 

I have learned to quickly identify and reflexively distance myself from their ilk. I am confident most readers recognize them also, the kind of people who attend an interview and display an attitude, which in essence, communicates to a hiring manager, “So, how much will you pay me to consider this job?” But let me just come to the point of this blog entry, I can assure you that there is another descriptive term that goes hand-in-hand with those infected with a strong sense of self-entitlement; that word is un-employable.