Some employers complain that it’s difficult to deal with younger workers, because they lack manners, they don’t meet you in the middle, and they just do whatever they’re going to do.
Now, this post on social media is going viral: “I’m a recruiter, so I do a TON of phone interviews, and something I’ve noticed about Gen Z specifically is that a lot of them answer the phone, and don’t say anything. I can hear their breathing, and the background noise, but they wait for YOU to say hello first.”
And it isn’t that they don’t know who’s calling or think it’s something else. The recruiter says these are calls that were scheduled by the candidates, and they were given her number, so they know who’s calling at that exact time.
She said it’s not necessarily a deal breaker, and it’s “not that deep”, just something she’s noticed many times, and finds it very unusual.
A Millennial responded saying that a “hello” greeting isn’t just having good manners, it actually has a purpose. “We all say hello if we are picking up the phone. [Like] answering the door. It’s not just that it’s considered polite, but in the case of the phone, it is to signify you are present and have answered the phone. The person on the other end can’t see you, so having a vocal indication is helpful.”
On the flip-side, one reason that Gen Z’ers may not say anything is because they’re the first generation to grow up without land-lines, and may not have picked up on what’s customary.
Even with cell phones, a lot of the communication is through text messages, not actual calls.
And finally, some say it might have to do with so many calls being spam with automated or A.I. bots on the other end. (But that’s not THAT different from unwanted calls from telemarketers that most of us have grown up with.)
