I think youngsters these days stunned me when it comes to job hunting.

Take these few I had dealt with earlier. The opening was for a Producer post in a creative photography studio.

Guy 1, Age 22
Hold a private degree is some mass communication studies. Past working experiences include internship at a local publishing house doing administrative work, delivery driver for a fast food chain, and some part-time telesales.

Expected Salary: $2,500

Girl 1, Age 23
Fresh Diploma graduate from a design course from a local institute. Past working experience includes production assistant for an episodic drama series, internship with a local production house for 2 months assisting producers in coordination work, and waitressing.

Expected Salary : $2,500

Guy 2, Age: 26
Fresh Degree holder from a private institution, majoring in a media related program. Past working experiences almost non-existent, -except for his internship with a local paper that published his only article in their column some months ago.

Expected salary: Above $2,700

I shook my head as I scan through their resumes, and wondered if youths these days are so deluded they start assuming that once they have that priced paper stamped ‘degree’ or ‘diploma’ or what not, they well deserve that amount of income to start with. Although they possess minimal working experience that are not even related, -yes, they assume those are ‘working experience’ that employers meant nonetheless.

Tsk tsk.

They failed to note that everything starts from the bottom. You start having 50 cents pocket money in primary school, and eventually getting your nets and debit cards as you begin your secondary or tertiary life.

Same goes with employment, particularly in the creative and media industry. You can’t expect to attend an interview and go oh-I have-a-degree-I-am-smart-and-that’s-why-you-have-to-pay-me-like-that. If that’s your case, please expect your potential employers to wave and blow goodbye kisses at you.

Yes, we know you have a degree, and we trust you busted your ass off working for it. But it’s a different ballgame altogether out there in the work market, my dear. You take a long time to prove your self worth to the job/s, not just by shoving papers into faces and demanding obscene pay for starters.

Big boss Ed (all hail the king of photography) joked to us the other day, “Who cares so much about papers in creatives? Look at you! The people with papers who are working under those without…cheh.”

Ouch.