Archive for Category: Managing Generational Differences
Gen Y and the Pursuit of Happiness
Posted in Future of Careers Generation Y/Millennials Managing Generational Differences on December 20, 2011 at 2:14 pm
I’m a huge fan of YPulse, especially their daily newsletter that keeps me up to date on all things Millennial. I was honored to have the opportunity to write a guest blog post for their site. As always, I’d love to know your thoughts on this topic — please share in the Comments!
Gen Y and the Pursuit of Happiness
Could anything be more fundamentally American than the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Probably not. But the definition of that last, elusive word — happiness — seems to be changing dramatically as the Millennial generation enters adulthood.
Ask your parents or grandparents to define happiness and they’ll surely talk about love, friends, and family. Next, they’ll probably mention succeeding in their chosen career, owning a nice home, and having a solid nest egg.
But ask a Gen Y, and the definition of success and happiness may sound quite different. As journalist Hannah Seligson recently wrote of her peers in the Washingtonian, “Instead of a steady job, they want a meaningful one that serves a larger purpose or fulfills a personal passion. And instead of settling down with a spouse and mortgage, they want more years of freedom to chase career dreams and explore different paths before they have to make tradeoffs.”
For Millennials, things like climbing the corporate ladder, socking away money for a home, and building up retirement savings have one serious drawback: they take a lot of time. And, in my experience, Millennials don’t like to wait.
Read the rest of this post at YPulse.com…
Image: iStockphoto
How to Attract and Retain Generation Y: Interview with Business Insider
Posted in Generation Y/Millennials Managing Generational Differences on December 7, 2011 at 9:00 am
This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Karlee Weinmann of Business Insider to discuss a hot topic these days: how to attract and retain Generation Y (a.k.a. Millennials). As Karlee notes in her introduction, I split my time between teaching Gen Ys how to get jobs with employers and teaching employers how to hire and retain Gen Ys.
Karlee asked some pretty provocative questions and I was happy to give my honest answers. Here is an excerpt…
BI: Why is it important to give [Generation Y] consideration in hiring?
LP: Demographically, they are as big as — and will probably become a bigger generation than — the Baby Boomers. This is the future of your organization, this is the future of your customer base. They’re turning 30, they’re no longer kids.
BI: Is there anything employers can do to retain young talent? Or is that just not something this generation is looking for?
LP: I think we have to realign what retention is. There’s a trend going on now called boomeranging, which is that you might go work for a company for two or three years, and then you do something else, and come back later in your career. I think more companies will start to think of employees as lifetime relationships who may not stay straight through their careers, but will come back at specific points.
The concept of retention is really going to change over the next decade or so, in that it’s not really the expectation — particularly at the beginning of the career path, within the first ten years or so.
BI: What hiring strategies just don’t work with Generation Y?
LP: I get a lot of frustrated calls from Gen Ys when they feel they’re applying into a black hole, and that the process takes too long. They really prioritize speed, so the fact that hiring has traditionally taken weeks and weeks, if not months, is a big turnoff to Gen Ys.
They’re used to the world working at internet speed, so [taking too much] time is probably the biggest mistake that a company could make if it wants to attract Millennials.
Read the full interview, “Generation Y Isn’t Impressed With Your Pension Plan And Doesn’t Have Time For Your Hiring Process,” here.
Image: iStockphoto
Expert Advice for Gen Y Managers
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Future of Careers Generation Y/Millennials Getting from College to Career Managing Generational Differences on November 2, 2011 at 11:55 am
As members of Generation Y (a.k.a. Millennials) continue to enter the workforce in droves, plenty is being written about how to manage these young employees.
I’d like to take a different angle and talk about the fact that Gen Ys are now starting to do the managing. More than a few workplaces — from start-ups to nonprofits to Fortune 500 corporations — are promoting twentysomethings into management roles every day.
To help this new cohort of Gen Y managers, I reached out to some of the best managers I know — from all generations — and asked them what they wish they’d known when they first became leaders. Here are some of their answers:
“I wish I had realized the true impact I could make on people’s careers versus being concerned about whether I was ready for the challenge of managing others. [The people we manage] expect our best efforts, so focus on the needs of the individual you are managing and use the skills that have gotten you to this point. You will always be a work in progress.”
