Young Brits and their communication skills

[ice2004]

I may have missed something here but Diddy are we not moving on to the other subject of call centres being located in India and places like that because thats a totally different kettle of fish to the original rant.

Any person who i have ever spoken to in a UK call centre i have been able to understand perfectly however like you i get extremely pissed of when it end up being an Indian call centre.

Oh heres something to think about that may explain this rant partly.

Doing a degree in EEE just now and and higher English is NOT mandatory. I found this astonishing that on a course where logbooks, reports etc are required constantly that you didnt have to have this qualification.

Oh and i have an A in higher English but i know people doing the course who dont have higher English at any grade :FRIGHT:

 

[Seedy_r0m]

Personally, if I was interviewing people or reading their CV's & they failed to grasp the basic fundamentals of the English language, then I would bin them immediately.

If they can't be bothered making an effort to apply for a position with my company, then I don't see why we should invest in them.

There are plenty of vacancies for people who can't be bothered learning the language of the land.

"D'ya want fries with that?"

I'm not talking about people affected by Dyslexia, I'm talking about those who think "teen speak" is acceptable in a grown-up environment.

Would have
Should've
Could ov

Grrrrrrrr

 

[IANB]

Personally, if I was interviewing people or reading their CV's & they failed to grasp the basic fundamentals of the English language, then I would bin them immediately.

If they can't be bothered making an effort to apply for a position with my company, then I don't see why we should invest in them.

There are plenty of vacancies for people who can't be bothered learning the language of the land.

"D'ya want fries with that?"

I'm not talking about people affected by Dyslexia, I'm talking about those who think "teen speak" is acceptable in a grown-up environment.

Would have
Should've
Could ov

Grrrrrrrr

Seedy do you have your own business m8?

 

[Seedy_r0m]

Seedy do you have your own business m8?

No, I was self-employed for a while before starting my new job last Feb.

I have been in a position to help in the hiring of people though.

Some of the CV's I've seen could have been better constructed by a gorilla using a typewriter with bananas strapped to his hands

For the most part, the CV is the first point of contact between Employer & potential Employee, if this is a mess, or is too "busy", then it will find it's way promptly into the circular filing cabinet. (bin)

If this passes, then...

Next step is usually the interview.
Jeans & t-shirt don't cut it, facial piercings/tatoos are usually out as well (It depends on the job though).

During the interview, candidates should maintain good eye contact with the person speaking, also speak clearly, be confident, & don't intersperse your language with things like "know what I mean", "innit" & for up here "ye ken"
If you're being interviewed by a panel, then make sure that you give them all some attention while you're being interviewed & answering questions.

If you are able to look at them all at the same time, then you may need some sort of corrective surgery

Vicki Pollard & Spud from Trainspotting would not be good interview candidates.

 

[Munkey]

LOL some great replies guys. if ya know what I mean..some of them posts are really funny!

I run a small telecommunications business (or new media as the girls in the office insist upon) from my loft but also have a swanky office in central London which I visit a few times a week. The sales job in question is not as straight forward as it seems hence the highish starting salary. I'm looking for people who understand back end telecoms at a technical level with a view to system integration into carrier gateways, aggregator gateways and end user systems regardless of the chosen platform. The thing is with times changing as fast as they are we have become some type of new media company who now have to understand all marketing and selling distribution channels if we are to offer an end to end service. There are experienced guys in telecoms that I could hire but they are unwilling to learn about or even use their imagination on how new media should be distributed successfully in today's market. So I hire good young prospects and train them which has proven successful in countries where wages are high. I always prefer pretty intelligent young ladies as they usually perform very well in our market.

Anyway back to the original post..

I always ask for a photo in a CV as looks are quite important. I always try and hire 'posh' speaking people as it reflects well on the company IMO. I have been recruiting for various positions over the past few years and the level of candidacy is on the decline. The point made about Britain being multicultural is a valid one however I think that does not have a major influence over the way the kids speak. I blame rap music and MTV. If you're not wearing a stupid bandanna with lots of gold and speaking like you have a cork stuck in your throat then you are old news. I think we have to face it and admit that a lot of young people have a serious identity problem and think they are 1)black and 2)living in their front room regardless of where they may be (speak how they want when they want).

I do wonder if this problem effects young people in the city or if it effects those who live in the suburbs as well.

 

[Donnie Darko]

Ever tried asking for help in shops from young sales staff,the majority of replies are either ugh? or met with blank looks.

 

[Munkey]

During the interview, candidates should maintain good eye contact with the person speaking, also speak clearly, be confident, & don't intersperse your language with things like "know what I mean", "innit" & for up here "ye ken"

Hmm they cant even concentrate for longer than 3 mins let alone maintain eye contact.

The funniest line I heard on a few occasions was

'you know dem ones'

to which I would reply shaking my head

'I have no idea what you're talking about, please explain'

What I really wanted to say was

'I fooking know but explain it to me!'

 

[Diddy]

I may have missed something here but Diddy are we not moving on to the other subject of call centres being located in India and places like that because thats a totally different kettle of fish to the original rant.

Any person who i have ever spoken to in a UK call centre i have been able to understand perfectly however like you i get extremely pissed of when it end up being an Indian call centre.

Oh heres something to think about that may explain this rant partly.

Doing a degree in EEE just now and and higher English is NOT mandatory. I found this astonishing that on a course where logbooks, reports etc are required constantly that you didnt have to have this qualification.

