Not your typical Gen Y "what's in it for me?" candidate.....

I'm introducing a candidate to my client this morning. (Yes - I do have clients. In fact it was 2 days ago my phone rang with my client on the other line. We hadn't spoken in a while but he keeps my number in his cell phone and doesn't call anybody else. But that's not the topic today......

We often hear from our clients the need for "character, motivation and taking ownership" among many other somewhat vague qualifications. Typically it's hard to nail those qualities down with your average applicant. In this case - his achievements in his personal life set him head and shoulders above anyone else we're looking at. I thought I would share:

Among the many qualifications this kid brings to the table above and beyond his 1.5 years of hands-on experience and 3.98 GPA have me thinking a bit.

He is an Eagle Scout.

He volunteered to coach for Special Olympics.

He led a Habitat for Humanity project over spring break in 2005. (Rather than spend his week in a drunken stupor on South Padre Island competing in keg stand competitions.)

He's been on several missions trips.

He spends his spare time playing piano and singing at nursing homes (which he has done since 2002)

Working with this guy has given me a fresh look at how hard it really is to stand out. And he does! I can tell he isn't the typical Gen Y "what's in it for me" type. I'm doubting he had much time to waste on the couch with his eyes glued to some Xbox game.

As the father of 3 myself, I'm sure this guy's parents are proud of the leadership they must have shown him. He is on the right track. I just might give them a call and let them know they've done a great job!

Comment by Rick on October 21, 2010 at 9:51am: Great post Jerry, give his parents a call…. great parenting and great actions by the young individual mentioned needs to be recognized and celebrated. I coach youth basketball for a private school that all 4 of my boys attend/ed. This past year we had an exceptional team, not necessarily in the wins in loss columns but in the way that these young men acted on and off the court. In all my years of coaching, no other team has compared to this particular team, it gives you hope for the next generation coming up. Far too often our society focuses on negative actions or gives credit for bad behavior, (watch MTV for a few minutes you will get the picture). We need to give as much positive reinforcement for great behavior as possible.

Rick

Comment by Sandra McCartt on October 21, 2010 at 8:00pm: I had to smile when i read this. I had a candidate that presented exactly the way this kid has. I was as excited about him as you are about this one. In fact i almost sent you an email asking if he was a web developer. To make a painful story short. My Eagle Scout with the big GPA, several mission trips a new cute little wife and dandy references got canned three weeks after he was hired for logging about 54 hours on porn sites at the office. Not implying that yours has a problem but i learned the uh, hard way that all that glitters is not always gold. If there is an Eagle Scout with a raging case of porncreep i would of course find him and move him half way across the country. Don't ask me what i said to him when he called me to help him find another job because...in his own words..He was not a personality fit.

Comment by Maureen Sharib on October 22, 2010 at 6:22am: I'd still call his parents.

Comment by Maureen Sharib on October 22, 2010 at 6:58am: There's a saying "round these parts (SW OH) that I 'magine is probably said 'round your parts too:

"The bigger the cross the bigger the crook."

Talking about character and striking (somewhat) a blow for porn at the same time, I have an example that happens also to be home-grown.
Charles Keating http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Keating

Not zakly home-grown but close: Larry Flynt
They even made a movie about it. It weren't half-bad.

But then, I don't think much (acting) that Woody Harrelson does is half bad. He's home-grown too.

The problem though, as Sandra and Rayanne pointed out and as I've come to discover watching character throughout the years is that sometimes the "characteer" is nothing more than a front for something (or someone) else.

That may have been the case with poor Charlie Keating.

Comment by Jerry Albright on October 22, 2010 at 8:21am: Thanks ladies. I post about someone who in my (professional) (and not so humble) opinion is a good guy.......and you ladies drag up porn and Larry Flynt.

Nice work.

Comment by Maureen Sharib on October 22, 2010 at 11:40am: That's what we're here for, Jer.
I think I can speak reasonably well on behalf of myself, Sandra and Rayanne when I say the three of us, wise beyoond our years, should be known here on recruitingblogs.com as the Witches of ~~Eastwick~~ RecruitingBlogs.com.

Comment by Sandra McCartt on October 22, 2010 at 12:18pm: Thank God my wisdom finally caught up with my years. Jer. It was my "professional" and "not so humble" opinion that got me in the soup on my good guy. It just caught my eye because it was almost an identical profile and i felt the same way. And i would again most probably. No amount of home work, reference checking, interviewing etc can unearth some of the things that are part of the human condition.

We can only operate on the information we are given and that elusive thing called "gut feel", Sometimes all those get us into a wreck but mostly they don't.

Comment by Jerry Albright on October 22, 2010 at 3:17pm: I'm finding the general responses to my original post to be considerably off the mark. Sorry ladies - but you're missing the point here.

C.B. - quite a few of your replies just leaving me scratching my head........

Comment by Sandra McCartt on October 22, 2010 at 4:30pm: Jer, you know i love you, did you ever think you might be missing the point. I understand that you were delighted to find a "not what's in it for me, genner".

Yes that is refreshing, now do you feel better?

Comment by Peter Ceccarelli on October 22, 2010 at 6:31pm: You know.....at the end of the day there are just plain good people out there who do not live by their own ego, but are motivated towards human compassion and good old fashioned hard work. It sounds to me like this young man is one of those people. So why drag this down into the mud? The world is full of crappy stories, and rarely do we get to hear or witness a good one. And none of us are even close to perfect, but there are some people out there who truly are remarkable because it's not about them, but about "us". It's called joining at the highest level of whatever cause it is that makes you feel good. So leave it at that and let Jerry have his moment. I loved this story whether it measures up or not because it gives me hope that good people still prevail in this world. And the examples of that are few and far between.

Thanks Jerry!