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I think the main thing is really that we embrace the fact that the only thing that matters is a good idea. If you have a good idea, no job, no market, no anything can take that way.
It's with you no matter what environment and conditions you are under. So with that in mind, I think it is the driving force for your interview.
~Harvey
Because we are here - we've arrived. Welcome to a new world. Better get on board.
Thanks Teresa, love your style!
You rock little sister!
Hey, I only had 140 characters. You sum it nicely. I love the fact that your generation thinks it's important to do what they love. That's smart, and a great way of avoiding a mid life crisis. Although you don't mention it, there are a lot of people your age that would rather work for a charity or a cause, rather than other type of work. I think it gets back to doing something worthwhile, and it's non-conventional. Your generation has so much to offer, but I've heard it's taking management quite a bit of adjusting to make sure your happy.They better modify the way they interact with their co-workers, or they will find themselves out of a job. After all, your the future, and a good one at that. Nice post!
Good post Teresa
It will be interesting to see how corporate culture adapts to the needs and wants of generation Y. I see a lot of friends get extremely frustrated with workplaces that operate the "old fashioned" way. I fear that there will be a lot of head-butting for a while, but Gen Y is already getting old to be managers/owners of companies. I think we'll see the most significant changes as more Gen Y'ers start their own ventures or take over.
Also — Brazencareerist.com (for which I’m a syndicated blogger) is an awesome place to hear more Gen Y voices.
@Matthew: I’m glad you can relate! This WSJ article really painted “millennials” in a harsher light than I thought we deserved. It’s not that we’re lazy or that we think we’re always entitled — we just have a different outlook. I hoped to clarify that.
@Chris Kenton: I’m very grateful (and honored!) that Chris agreed to let me guest post! He is always so welcoming to hearing from different perspectives that I thought, hey — wouldn’t it be valuable for all of these people in social media to read about a young person’s take on the professional world?
Even though we’re the generation that grew up on the internet, I find that the Gen Y voice isn’t as prominent in the blogosphere as it should be. I hope to help change that. :)
@Nannette: Good to hear — that means you operate most efficiently and creatively!
@Kevn & Marcia: I agree, it’s not a revolutionary way of thought — it’s simply our generation pushing for the professional world to accept that work/play/life can all converge in a happy medium.
@Matt: I’ve done plenty of unpaid internships in my time. I’m currently embarking on number five! But you are absolutely right — working with great people, exploring your passions, and picking up skills from within a more intimate work environment will ultimately be far more worthwhile.
Everyone else: Ahh, I can’t keep up with you! :) But thank you for your great feedback.
There are a lot of successful persons like your self that you can fine in history. All worked by thinking and acting outside the box, doing something different or radical. These are all individuals, not a group. I am an X-er but do not state that all other X-er's are like me. They are not, nor am I like them. I am myself, a person with ADD that has persevered and by luck, karma, and hard work found my place in society and the workforce that has allowed me to use the abilities I have to rise to the upper levels of my profession.
Be proud of who you are, what it is you do, any why you do it, but there are those is every generation that unfortunately make the rest of us look bad. We can not get away from them and it is guilt by association. We are the ones that must rise above and show others that we are not a group and that we do not all think or act alike.
Keep doing what you do and strive for more. You are the kind of person that makes America great and why America is the best country in the world to be sucessful on your own terms.
Excellent article, Imagine what happens if Generation Y gets into decision making positions! I really believe that we are at a point in time with a lot of upcoming changes... and really more and more into your direction.
When I was in my early 20's I dreamed of changing the world (punk rock), but today those in their early 20's can change the world..
I wonder how many of these minded individuals understand that the way they work, the way they think, and how they evaluate, are in essence what great managers and leaders have been trying to teach and instill in their pupils for years.
Use your powers for good, Gen Y, and great things are bound to happen.
These ideals are open to all of us and it's great to see the tide turning as there have been so many who've endured so much to enable this change to take place.
Literally unheard of in my workplace. I was arguing that somehow we need to harness this energy and enthusiasm while the powers that be were probably taking bets on whether this individual would be the first one to go out of the training class.
I know it's not kosher to throw cold water on these guys, but after a few posts over at Penelope's site, I get the sense that self-esteem and generational boosterism is more important than actually making money for a company.
I've worked with quite a few of these Gen Yer's - and their internet skills don't translate well, without the required experience. Job-hopping is fine, but there's something to be said for learning skill at a terrible job that rewards you later on. Job-hopping by itself isn't wrong, but doing so because you lack the ability to stick to a project and see it through isn't a good sign for employers.
Some people say this is just typical Gen-Xer crankiness, but when I was in my 20's, I acted the same as all of the Gen Y folks do now. I wanted challenges, achievements, and responsibility. It isn't new. It's naivete. It's the bloom of youth. Eventually, I settled down, worked for the man, figured out what I needed, and now run my own firm. But it isn't cake, and there are real bills to pay.