- Robert Daugherty, Retired HR Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
“The key to managing others is to put yourself in their shoes. Make sure you understand what their long-term goals are, so that you can structure the day-to-day tasks to support the person’s career development. If you can do that effectively, the person working for you will do a great job and be more willing to go the extra mile.”
- Lauren Porat, Co-Founder, Urban Interns
“I wish I had spent more time getting to know my employees and what motivates them. Playing into different people’s motivations is the best way to manage them to success.”
- Evan Gotlib, SVP Advertising Sales & Creative Services, blip.tv
“It is sometimes difficult to ask others to perform when you have never done it before. Don’t apologize for asking people to do what they are paid to do. Be clear about expectations and what constitutes a job well done.”
- Susan Phillips Bari, President Emeritus, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council
“I wish I had known how important it is to get to know everyone you can in an organization, not just stay clustered with your specific team. Relationships drive so much of business, so the more authentic relationships you can make across departments, the more effective a manager you’ll be.”
- Manisha Thakor, Personal Finance Expert & Author
“I’ve managed people who were 20 years younger and, in some cases, 30 years older. I never focused on their age, but rather sought to tap their passion, a particular experience or skill as a means of engaging them and forging a strong relationship. I don’t get threatened by how much someone may know on a particular topic. I’m willing to listen and learn from them.”
- Linda Descano, CFA, CEO, Women & Co. (a service of Citibank)
“I wish I had known about the ‘praise sandwich’ — delivering constructive criticism between two pieces of positive feedback. No one wants to work for a boss who is hypercritical or insensitive. By acknowledging the good things as part of a difficult conversation, it makes negative feedback more palatable.”
- Meryl Weinsaft Cooper, Co-Author, Be Your Own Best Publicist: How to Use PR Techniques to Get Hired, Noticed & Rewarded at Work
“I wish I had not been is such a rush. Listening to your team and observing their behaviors before determining how to lead them is really critical.”
- Joan Kuhl, Associate Director, Managed Markets Training, Forest Laboratories
As an avid reader, I also asked my expert panelists for their recommendations of the best books for new managers. Here are a few of their selections:
The One-Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard
The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels by Michael Watkins
The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
You’re In Charge — Now What? by Thomas J. Neff and James M. Citrin
What’s your best advice for new managers and what books would you recommend? Please share your comments!
The #1 Millennial Career Advantage
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Future of Careers Gen Y Entrepreneurship Generation Y/Millennials Getting from College to Career Internships Job Search Tips Managing Generational Differences on September 26, 2011 at 8:29 am
As we enter fall recruiting season on college campuses, many students are concerned about how to position themselves for jobs in the continuingly dismal job market.
To stand out in this economy, everyone needs an angle (or three…or four…). But there is an angle that I think many Millennials overlook, perhaps because it feels so natural to them. In my opinion, the #1 advantage Millennials offer employers is that they are digital natives.
As defined on Wikipedia, a digital native is “a person who was born during or after the general introduction of digital technology, and through interacting with digital technology from an early age, has a greater understanding of its concepts.” (Check out PBS Frontline’s excellent special on this topic.) In other words, if you clicked a mouse before you read a book, you’re a digital native.
I’m not talking here about coding ability, HTML5 design or any other specific technical skill. I’m talking about the overall instinct to use technology to solve challenges and create opportunities. This is a highly valuable career advantage and one that Millennials don’t exploit enough when applying for jobs.
If you’re a young professional, here are some ideas for using your status as a digital native to your advantage:
• Promote your social media knowledge. Many Gen Ys are shocked when I recommend including social media skills on their resumes or LinkedIn profiles. The reality is that everyone doesn’t know how to use Twitter and many employers (especially small business owners) will pay someone to do this. If you consider yourself an expert designer of Facebook fan pages, a super-Tweeter (including using all of the myriad Twitter-related sites like HootSuite and TweetDeck) or you’ve been posting videos to YouTube for years, then this expertise should appear as a skill on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
• Demonstrate the ability to tap your online networks. Many companies today are obsessed with crowdsourcing, a skill that most Millennials possess innately. For instance, if you want to be a journalist, editor or TV producer, you should market your ability to quickly tap your online networks for referrals to sources, information and ideas. This is also a valuable skill for aspiring marketers, recruiters and fundraisers.
• Emphasize your self-sufficiency. While Millennials do require a lot of feedback from employers, what you don’t require is a lot of tech support. According to new research from Bomgar and GigaOm Pro, “Millennials initially seek outside sources to solve their own technology problems versus immediately turning to the IT department when something goes awry. Sixty-one percent said they don’t go to company support first, and the majority (71 percent) had searched for an answer on Google at least once.”
