Reliability as part of discipline – an essential requirement

I was asked to help with find a job for a graduate applicant. He emailed me his CV and I told him there were many weaknesses there and asked him to update it. I am very busy finding it difficult to give one on one time to help these people and told him I will try and find some time help him correct it and also draft a cover letter for him once I was able to sit with him and find out exactly the type of job he is keen to get and suits him.

I gave him two opportunities to help him with his job find, and he did not take me up on it. How is one to help a person who does nothing to help his cause? There is no point asking for help, when the subject is missing.

This kind of unreliability is a hallmark of young people today. They seem to ask for the sun and do not even make an effort to understand that there must be a commitment on their part in the process of receiving assistance.

Schools certainly DO NOT teach the importance of keeping to a promise. Young people do not realize that to get anything there is a two way contract. There are so many jobs where the applicant has got the job, and then not turned up on the day for work. It makes a mockery of helping when they are not reliable, as it also affects the prospects of others who also seek help with employment.

Being reliable, and dependent are all part of a self discipline routine that young people must learn at an early age, so that they will be able in future to progress in anything they do. I fail to understand why this is such a problem in Sri Lanka, as I believe in other countries young people know what it takes to get and hold a job.

I do not believe a seminar or a workshop can infuse and induce youth to change direction, as it takes time. Parents are the first point of contact here and have to over a series of concerted effort over months if not years try and get this hardwired into the brains of their offspring, so that they can achieve their goals. With tuition being the only discipline and passing exams being the only requirement young people in Sri Lanka have lost sight of the priorities in life, it is these priorities that will make help an individual to excel in life and achieve their personal goals in good time.