By Jim Roha

This is probably one of the most inhospitable labor markets that we’ve seen in decades. Employers enjoy a distinct advantage with a labor pool whose sheer size significantly exceeds the number of jobs available. So I’d like to offer advice to young people in search of jobs. While some comments might seem a bit obvious, this advice is evidently not being taught in schools, or in some homes.

Get as much education as you can, particularly while someone else is paying for it.

One guidance counselor’s idea of mentoring was to ask a student if he wanted an easy senior year, and then to put him in an unchallenging math course. What an intellectual insult and colossal disservice! Education is not about having an easy year. That student must now pay college tuition to obtain the mathematics credentials needed for his chosen career — credentials which could easily have been earned in high school. Education, like athletics and the arts, should present a challenge and promote an individual drive to excel.

If you are thinking of quitting school, don’t do it!

You figure you can always go back and get your GED, right? Well stay in school anyway and get a real high school diploma. Some employers do distinguish between a GED and a diploma from an accredited high school. Do you want your application to be in the “If All Else Fails” pile or the “Likely Candidates” file? It’s your choice.

Bad credit or a criminal conviction can disqualify you from the job of your dreams.

Back in the old days, employers needed warm bodies to fill production vacancies, and hiring standards were more relaxed. Today, a number of employers conduct credit checks and background checks on prospective employees as an effective means of narrowing the gigantic field of applicants, so pay your bills on time and keep out of trouble with the law.

Just say no.

This was good advice when Nancy Reagan offered it, and it is excellent advice today. One high-paying industry conducted a job fair and 50 applicants showed up. After a morning of aptitude testing, the human resource people announced a lunch break, after which drug screenings would be conducted. Nearly half of the applicants failed to return that afternoon. They disqualified themselves from an $80,000-a-year job because they had controlled substances in their systems. That was a pretty expensive joint, wasn’t it?

Leave the pink hair and nose rings at home.

Nose rings, tongue studs, and ear grommets set off the metal detectors and disrupt the workplace. Call me narrow-minded, but if a prospective employee’s eyebrow rings caused my facility to go into lock-down mode, that would negatively influence my hiring decision. By the way, pink, purple, and green hair are OK only if you are applying for a position as a parrot. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard of any such openings, but I’d be glad to let you know if one comes up.

They measure pants by waist size, because that’s where the pants should be worn.

My young friends inform me that only nerds and old people wear pants at waist level. OK, I’m kinda old, but when I was young, if a guy’s pants were hanging at hip level, that meant he was about to “moon” somebody. So when I see your Wranglers hanging mid-thigh, I tend to think of that as a sign that you are telling someone to kiss your #@@. That may not be the message you intend to send, but it is definitely the message that is being received by old people who make the hiring decisions.

Common courtesy is an uncommon commodity.