Add some kids and mortgage payments, and a maybe a recessionary economy and parents unable to subsidize and the vast majority will end up just as the generations before.
Just because there are a lot of them, doesn't mean that the nature of work will change. There were lots of lemmings, after all, at least until they ran off cliffs. Gen Y has never seen an economic downturn while working. Let's see what they're made of, and then start the fetes.
Now get off my lawn!
"Employers must learn to judge job applicants not by their past but by what they can bring to the company" --
I have had no personal experience with these type of problems, but I can see where it can be an issue. I guess Y is a different breed, and that should be embraced, because there is much to be lost if it is not.
The good to come of all this is exemplified by your description of taking "unconventional paths;" by exploring our professional options and productive interests. Will your research assistant-friend break the latest scientific findings while tailoring the next big fashion wave? Perhaps. By pursuing several paths of interest, could a part-time professional work atmosphere arise?
GB
I see my Gen Y friends as still young and restless, not sure of "who" they want to be or "where" they want to go. They have not all found a focus yet for their lives, and thats fine. It's not like it used to be for my parents- you would work for one company after graduating from high school or college, and you could expect to be there until you decided to leave or died, your choice. That kind of stability, security an perhaps sense of sameness, leading to a sense of basically phoning it in after years of the same old thing was not exactly a panacea. Markets changed. Pensions and healthcare changed. That stability and security is no longer there the way it used to be, and has actually lead to some big problems for some big companies.
Now people are expected to have many job over a lifetime- I have. But I do think you have to find some theme- your talents- things you can build on and maximize over time. If you believe the premise in Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, we really only get to be experts after about 10,000 worth of practice. That translates into 5- 10 years on a job for most people. If you keep job hopping, industry hopping and career hopping, you may not ever build up that serious expertise that makes you valuable to others. We never get to find out your unique contribution to a company or organization, because you are never around long enough to make it.
I think we have to nurture all parts of our lives and our creativity, but I think we also have to expect that work is just one part of our lives, and may not be able to involve all our passions directly. For example, I can enjoy playing squash, knitting, cooking, and scuba diving, but I probably cannot expect my career to necessarily play to all of these interests, as well as my strengths in writing and communication. And that's really okay.
Untrue. Most of my peers and younger (I'm 25 so I suppose that makes me part of gen Y) spends time on the internet purely in an entertainment/infotainment kind of way.
Those that do that are truly in the minority, I wouldn't make a generalized statement like that because as much as I would *want* it to be true, it simply isn't. Most people even Gen Y still waste a lot of time in front of TV as well.
Also of interest may be Generation WE, here's a post worth checking out:
"Marketers, Managers and Media: Here’s Your Heads-up on Generation WE" http://tinyurl.com/5hfh5s
That or I was genY 18 years early.
I've been writing and presenting lately about intergenerational workplaces and some of the fundamental differences with the next generation. One note I would like to make, is it seems as though more professionals from Gen X and Baby Boomers seem to also lean towards the "Gen Y" desires.
I wonder, are we as professionals all taking a serious look at our lives and noticing the wants, desires, motivations of Gen Y are more in-tune with what we secretly all want? Is it easier to "blame it on those kids" than admit Gen Y is correct? Not sure.
If I had cell phones when I was growing up... yes, cell phone wasn't even in the market when I was in my early twenties, and the internet was just brand new. Imagine the damage I could have caused if I had a cell too.
This is one thing I noticed with the GenYs that is particular strange to me, that is their constant needs to seek approval or some sort of recognition form their boss or their peers for every little accomplishment they are able to do. This strange phenomena of “Hey, look what neat things I, and only I can do, and aren’t you glad you hired me?” That just annoys the heck out to me.
Look, the GenY thinks more highly of their self importance then any other age groups. If they aren’t thinking about it constant they are talking about it constantly. Man, the ego these kids have.
Great Post!!!
I found this particularly interesting because I recently wrote a very similar article surrounding the challenges Gen Y is facing in the job market. I do think we are a very valuable group, though perhaps it's harder than ever for us to acclimate to the "real world." Like you mention, we have been raised with a sense of entitlement, and are used to having the opportunities to constantly pursue our interests. Committing to a single job becomes difficult since it's likely to box us in and eliminate that vast array of choice that we've grown up with.
I worked at a PR agency in NYC for a year after college, and felt completely stifled sitting in a cubicle all day. Why was i creating Excel spreadsheets for 9 hours a day? Is that really what 20 years of education was preparing me for? I know that an entry level job is, well, an entry level job. However, I think Gen Y has trouble processing the fact that we have to work our way up the ladder, and initially settle for something less than perfection.
