Headteacher slams Millennials' 'one-in-a-million job' expectations

The Head of an elite private school has lambasted the 'overly mollycoddled' generation of youngers for their lack of grit and sense of entitlement.

Douglas Robb, the Headmaster of Gresham's, a Victorian red-brick in rural Norfolk that charges fees of up to £34,000, wrote in a blog post on the schools' website that the younger "generation has come of age where many more individuals perceive themselves to be 'one in a million'."

Clearly peeved by a run-in with a candidate, Robb wrote that during a job interview, the jobseeker left him feeling deflated after they enquired, 'why should I come and work for you?'

He described the way that "some youngsters" approach job interviews as they might approach buying a luxury holiday is concerning.

"Some expect to be given a 'one-in-a-million' job, despite being one of millions of applicants, many of whom are not yet fit for the work place!" he wrote. "Perhaps I overreacted and the candidate was more a victim of recruitment-agency pep-talks than anything else, but my lasting impression was of an 'entitled' candidate who was looking for some further guarantee or incentive before committing to getting stuck in to furthering their career."
He said that as well as a clutch of impressive grades or a degree from university, young people need to show they can add value to an employer's organisation through hard work, commitment, passion and determination.
Robb continued that "something has been lost," such as the sense of pride associated with doing 'an honest day's work', whatever the role.

His final word was that schools, parents and Government need to encourage young people that all work experience, is valuable, and ended his rant by stating that young people should be 'grateful' for the opportunities they are given.

Robb's comments coincide with the publication of new research from a thinktank, which calls for changes in the labour market to help young people.

The Resolution Foundation, in its latest research for its Intergenerational Commission, found that Millennial workers are more likely to find themselves in insecure, low-paying jobs and are earning less than previous cohorts did at the same age.

Insecure work, stagnant wages and a lack of moving between jobs were cited as issues hampering younger peoples' careers. More than half of people on zero-hours contracts are aged 16-34 and a quarter of people in their early twenties did not receive a pay rise for five years in a row after the financial crisis.

It also addressed a shift in mindset that is halting productivity. Whereas previous generations found that, 'a job, any job' was the mantra, "for too many younger workers today finding work is not a problem, finding security and advancement is," the report read.

The goal of the paper is to set out a 'Better Jobs Deal' to support younger workers and reinvigorate generational progress.

Stephen Clarke, senior economic analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said that if the approach to the labour market did not change, "we risk leaving a generation of young people struggling to get by and progress."