I have been trying to hire someone to watch my daughter after school and I typically get one of three responses after an initial texting or messaging conversation. It usually goes like this:
Teenager or Young adult: Hi! I'm interested in the job working as your daughter's attendant!
Me: Great! Can I call you to set up a time to chat about the job?
It is at this point where I lose about 50% of my candidates. They simply ghost me.
The other 50% of them will respond with their phone number and so I try to call them and talk to them on the phone and have a phone interview. I will only actually reach about 25% of this pool. Sometimes their message box is full so I will text again and ask them to call me at their convenience.
So for the 25% that I actually talk to on the phone, only about half of them sound alive. The other half sound like they might be sleeping, dying or distracted....
I'm down to 12%. They sound wonderful. They might even claim they are a Christian, volunteer at their local church, have a special needs or language pathology major, have a cousin with autism, or claim to love the pool. Perfect I think. So then I tell them I will text them some dates and times to actually come to my home and meet June. At this point I'm usually slightly optimistic.
At this point also, about half of those people DON'T EVEN RESPOND TO MY TEXT.
I would be happy if, at this point they texted me a simple, "Hi I am so sorry, but I've thought about it and I'm not interested anymore..." But I don't get that. Instead I am ghosted again.
If this person said no, I could in theory recommend them to another Mom who might need help that they may be a better fit for, but instead because they ghost me, they are labeled as rude, and have completely left my mind. Because they ghosted me, I ghost them back subconsciously.
I am now down to 6%. The person makes the appointment for the working interview with me and then 50% of the time doesn't even show up.
I am down to 3%. The person shows up and acts bored, unsure, or doesn't even look June in the eye and say hi. I get it. Sometimes it's challenging to know how to say hi to her. I usually give the candidates the benefit of the doubt at this point. If they show any warmth or interest in the job, then I usually offer them the job and tell them to think about it and get back to me about whether or not they want to take it.
A couple days go by and I usually don't hear anything and so I reach out and ask if they have made a decision and from there I get ghosted again by most of them.
I am down to 1%. There is a rare person, maybe 1 out of 100 who will take the job. And sometimes...a few of those people actually do an excellent job....going above and beyond, investing in June and making her life more fun, creative and lively. They love on her and get excited about what she's excited about. They are not staring at their phone and in another world, a virtual world trying to escape their job. They see June as a person who also wants to live the fullest life. They take chances, dive deep and let their hair blow in the wind with her.
In case your teen needs it spelled out:
1. When your employer or prospective employer texts you a question, they are looking for a response, preferably within 12 hours. And they are hoping your response is the TRUTH. They don't care if it's bad news, they just want the truth.
2. When you are at your job, any job, please remember that it's time to invest and go above and beyond in your job. That's how you are noticed. That's how you get an excellent recommendation, and besides, don't you want to naturally do everything with excellence? Not mediocrity...
3. Whenever you are going for a job interview for children, please always stoop down, look the child in the eye and introduce yourself: "Hi! I'm______. What's your name?" Or, in case the child or elderly person can't talk, say "Hi _________! My name is ________. It's so good to meet you!"
Be the 1% friends.
Be better than the 1%.
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