We have been raised on the notion that we can do anything and everything we want, and suddenly, when we reach the "real world," we realize that it's not as easy as we thought...
We do ask questions and want mentors to help answer them for us and to show us how to get to the next level. Anyone else agree?
Craig
www.budgeptulse.com
I am a Gen-Xer. I now have a Master's degree and a professional job in my field, but I can honestly say that I've learned something from every job I've ever held, including those that were entry level and minimum wage at a time when minimum wage was $3.35/hour.
Being able to find a job/career that fulfills you is a wonderful goal, but there is also nothing wrong with getting a job, paying your bills, having health insurance, setting up an IRA, while plotting your next move professionally.
Siobhan Bulfin, social media and interactive marking
New Zealand
As a boomer and someone who has taken financial risk with start-up companies since the start of my career in technology, I hear you loud and clear and agree with you. The only area of concern I have is the potential fallback that might come from "the sense of entitlement" that you mentioned. In difficult times, it's often best to speak about your expertise and how the expertise of the generation can and will help xxx make $$$ but be careful about demands.
I had so much to say that I ended up writing another blog post about it. Hope that clears things up a little.
@JessieX: I'm 20. :)
To a TEE.
What you're not including is the whole "slacker" brand, which is because it's not representative of GenX, actually - it's a fabrication.
What do you have here?
(1) Online learning - yes, good morning, we had intertubes in 1990's.
(2) Valuing "company culture" - yes, that's why early cohorts of GenX left in droves to start startups with their friends. Those ranged from small boutiques to powerhouses like eBay, MySpace, Google, Amazon.
(3) GenX pursues unconventional paths - please read MicroSerfs.
(4) Transparency? See the above mentioned eBay. Many types of online reputation structures are specifically designed to facilitate transparency - by the GenX who designed them.
(5) Since New Balance's famous "Just Do It" commercials, GenX has been about "life is too short, people will revile you no matter what, just find what you want to do and do that."
The only difference is that you decide you need to distance yourself from GenX, call yourself GenY, and say that you'll listen to mentors. Well done. GenX, which obviously has such a heinous reputation you need to disavow yourself from your cultural heritage, has always been a group of people eager for some direction and help, and certainly business alliances and funding.
You do no one any service by differentiating yourself on variables that are irrelevant. You're part of GenX. It's a great culture. You've laid out some of the strengths, here are others:
- Leading without fanfare; understands the importance of responsibility
- Very high degree of resilience
- Ability to navigate complex and ambiguous situations
- Willing to compromise and work for the greater good.
Jessica Margolin - I agree with you, wholeheartedly. Theresa is actually describing GenX culture more than Millennial. Big conversation also over at Geoff Livingston's Buzz Bin: http://is.gd/aMyj
We were so brainwashed to hold our elders in a kind of awe that we had no sense of deserving any kind of decent treatment and were ready to take whatever the bosses chose to dish out.
Then I come to America and see that everything is different. People were free here. They didn't take that kind of dictatorial crap. Wait a second, I'm confused. That was 1968! Help me. Was that Gen Y in 1968?
Bookmarked and Feeded.
-Chase
I'd like to point out, all the things YOU think make you different are the very things that make you the same as generations past. I am a boomer and when I was 20 I held the same ideals and I'm sure every generation past has as well. It's youthful optimism, along with high expectation for ourselves and the contribution we think we can make to the marketplace. We all think life will conform to us and if it doesn't, then things will have to change. And then the reality of a brutal marketplace teaches us that there are viewpoints other than our own and maybe, just maybe, someone ahead of us knows more than we do and maybe, just maybe, we have more learning to do (yeah, it's a harsh reality). Usually by the time we're 30 we figure out that change comes slowly and to survive, WE conform, not the world.
Having said that, much change has occurred over the last 50 years because of the ideals each generation has embraced. Gen Y will make changes as well, it just won't happen as fast as you make think it will. And no, you are not entitled to having your ideals embraced by anyone, you'll have to earn that right. We all eventually learn that, it just takes time and some frustration along the way. And as we go, we grow up.
The advent of the internet, 300 channels on TV, and instantaneous news, makes the younger generations think they are different. I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's not that the people are any different, it's the times that are different. And to be quite honest, I think this is absolutely the best time EVER to be young and just getting started. The fact that global communication is sooooo easy and creating yourself the way YOU want rather than conforming is so much easier than in times past, may just allow Gen Y to what they want rather than conforming. The ability to "do it your way" is easier than ever and I'm seeing ALL generations taking advantage of that, not just Gen Y.
And lastly, I'd like to say and maybe some others want to weigh in, I don't think Gen Y is any louder than any generation in the past. In fact, you weren't alive but the boomers still remain in my mind as the loudest generation in recent history (I say recent history and you probably consider it ancient history LOL).
