Hiring Teens

Posted on July 7th, 2007, by Meggin McIntosh

Question:

I wanted to comment on the “teen” concept, Meggin. If the teen is doing “public” errands, do you talk to them at all about the way they look? I’m thinking combed hair, no baseball caps, no gum, no naughty tee shirts, etc. What do you think?

Posted by Sue Vaughn | 7/6/07

Answer:

Good question–and I would say (the ever-popular) ‘it depends.’ I guess I wouldn’t hire anyone who wore naughty shirts, etc., but the gum, cap, hair, etc.–as long as it’s clean–isn’t as much on my radar screen unless they are really going to be interacting with my clients.

I think your comment/question is a good one though, because all of the people we “hire” and/or delegate to are representatives of us and so we need to make that clear. I have had to have this conversation with more than one person over the years–and make sure they understand that the name of my company is Emphasis on Excellence, Inc. not Emphasis on Mediocrity or any other lower-level term. Younger people often don’t “get” the idea that what they do reflects on us (and I’m referring to younger as being a fairly wide range (maybe into the 20′s or so).

Thanks for bringing this up!