• Market your mobility. Everyone is talking about mobile marketing these days, so if you’re especially good at finding apps for your phone, or — better yet — designing apps, be sure to make this known. Since mobile marketing is still a relatively new field, your natural abilities can stand out when companies are looking to build their mobile strategies. But they won’t know you can do this unless you tell them.
If the above tips resonate with you, be sure to add these digital native skills to your resume and to the “Skills” section of your LinkedIn profile (check out this article from Mashable on how to do that).
What other digital native traits are valuable to employers and overlooked by Gen Ys who possess them? Please share your comments!
Why Your College Major Doesn’t Matter
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Generation Y/Millennials Getting from College to Career Job Search Tips Managing Generational Differences on September 14, 2011 at 7:42 am
In honor of back to school season, I wanted to share an observation I’ve made over the past ten years of advising Generation Y on their post-college careers: When it comes to your job search and career aspirations, your college major doesn’t matter.*
Yes, there are some professions (e.g., accounting), where you may need a particular major to land a job with a particular corporation. And job interviewers may ask why you chose your major in order to learn about your decision making process. But in the vast majority of career and job search situations, your major is pretty much meaningless.
The reason is that your college years are about much more than the subject matter of your classes. Here are some of the things that employers tell me are more important than a college major:
- Experience. Virtually every employer mentions experience as the most desirable resume item a job candidate can offer. It doesn’t matter whether that experience comes from internships, extracurricular activities, volunteer work, part-time jobs or working in your family business over the summer. What matters is that you have built professional skills, ideally related to the industry you want to join.
- Skills. Hand-in-hand with experience come tangible skills. For a programming job, for instance, your performance on a sample coding project will matter much more than the words on your diploma. The same goes for artistic talent, sales ability, foreign language fluency or any other measurable skill that is required for success in a job. Such skills can be inborn or learned outside the classroom as much as in it.
- Passion. If I were, say, a designer hiring an employee to work at my clothing label, I’d take someone deeply passionate about fashion over an unenthusiastic fashion major any day. Any entry-level employee will require a lot of training in the actual “work” of a particular job, but genuine enthusiasm can’t be taught. And it’s that enthusiasm that makes people want to teach you, mentor you and eventually promote you.
- Grades. No matter what your major, grades do matter early in your career — for about the first two years or so. The reason is that your grades are a reflection of your diligence, your intelligence and your work ethic. If your grades aren’t that great, it can be helpful if you’ve at least shown some improvement in your GPA over the years. I’ve heard of job offers being rescinded because of a potential employee’s low grades second semester senior year. Employers don’t want to hire slackers.
- Connections. Yep, you’ve heard it a million times: getting a job is often about who you know. The more you build your network in college — by forming relationships with classmates, professors, advisors, career services professionals, internship colleagues and others — the more job opportunities you’ll have no matter what your major.
* Since I write about careers, I’ve addressed the irrelevance of your college major when it comes to your professional future. Where I think college major does matter is when it comes to your happiness and fulfillment in college. My best advice is to major in a subject simply for your enjoyment or your fascination with the content. If you’re dead-set on having a pre-professional major, then you can always double major or minor in something “practical.” Of course, if you are totally passionate about accounting, business, PR or any other pre-professional major, then by all means choose it and enjoy!
How do you feel about the importance of a college major? Please share!
Yet Another Reason to Clean Up Your Facebook Profile
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Generation Y/Millennials Getting from College to Career Internships Managing Generational Differences Uncategorized on June 30, 2011 at 5:23 pm
Over the years I’ve written multiple posts about the importance of cleaning up your online image and, specifically, your Facebook profile.
When I first wrote about this topic in 2007, I found a study by the Ponemon Institute, a privacy think tank, reporting that 35 percent of hiring managers used Google to do online background checks on job candidates, and 23 percent admitted to looking people up on social networking sites. According to the survey, about one-third of those searches led to rejections.
By January 2010, a survey from Microsoft found that a whopping 79 percent of U.S. hiring managers have used the Internet to better assess applicants and 70 percent of employers have rejected a candidate because of information they found about that person online.
