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Article on Millenial Generation

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Topic: Article on Millenial Generation

Posted By: Gatyr
Subject: Article on Millenial Generation
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 12:21am

Millennials need to get real about work world
11:10 AM CST on Thursday, February 21, 2008

First in a two-part series

Millennials. Can't live with 'em. Can't live without 'em.

That's what many employers tell me about the youngest generation in the workplace.
Advertising executive Owen Hannay, for one, has placed a moratorium on hiring people fresh out of college unless they've done a work-related internship or have an advanced degree.

That's quite a shift for the 45-year-old principal of Slingshot LLC, whose Dallas agency is known for its leading-edge marketing.
It's not that millennials lack the creative genius or technological know-how that he's looking for. Far from it, he says. It's more that they lack the real-world grounding it takes to deal with responsibility, accountability and setbacks.

"They wipe out on life as often as they wipe out on work itself," says Mr. Hannay, who let go more than a dozen millennials from his 130-person staff over the course of 2006.

That's when he stopped hiring them. "They get an apartment and a kitty, and they can't cope. Work becomes an ancillary casualty. They're good kids with talent who want to succeed. That's what makes me nuts."

He turned to Dallasite Cathie Looney, a nationally known speaker and generational expert, to help him understand this age group, the oldest of whom are 27 and just entering the workforce.

He's still not hiring them, but she's teaching him and his largely Gen X and late boomer staff how to work better with the younger folks.
"The biggest thing she does is help us understand where these kids are coming from," Mr. Hannay says. "Their orientation is so different from Gen Xers, who were the latchkey kids and are self-starters. These kids are fabulous at building teams, but they're challenged by responsibility and accountability."
All true, says Ms. Looney, a certified reality therapist and retired director of children and family ministry at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church. And many employers are backing away from hiring them because they're so high maintenance.

"They've been overparented, overindulged and overprotected," she says. "They haven't experienced that much failure, frustration, pain. We were so obsessed with protecting and promoting their self-esteem that they crumble like cookies when they discover the world doesn't revolve around them. They get into the real world and they're shocked.

"You have to be very careful in how you talk to them because they take everything as criticism."

Go, go, go

They are also imminently teachable, Ms. Looney contends, and well worth the effort.

"I love this generation. They're high achievers. They're confident. These kids are go, go, go," she says.
With a growing skilled labor shortage, employers can't just kiss off this group.

"If you want to get the best out of the millennials, you have to invest in them. You have to give them a mentor to teach them how to navigate the adult world," Ms. Looney says. "You have to tell them in black and white what your expectations are for them and what the consequences will be if they don't meet those expectations."

Ms. Looney holds degrees in elementary and secondary education from the University of Mississippi and a master's degree in counseling from the University of Arkansas. Her certification comes from the William Glasser Institute of Reality in California.

Ms. Looney sees the humor in both her name and her certification. "I chose reality therapy because I'm from Mississippi, and there is no reality in Mississippi. So I thought I might find out a little bit about it."

But she's serious about her mission and her message. "Reality therapy is about taking responsibility for your own actions. You can't change other generations. They are what they are. All you have control of is how you deal with them."

She tells employers like Mr. Hannay to start by looking at how this generation was parented.
Women who put careers on the backburner to have children brought a strong work ethic and intensity into parenting, Ms. Looney says.
"We think that our child's success in school is emblematic of our success as a parent. A Harvard decal on the back of your Hummer is a stellar performance review," she says.

But parents of millennials also turned into agents who worried about building self-esteem. Unfortunately, such coddling can lead to workplace meltdowns, Ms. Looney says. "Healthy, resilient people learn life skills from failure and frustration.

"These are kids who have a bunch of participation awards. They think they should be rewarded for showing up at work. You have to say, 'No, no darlin'. You're paid to show up. But you have to do a good job to get a raise.' "

Employers need to play to this group's significant strengths. Millennials are highly educated, well-traveled, goal-oriented, technologically superior and great team players.

