Doug Wallace: Inspirational Stories of Childhood Poverty

Impoverished teens need jobs. The unemployment rate for teenagers today is a whopping 23%.

That is especially bad news for teens from poverty neighborhoods.

When it comes to job interviews, the middle class children will have an advantage over impoverished teens. Middle class teenagers will be interviewing with managers who are also from the middle class.

The language skills and behaviors of the middle class will mirror those of the managers interviewing them. 

Imagine the hurdles impoverished teens must overcome to get a job.

Impoverished teens do not have a rule book on how to conduct yourself in an interview with the middle class.

Their casual language will be replete with bad grammar and use of slang. Moreover, they have no idea that the body language used by the poverty culture during communications is a business faux pas.

With so few available jobs, impoverished teens today will get kicked out of job interviews faster than Donald Trump can say “You’re fired.”

One of the hallmark traits of the generationally poor is the importance of personality in relationships. Use of humor, body language, gestures, and slang are a normal way of communicating.

Loud voices and big laughter are part of the culture of poverty. Their humor and personality isn’t middle class enough for middle class managers.

There is no such thing as “personal space” in our impoverished neighborhoods. It is normal behavior to get up close and personal when talking to someone. 

Teenagers from poverty neighborhoods will be labeled by the middle class manager the moment they make the handshake.

In the culture of poverty, young boys are taught to act like a man. During interviews it is hard not to show courage, which is a big part of the culture. Such courage among restive teens makes middle class managers a little uncomfortable.

The point of this blog post is that the unemployment rate among all teenagers is already at 23%. Imagine what the unemployment rate among impoverished teens is, especially in light of the fact that the odds are already stacked against them the moment they walk into the interview room.