Oh and i have an A in higher English but i know people doing the course who dont have higher English at any grade :FRIGHT:

If you "may have missed something" then so did I mate. I Never mentioned Indian call centers nor any foreign national. Im actually talking about your average "British" school leaver. And to be honest the standard from the "Indian" call center is going up albeit slowly. Where as sadly the standard of British school leavers and Uni leavers has and is falling. This is not in any way off topic nor racist nor anything like !! Please don't read something into my post that's just plainly not their.
:Clap:

Edit to add - Well done on getting A level english BTW. Not attacking you mate, just clearing up what I meant by my post. I still stand by it.

 

[ice2004]

Wasn't having a go at you m8 just not had any problems with UK call centres myself, however i hate the Indian (or where ever they are) call centres so i wrongly assumed you were talking about them.

 

[Nani121]

Wasn't having a go at you m8 just not had any problems with UK call centres myself, however i hate the Indian (or where ever they are) call centres so i wrongly assumed you were talking about them.

same here i hate the Indian call centres i think it is pathetic at times lol especially when you as who is calling they will come up with some funny names like once i got one with an alleged name of Scott Harris i thought you Bullsh**ing feckers.

In the end its not the guys at the call centres who are fault it is those companies who go there for cheap labourers imo.

But it does piss me off but whenver i get a telesales call i give them lots of shit lol

 

[Seedy_r0m]

same here i hate the Indian call centres i think it is pathetic at times lol especially when you as who is calling they will come up with some funny names like once i got one with an alleged name of Scott Harris i thought you Bullsh**ing feckers.

You should reply in kind & say that your name is:

Ramitin Bawdeep Or
Minjita Punani

 

[pipsqueaker]

The reason for inadequate english is not PCs, Consoles or Video: it's bad teaching

 

[Seedy_r0m]

The reason for inadequate english is not PCs, Consoles or Video: it's bad teaching

Or quite possibly the reason may be that a lot of them that pass through the education system are lazy little fookers who think that the world owes them a living and that everything will be handed to them on a plate?

 

[IANB]

The reason for inadequate english is not PCs, Consoles or Video: it's bad teaching

Wrong m8. Education is a 2 way process. Teaching and learning. If a pupil does not want to put the effort in then what the fook can a teacher do?
Its got to be down to the parenting in a lot of cases. If it was poor teaching then the whole nation would be thick.
In a class of 20 there will be a high proportion of success so its not just down to the teachers.
As the old saying goes "You can lead a horse to water but you cant make it drink". Its a pure cop out blaming teachers.

 

[karym6]

I have also been interviewing over the last fornight for a junior position that has opened up in my company. The calibre of the candidates coming through the door has been extremely high - I am looking for fresh graduates to fill this position.

So far all of them have been intelligent and articulate, the hardest part has been trying to decide which one to take over the others. As we are an IT company, looks are not important - the skills and potential strengths are much more important...

As IANB says, this has nothing to do with teaching in the UK, his reasons are entirely valid and correct.

Munkey - are you recruiting by yourself or are you using an agency?

 

[pipsqueaker]

Education IS a one way process fella. A 4 year old has to be stimulated because they cannot know what's what at that age. Thats when education starts, not when they are 14, by then it's too late.
Teachers are governed by targets and political correctness. It's not the fault of most teachers, it stems from crap government ministers.
Also there is nothing worse for a child than to have a boring and uninspiring teacher, of which there are some, if a child loses interest he won't learn.
On a separate slant, I am a strong disbeliever in children having to do homework. Because those kids with supportive parents are always going to do better than those whose parents don't care. Grossly unfair.

 

[IANB]

Education IS a one way process fella. A 4 year old has to be stimulated because they cannot know what's what at that age. Thats when education starts, not when they are 14, by then it's too late.
Teachers are governed by targets and political correctness. It's not the fault of teachers, it stems from crap government ministers.
Also there is nothing worse for a child than to have a boring and uninspiring teacher, of which there are quite a few, if a child loses interest he won't learn.
On a separate slant, I am a strong disbeliever in children having to do homework. Because those kids with supportive parents are always going to do better than those whose parents don't care. Grossly unfair.

What total bollox m8 on the last part of your post. Its laughable to think that home work is un fair due to parents who cant be arsed to support their child.
I think your having a laugh m8. Its not a one way process at all m8 im probably wrong in saying its a 2 way process, more a 3 way process i.e the parents as well. Initialy yes at an early age i agree with you. But once they are a bit older they have to apply themselves

 

[witchy]

I'm proud to say than none of my kids speak 'Gangsta', but they do have a Glaswegian/Lanarkshire accent so no-one knows what the fook they are saying anyway

 

[karym6]

a bit off topic, but IANB is correct again. Homework isnt a relationship building exercise between the child and parent, its an work the child needs to complete free of the contraints of the classroom and away from peers.

The government has nothing to do with how teachers perform, however I do agree that a bored teacher isnt so good for the classroom.

Please dont try and demean the efforts of our graduates like this. Their education has nothing to do with our schools - undergraduates are at uni because they want to learn, not because they have to go there.

 

[pipsqueaker]

What total bollox m8 on the last part of your post. Its laughable to think that home work is un fair due to parents who cant be arsed to support their child.
I think your having a laugh m8. Its not a one way process at all m8 im probably wrong in saying its a 2 way process, more a 3 way process i.e the parents as well. Initialy yes at an early age i agree with you. But once they are a bit older they have to apply themselves

I thought this post was about communication, not higher education.
You don't learn that in teenage years. If a child doesn't know how to communicate by 10 years old he never will properly.
As for homework, many parents do it for the kids, the kids just write it down. Therefore if a kid has a numpty as a parent he fails. That's how it is.