Thanks again for the great discussion.
Reba
Your write-up is wonderfully worded and I can't help but agree with it. It describes me perfectly. My only wish was that the older generations understood us better.
Especially in regards to being challenged and testing new waters. Couldn't say better myself.
Thank you for this post. It outlines so well the direction our work force is headed and what can be done to foster creativity and leadership. There will definitely be growing pains while we bridge the gap between conventional management practices and a mentorship mentality. I will say though that once you do find that balance and place where you can nurture your skills, it's a breathe of fresh air. I work more than I ever have, but I love (almost) every minute of it. Also, I posted the blog below on my Facebook profile and got a "What about Gen X?" request - would it be possible to discuss how they are shifting their management and work styles in order to remain competitive in this environment?
I've written a complementary blog posting that discusses marketing to the Gen Yer that you might find interesting.
Thanks and blog on!
Annie
Reading this post, and all of the great comments, got me thinking back wondering how I viewed the world 25 years ago (gasp!) when I was at the age Gen Y is now. The things you mention are not unique to Gen Y, they are (except for the transparency one) things that have guided much of my life, and many others as well. The big difference is that in my youth that kind of behavior was typically frowned upon and discouraged; today it is at worst tolerated and at best encouraged.
I'm very interested to hear what Gen Y is saying about "Gen whatever" 25 years from now.
(coming from someone someone born in 1975)
I notice that Teresa hasn't exactly held down a job in the real world yet - What were the jobless numbers in the US for November? 500,000? while technically not the worst on record if you put things in proportion (actually about the 41st worse), but the absolute magnitude is large....and will be getting larger?
This little downturn may be the cold bucket of water that wakes these wet behind the ears neophytes up and helps them put the concepts of "We crave personal development (until layoffs start)", "We pursue unconventional paths(while I have zero life responsibility)", "We’re not afraid to ask (who are you asking and when are you asking them - try asking for a raise about now)", "We embrace transparency (until you have competing interest that may force you to do something you might not be so proud of)", and "We just want to do what we love (Blinding flash of the obvious, you are the only person who wants to do what they love. Me and everyone else prefers drudgery)" in their proper perspective?
What, does this chick think that her father always had a comb over and her mother always wore "mom jeans" At one point, everyone has dreams and aspiration, but guess what Teresa, you (and your siblings) came along and your parents had to get all responsible and stuff - I know, its totally uncool, but true, kids are the reason parents get all uptight, boring and conventional - I can say that as a risk taking 30 something with a young child.
The self righteousness of a new cohort entering the workforce is nothing new, its just that at some point your shtick starts wearing thin - and that point was about a year ago. The holier than thou attitude is boring already
I know, I know, I know, Gen Y'er work harder than anyone else, know how to use social networking "tools" and love to job hop. But can you turn a profit? Or is profit someone else's responsibility? Maybe its the guy with the combover's problem.
How does the mark twain quote go.......something along the lines of "When I was twelve, I could not believe how stupid my parents were. When I turned 21, I was amazed at how much they had learned in nine years."
Guess what, when I was in my early 20's, I was a moron too - and then you get a little older and realize how backwards and little you knew at the time
Most of the problems I deal with are communications related, and it’s almost never about what words are spoken. Rather, it’s the 23 year old white therapist who can’t understand why the 65 year old African-American preacher is too embarassed to tell her he’s not comfortable with her helping him re-learn how to bathe after his stroke. Or it’s the 25 year old African-American manager who doesn’t respect her 40 year African-American old workers because they can’t create a Powerpoint presentation—though their jobs are about providing patient care!
These real conflicts aren’t about whether someone has grey hair: it’s about setting aside personal objectives and perspectives to understand what’s important to the others around us, so that we can work and live together effectively. Hundreds of years ago, John Donne wrote "No man is an island." Until people no longer have to interact directly with others, without the anonymity of the Internet, this will always be true in the workplace and any other venue.
So, yes, Millennials are great. In the ways that they are great. But so is every other generation, in the way that they are great. Would Theresa be willing to write a piece about the profound "weaknesses" of her generation? I doubt it. But people in other generations could come up with a laundry list of "weaknesses." Again, are they weaknesses, or just a balancing? After GenXers, a following generation that was fragmented would undermine societal strength. But the Millennials would be lost and dysfunctional without following behind GenXers who have tended to technical efficiencies, entrepreneurial knowledge and do-more-with-less than any generation in 80 years.
So, let's be happy for the newest generation to enter into young adulthood. Equally,j let's remember that they are but one of four generations. They gotz some good stuff to offer. As well, they will cause their own specific pain as a generation. And so the cycle continues.
*sigh* it's so frustrating to get jobs when you fit this demographic!