Last week things got a little scarier. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission gave approval to a company called Social Intelligence Corp, which keeps files of Facebook users’ posts as part of a background-checking service they offer to their customers for screening job applicants.
This means that even if you delete an embarrassing photo or raunchy wall post, the material could stay in your file for seven years, where a potential employer using Social Intelligence Corp’s services could access it.
Frankly, I’m not surprised we’ve gotten to this point. Social media is such a part of our daily lives that it was only a matter of time before even deleted material could be discovered.
That said, what concerns me about this new development is that it leaves no room for people to make mistakes, which we all do (especially when we’re in high school or college and first using Facebook). Do I think one mildly inappropriate party photo from sophomore year will sink your CEO chances? Probably not. But if your Facebook account is chock full of concerning behavior, comments and images that may hurt your chances of landing a job in the future. The good news is that you can take control of your online presence and avoid this possible fate.
Here are some common sense tips to follow on Facebook (as well as on Twitter, YouTube or any other social networks you use):
- Adjust your privacy settings. Use all the tools Facebook itself provides to protect your photos, wall posts and other content from public viewing. For a great list of essential privacy settings, check out this privacy guide from Mashable. Remember that Facebook has a tendency to change all the time, so stay on top of changes to their privacy policy and various settings options.
- Make sure your Facebook profile has a PG-13 rating. Even if you’re super careful with your privacy settings, you never know who might be able to access your account in some way. To be on the safe side, remove any photos of nudity, partial nudity, underage drinking (yes, even if you were in a country at the time with a lower drinking age), drugs or any other illegal behavior. When in doubt, ask yourself: Would I be comfortable if a recruiter (or my grandmother) saw this photo?
- Be proactive about deleting posts and untagging photos. An employer won’t necessarily distinguish between something you yourself posted and something a friend posted to your profile. Whenever something appears on your profile that could raise a red flag, delete the post or untag yourself from the image.
- Think twice before updating your status about anything career-related. I’ve seen way, way, way too many status updates from people at all professional levels that bash their jobs, their bosses or work in general. Since most people are connected to at least a few colleagues or clients (and often their bosses, too!), this is never a good idea. Even if you’re not saying anything truly offensive, multiple status updates about how much you hate Mondays, how crummy your workday was or how idiotic your company’s policies are can hurt your career prospects in the future.
I feel a bit like I’ve just given a schoolmarm-ish lecture, but I’ve seen too many people—recent grads in particular—lose really good job opportunities because of information or images they posted online. It breaks my heart every time because this is such an avoidable mistake. So, have fun on social media, but always keep in mind that nothing you post on the World Wide Web is ever really private.
Why “Grunt Work” Matters
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Generation Y/Millennials Getting from College to Career Managing Generational Differences on June 23, 2011 at 12:55 pm
I’ve become increasingly distressed over the years by the number of students and recent grads who complain to me that their jobs or internships contain too much “grunt work.” (Interestingly, these complaints have not slowed at all in the bad economy, when one might think any job, including one that requires some gruntage, is better than none.)
First, let’s define this yucky phrase. According to a (possibly dubious?) entry on Wikipedia, the phrase “grunt work” originates from the military and refers to the job of stringing a “grunt” pole between two trees and digging a trench along one side so soldiers can use it as an outdoor toilet.
Eeuw. If that’s the grunt work you’re being asked to do during your summer internship, I agree that you should totally complain.
However, in my experience what people describe as “grunt work” usually entails things like answering phones, running out to Starbucks, filing documents, collating presentations, distributing mail and, as was a major daily task in my first college internship, visiting up to three cafes a day to find the exact flavor of fat-free muffin my boss wanted for breakfast that day. (Yes, that was back in the old days when people ate carbs.)
If these are the kinds of tasks you’re being asked to do, my advice is to accomplish them with the same energy and work ethic you apply to any other task you’re given. Since I sense that some of you might be rolling your eyes at this advice (especially those of you who have just graduated from college where you held multiple leadership positions), here are my reasons why completing menial tasks well is sometimes more important than shining on big projects.
- Happily accomplishing “menial” tasks helps you defy the stereotype that Generation Y workers are lazy or entitled. Even the most hard-working Millennials can get lumped together by employers who have experienced some of your not-so-hard-working peers. And since this is a hot topic in the media as well, some employers already have a bias against young workers and are looking for ways you might be demonstrating entitlement. If you do all of your assigned work with the same enthusiasm, you can make this bias disappear.
