It could be the rhinestone stud in her cheek, her thin resume, or her unwillingness to interview before noon, lest job-seeking disrupt her gym routine or interrupt her beauty sleep.
Or it could be that this is the weakest job market for teenagers looking for summer work in more than half a century.
But two weeks of pounding the pavement -- or at least occasionally scrolling through "help wanted" ads on Craigslist -- have produced not a single employment offer for my 17-year-old daughter . . . the one with the expensive tastes and empty wallet.
She's gotten good at collecting applications; carries them around in a manila folder to work on when she's not busy chatting with friends online, lounging at Starbucks or holed up watching movies with a buddy.
Most of her friends are jobless thus far -- even the unpierced, early risers. "No one's hiring," they tell me.
There's a busy mall five minutes from our house. Could it be that summer has only just began and every job there is already gone?
On Monday -- while my daughter rested from an exhausting hour on the elliptical machine -- I set out to canvass the shopping center.
Economic indicators show that this summer is shaping up as the toughest job market for teens since the government began tracking youth employment in 1948.
More teenagers are seeking summer jobs, and the faltering economy isn't keeping up. As businesses downsize, displaced adults and even retirees are grabbing slots at fast-food restaurants, retail stores and movie theaters -- typical havens for teens every summer.
A decade ago, almost half of all teenagers across the country held summer jobs. This year, barely one-third of teens expect to find work.
Despite the bleak national figures, David Rattray at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce told me that even in this soft economy, jobs for teens are plentiful -- if they are willing to compromise.
"It's true there are diminished opportunities this summer, but we still have employers struggling to find workers and lots of jobs that will go unfilled," he said.
In business-starved, inner-city neighborhoods, the chamber helps steer youths into subsidized jobs with private firms and nonprofit agencies, said Rattray, the chamber's vice-president for education and workforce development.
