Young workers should know what employers' standards are for hiring and job performance and behave accordingly in order to obtain and keep a job. This finding is based on a study that examined the perceptions of high school graduates and their employers' reports of hiring and job performance standards and employment outcomes. High school students completed questionnaires at the beginning and end of their senior year and one year after graduation. Their employers were surveyed at the one-year follow-up. Employers were influenced to hire youths who had these characteristics: (1) looked clean and neat at the interview, (2) filled out the job application neatly and correctly and attached a resume, (3) showed interest by asking questions about the job, and (4) called the employer after the interview to indicate interest in the job. Employers tended to reject youths who had these characteristics: (1) falsified the job application, (2) could not read well, (3) had a poor absentee record and showed low effort on the previous job, and (4) had high job turnover. Employers were inclined to fire workers who did not follow company rules and policies or who were not making enough of an effort to be productive--more so than workers who did not perform well because of inadequate basic skills and attitudes. Young workers who believed that employers have tough hiring and job performance standards had better employment records and received better job performance evaluations. The study indicated that schools should teach the importance of these findings in order to help their students find and keep jobs. (KC)