- Every single thing you do at work contributes to your professional reputation. Beyond generational characterizations, remember that you personally are building a professional brand. This includes how you interact with colleagues, how you communicate online, how well you complete difficult projects and — yes — how you handle the day-to-day grunt work of your job. Time and time again I’ve heard managers complain about (and decide not to hire or promote) young professionals who are great at challenging, exciting tasks but drop the ball on work they feel is beneath them. Strive to be described as someone who completes all tasks with a positive attitude and excellent work ethic. Those are the people who move up quickly.
- All tasks have a larger purpose. No matter how boring or repetitive a task you are assigned might be, do your best to find the ultimate purpose in the work. For instance, if you are collating and proofreading dozens of PowerPoint presentations, I believe it’s okay to ask your supervisor what the presentations are being used for. If the answer is, “We are pitching a multi-million dollar campaign to a potential new advertiser,” suddenly your task becomes absolutely crucial. (And there’s no harm in asking if you can read through the pages you’re collating and perhaps learn more about the potential client or even sit in as an observer during the pitch meeting.)
What’s the purpose of getting everyone’s Starbucks order perfect? Networking! When you drop off each person’s double-half-caf-soy-latte, use it as an opportunity to have a quick chat, ask a question or simply make a good impression. The more face time you have with your colleagues, especially senior people, the better.
- Grunting now will make you a better boss later. The more you know about how to do any task in your organization or line of business, the better. For instance, if you know it always took you about an hour to proofread a certain number of articles, you’ll be able to assess the skills of the person doing that now. If you found a great system for filing manuscripts, you’ll be able to teach it to the person who has that task after you. Many of the best managers say that they would never assign a task they haven’t done themselves — be that kind of manager.
How do you feel about “grunt work”? Do you still despise it even after my attempt to characterize it in a better light? Please share your thoughts!
Is It Too Soon to Think about Work/Life Balance?
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Generation Y/Millennials Managing Generational Differences on April 7, 2011 at 2:53 pm
By Lindsey Pollak
One of my biggest surprises when I first started speaking about career issues on college campuses was the number of students who asked me questions about work/life balance.
College women (and more than a few men) as early as their freshman year were asking me about how to build a career that would enable them to have flexibility for child rearing, service projects, travel or other pursuits.
When I started my own career in the late 1990s, I can honestly say that balance was not on my radar screen. I had the belief that the early years of my career should be spent working long, hard hours and building my experience and contacts. (Mind you, this was during the heady dot-com glory days of Generation X, so we all had a secret belief that maybe we’d hit it big and retire early on our dot com millions anyway.)
Whether it’s increased media attention to the topic of balance, the fact that the majority of Gen Ys grew up with working moms, the long-lasting “What does it all mean?” effect of 9/11 or other factors, attitudes about balance among young people have definitely changed. Work/life balance is now a Gen Y career issue whether older workers are surprised by this fact or not.
If you’re a young professional wanting a career with balance, here are some suggestions:
1. Get clear on your priorities. While I want you to have it all, I also have enough experience to know that compromises are often necessary, especially when you’re just starting out. For instance, when I first launched my own business, I had a ton of flexibility and freedom, but I was also making less money and had to pay for my own health insurance. That was a compromise I was willing to make because independence was my number one priority.
2. Be realistic. A major complaint I hear from entry-level recruiters is that Gen Ys feel entitled to flexibility and vacation time from day one of a new job. This isn’t always reasonable. Most jobs really do need you to be there all day, every day, at least during the first several months when you are learning the ropes. You can certainly ask about flexible hours or time off when interviewing for a job, but be realistic about how soon you might be able to take advantage of such policies.
3. Do your homework. There are still many industries where balance is just not part of the culture (investment banking and law being the prime examples). While there has been some movement in these industries (for example, law firms considering a project fee model rather than billable hours), the reality is that an entire industry is not going to change its culture overnight. Do your research to find out whether a particular industry is known for a lack of balance and stay away if balance is at the top of your list of career priorities.
4. Create pockets of balance. Finally, remember that balance doesn’t have to be “given” to you. Even if you’re working hard and have a demanding boss, you can find ways to integrate your personal needs with your professional ambition. Even small moments can add up to more happiness. For instance, you can take a gym class during your lunch break, go for a brief walk around the block each afternoon and listen to your favorite music, walk over and chat with a friendly colleague or join an internal community service group that does charity work. These types of activities will give you a respite in a busy day and may end up boosting your career prospects as well.