"They're connected 24/7. They know people all over the world. Their pen pal is in Singapore, and by pen pal I mean Facebook. And they're willing to share their networks. If they see an injustice done in the workplace, they band to fight that injustice."
Hovering parents

She says you can tell a lot about the generations by their homes: "Gen Xers wanted to reclaim the inner city. Millennials say, 'I don't mind living with my parents.' "

"These kids are fabulous, but they need to cut the umbilical cord," she says. "Parents are showing up at their kids' work. They call about their kids' reviews or whether they're going to get a raise."

To fend off such parental intervention, Ms. Looney suggests employers write thank-you notes to offending parents: 'Thanks for this great kid. We're really enjoying him or her. Aren't you glad your work's now over?' "

I don't think this applies to most of the people here, since we all seem to be above average and better than most other people, but some general input (other than noting the older generation is usually always discontent with the younger one) would be nice.

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Replies:

Posted By: Benjichang
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 12:27am

This definitely does not describe my peers.

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irc.esper.net
#paintball

Posted By: Gatyr
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 12:33am

Benjichang wrote:

This definitely does not describe my peers.

I figured people here would have a hard time relating to it, since I figure the guy is talking about kids higher up on the socioeconomic chain with parents that hand them more than they should get.

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Posted By: ANARCHY_SCOUT
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 12:34am

Me and my friends sit around drink beer, smoke pot, and listen to music. No high achievers here.

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Gamertag: Kataklysm999

Posted By: Darur
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 12:37am

Sounds like my entire class.

The worst part is I'm dead serious.

=\

I agree with a lot of the article though, a lot of people I know have these great illusions about the world and their futures because we've been raised to believe we're all beautiful and unique snowflakes.

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Real Men play Tuba

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Posted By: Gatyr
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 12:47am

Darur wrote:

because we've been raised to believe we're all beautiful and unique snowflakes.

I'm definitely a unique and beautiful snowflake. My government teacher is trying to instill the fact that we are all adorable and deserve to be adored so long as we do what we are supposed to.

But I think the problem comes from kids expecting something because they are a beautiful and unique snowflake.

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Posted By: Bunkered
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 12:50am

I agree with that article whole-heartedly.
Our generation is a bunch of <sissies>.
They were made that way when they didn't have to work a day in their life, but also have money to do things, a new car, cell phone, etc. Spoiled brats.

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Posted By: Man Bites Dog
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 12:58am

Socrates would like a word with all of you.

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Posted By: reifidom
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 8:19am

Man Bites Dog wrote:

Socrates would like a word with all of you.

And that word is

.

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Posted By: Snake6
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 8:28am

Gatyr wrote:

Darur wrote:

because we've been raised to believe we're all beautiful and unique snowflakes.

I loled.

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Posted By: Reb Cpl
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 9:43am

If you want to see the living embodiment of what is spoken about in the article, work in a school.

These kids in high school, getting ready to graduate into the real world are really bright. But, they expect things to be served to them, rather than earn anything. over parenting and over coddling takes an absolute toll on the younger crowd these days, and anyone who denies that, needs to spend some time working with/around them.

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?

Posted By: .Ryan
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 9:44am

Well, I'm a Gen-Yer, but I was raised by Boomers, so I don't know where I fit in here....I think what it comes down to though is that people in our generation were able to forgo learning what the real world is like longer than the other were. But, we're quick learners, so it'll be ok. As far as the generalizations made about gen-yers, it may not be accurate enough, but as a whole, I think it stands up pretty well....And actually, I see more of the positive aspects mentioned as more accurate than the negative ones....Call me an optimist though....I am just cynical enough to think that the woman's job title is ridiculous though....lol...

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Posted By: impulse!
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 11:12am

I blame the media. For scaring the living crap out of parents, and making them over protected. My entire graduating class is a poster child for that article. It is truly pathetic. My parents busted their ass off to get me in a good school. In which every kid drives a $10k and up car. BMW's,H2's, Benz's are common. Everything handed to them, but none of them can keep a job longer than a month. Only reason they have a job is to shut up their parents, and sit around and hang out with their friends. It doesn't matter if they make $5 an hour, because they know they have an unlimited ATM at home.