Are you a Gen Y who has found a good work/life balance? Please share your tips and stories!
What is the “Gen Y Way” at Work?
Posted in Generation Y/Millennials Managing Generational Differences Recommended Career Resources on January 24, 2011 at 10:00 am
For this week’s post, I had the pleasure of conducting a Q&A session with Jenny Floren, founder and CEO of Experience.com and author of The Innovation Generation: The Gen Y Way: How New Thinking Can Reclaim the American Dream.
Here is what Jenny had to say about Gen Y and how they approach their job searches and careers:
1. What do you feel Gen Y job seekers have to offer that older (more experienced) candidates don’t?
Gen Y has been brought up using the Internet, watching live, 24/7 news, expecting instant communication and emerging as the world’s first generation of “digital natives.” Today’s global economy brings new challenges and new rules; it truly is a new world—and Gen Y speaks the native tongue fluently. Their unique perspective and new thinking –also known as the “Gen Y Way” – brings a new view on a more socially conscious, global world.
2. You mention in your book that Gen Ys have a ‘why not?’ attitude. What do you mean by this and how is it an asset?
Think about it this way – in your own working environment have you learned more from the folks who have taken your direction as law or those who’ve stepped up to the plate and asked “why”?
In my opinion, an office full of robotic employees can only get you so far. Gen Y asks questions. They’re inquisitive and it’s been interesting to see some media thought leadership that’s condoned this quality.
When Gen Y questions the status quo, it’s because they’re looking at the situation through a different lens, and what they see doesn’t add up. They see that the old ways don’t work—and they can’t help but question why we’d want to continue down the wrong path. This type of questioning shouldn’t be chastised—it should be celebrated and rewarded!
3. What are employers’ biggest misconceptions about Gen Y?
“‘Generation Whine’ is entitled and needy.” For the past 15 years, I’ve been able to observe this remarkable group. What Gen Y really is, is the most misunderstood generation in history. This group is bringing new perspectives, new values and new thinking to the table – and this is exactly what we need to solve the challenges facing our world today.
They question old thinking and assumptions, and the reality is (as mentioned above) some people don’t like having their feathers ruffled. Gen Y also looks for collaborative methods to get the job done, which can differ from other generations’ beliefs that it’s a one (wo)man show.
At the end of the day, they’re less focused on financial endeavors and more so on creating a new set of life experiences and a balanced living. Gen Y isn’t whiny; what they are is in constant pursuit of new opportunities to learn and grow.
4. What is Gen Y’s impact on the workforce (positive or negative)?
I’m obviously going to say positive, but don’t take my word for it! Here in Massachusetts, efforts to attract and retain young, educated talent are a high priority. The Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX) launched a “Recruit and Retain” initiative to promote the growing new-media industry in the state, and to counter the misconception that all “cool” innovation is happening on the West Coast.
Today, many mainstream companies are attempting to step up the marketing of New England to attract the up-and-coming talent that is so critically important for innovation and growth. This effort by MITX and New England companies is indicative of the fact that the world is beginning to place a higher value on the Innovation Generation’s fresh thinking.
One need look no further than President Barack Obama’s utilization of social, collaborative technology in his campaign in order to assess the value of this new type of thinking.
Do you agree with Jenny’s assessment of Gen Y? How do you feel about being a member of this generation or working with Gen Ys? Please share your thoughts in the comments!
In Defense of 20-Somethings: My Letter to the New York Times Magazine
Posted in Generation Y/Millennials Managing Generational Differences on September 5, 2010 at 7:30 am
On page 8 of the September 5 issue of The New York Times Magazine, you’ll find my response to the recent cover article, “What Is It About 20-Somethings?” as the featured letter. I’m very grateful to The Times for printing my comments.
Here is an excerpt of my letter:
As I read Robin Marantz Henig’s discussion of 20-somethings, I was struck by the sense that the new life stage she was ascribing to this generation could actually be something that adults of all ages experience today: feeling unstable, struggling with ferocious competition for jobs, wondering if our relationships and finances can go the distance.
I consider it progress that every young person doesn’t feel the need to complete school, leave home, marry and have a child by a certain deadline. There is no “one size fits all” adulthood…
Read the rest of the letter here.
What did you think of Marantz Henig’s article? Please share your thoughts!