I'm just ready for what the generations that were born late 90's and early 2k and going to be like. With Sept 11, Iraq war, North Korea happening. These kids just need to stay in their cribs.

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Posted By: jmac3
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 11:21am

I'm only 21 and I've been saying this for years.

I think I even fit in the age group, but am definitely not like that.

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Que pasa?

Posted By: Rambino
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 2:47pm

Linus wrote:

Uhh.. isn't it illegal to discriminate based on age?

Only illegal to discriminate against old people, and only some of the time.

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Posted By: scotchyscotch
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 3:02pm

Well my parents generation is a world away from mine.

Alot of the people i know that age started work as apprentices and the like at 15/16 Thats not as common anymore by a long shot. And I mean it when I say work. This wasn't just a job it would have been hard graft. But that was the norm then, Well in Glasgow it was anyway.

Posted By: Bunkered
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 3:31pm

It just amazes me how many people are not told to get a job by their parents, or at least not flat broke.
Parents who pay for absolutely everything do no good for their child's chances at surviving in the adult world.

My sister, for example, has a 4.0 at Grand Valley, but could not get a job to save her life. She supposedly tried all last summer and all first semester, and couldn't get the job even when interviewed.
She was expecting the most lax schedule ever, and wanted like $10 for her first job.

It's like... Sorry you have to actually do something to earn money, not just sit around and read books/do homework.

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Posted By: Reb Cpl
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 5:23pm

Part of the thing is, if you think about it, a lot of people are going right from HS to college to the work world, without ever having held a REAL job. Seriously. From the time you're 5 years old to the time you're almost 23, all you're doing is schooling, hardly working a real job, so you don't know how to react, what to expect, or what is expected of YOU.

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?

Posted By: Rambino
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 5:54pm

Bunkered wrote:

It just amazes me how many people are not told to get a job by their parents, or at least not flat broke.
Parents who pay for absolutely everything do no good for their child's chances at surviving in the adult world.

I kind of agree, and kind of not.

Clearly most people have a tough time on their first job. Working is difficult, and it takes most people a while to adapt. Starting various jobs at a younger age obviously helps break in the concept, making the transition to "the real world" easier later on.

I have seen my share of transition difficulties coming into the workplace - enough that I wrote a book on the subject (plug). But I also had a tough time myself, and I DID work several "practice jobs" before beginning the real job. Simply having pre-work work experience is not a cure.

On the other hand, time spent doing practice jobs is time NOT spent doing something else useful. And it is not obvious to me that spending summers in high school pouring concrete (which is what I did) is more useful than spending summers in high school learning a skill more closely related to your future profession, or traveling to get exposed to other cultures, or getting a head start on college courses, or getting involved in local politics, or a bunch of other non-paying things you could be doing with your "spare" time.

Granted, if you never worked a day before starting your real job you will likely have a tougher time with the transition, but that may be a good tradeoff if you learned something useful instead that will be of help once you survive your transition.

And, speaking as an employer, I anecdotally believe that I am seeing resumes these days that have fewer paid jobs on them, but more unpaid useful things. And frankly I like these newer resumes better. I know that the break-in time will be longer and more painful, but the end product seems to be better.

Just my two cents, but I don't think we should just assume that working whatever job for cash is the best use of excess time during school.

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Posted By: carl_the_sniper
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 7:03pm

Rambino wrote:

Linus wrote:

Uhh.. isn't it illegal to discriminate based on age?

Only illegal to discriminate against old people, and only some of the time.

Really?

It's not that way in Canada.

You can't descriminate against age period.

Posted By: rednekk98
Date Posted: 25 February 2008 at 8:34pm

I was a latchkey kid who had responsibility growing up and do not fit the stereotype, but with that responsibility cutting into time to do things for my future(working multiple jobs to try to pay for community college classes as I go cost me a scholarship and will increase my debt by thousands of dollars) and having a good deal of my peers being spoiled brats has probably made me bitter beyond my years.