© 2013 Tambako The Jaguar, Flickr | CC-BY-ND | via Wylio
With spring graduations just around the corner, in my world of work, the subject of new recruits entering the workforce is top of mind. Since part of my job includes writing advice for employers, I am happy to report that they’re starting to get the message about the coming worker shortage. SHRM reports that in 2007, the coming worker shortage actually made the top of the list of employer concerns. This is great for Millennials entering the workforce, because it means that companies are starting to gear policies and benefits to appeal more and more to younger workers.
But another part of my job includes a table at the hiring process for entry level and intern positions within my department. And I’ve also noticed an unsettling trend from job-seeking Millennials: a real, deluded sense of entitlement about what employers are looking for and all the other realities of the hiring process.
Ask any hiring manager, and I’m sure they’ll report something similar. So with both of those perspectives in mind, here’s a glimpse from a Millennial on the other side of the hiring table for all the other Millennial soon-to-be grads out there gearing up for the job search.
1 – Employers don’t need warm bodies to fill empty thrones.
Yes, Baby Boomers hold most of the leadership roles in companies right now. That doesn’t mean you will be able to apply for their job. Somehow, Millennials think that the reality of sitting in the C-Suite for a top company could be realized in the next five years simply because Boomers are starting to retire. Not taking into account hundreds of other employees – younger Boomers and experienced Gen Xers – who have paid their dues and are waiting to fill those leadership positions in companies that are still, for the most part, hierarchically structured, at the very least, to favor actual work experience.
I sat in an interview with a Millennial candidate who literally used the words “easy street” to describe what a former employer would say of their work ethic. This candidate then proceeded to tell my boss that in a couple of years, their goal was to be: “In your chair. And in five or so, I’d like to be the CEO of a company like this.” P.S. – We are a multi-billion dollar international company. So, yeah, right.
If appearing confident is what the candidate was going for with this, they failed miserably. Because it’s important to demonstrate to potential employers that you understand your place in a work setting. And it’s also important not to demonstrate that you are entirely delusional about how career pathing works in real life. Because no one wants to manage people with completely irrational, impatient demands for undeserved advancement.
2 – Experience still rules, it’s just wearing different robes.
I like to tell graduating seniors to not turn their noses at any post-college professional work experience, especially in certain job sectors. Many companies offer paid and unpaid internships to graduates rather than full-time jobs, because that’s the entry-level way into their company. It’s important to consider these especially if you don’t have any prior professional experience from during semesters or summers in college. And sometimes, even if you do have experience, this can be an important stepping stone.
I took an internship (my third or forth) at a Fortune 500 company the summer after graduating with two degrees, in the honors college, Summa Cum Laude, from one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country, and the internship is what helped me build my professional network that led to the job I have now, with a great boss who created a career path for me and is a partner in my success.
Employers pay for experience and excellence on the job, not degrees and titles and GPAs, even though there’s nothing wrong with those things. So, see your first post-grad job as an investment in your career just like you did your college experience (which you paid for outright!) Employers also understand that they need to shape and mold Gen Y in to future workplace leaders. So don’t turn down a great stepping-stone opportunity just because it’s not the job you dreamed of. Dreams are reached, not given.
3 – Remember, you’re not the heir or heiress to this kingdom, so you’ll have to work for your fortune. Don’t believe the hype that you need to get the most money possible in your first post-grad job experience. Your parents may tell you this, but they are wrong. This is simply not the same world or job market that they entered, when you had to hold out for the highest salary because you would stay at that company forever and only build your salary based off of moving up from where you started day one.
We once had a candidate turn down a good paying job because of advice like this from a parent, and it took them months to find a good gig (probably one that paid less) after that. Don’t make this mistake.
Sure, you have debt to pay off, but holding out months and months for a high-dollar job is going to hurt you in the long run because it will make you less employable with every week that passes. Employers won’t think, “Wow, I must be getting a great candidate because they’ve held out for three months to apply for this high-paying position!” Trust me.
After you’ve got a year or two of whatever-paying experience under your belt, you will be a more valuable hire and can go somewhere else if your employer isn’t valuing you with a good salary by then.
All this can seem pretty frustrating to some Millennials, who wonder with all the fuss, why bother going the corporate route anyway?
The reason is that the worker shortage is coming. And by entering the world of work now, getting experience under your belt, and growing yourself as a professional, you may in fact become the answer to employers’ greatest fears. Invest in your career. Master Personal PR. Grow your personal brand. Do your best work every day. Align yourself with opportunities that can lead to your dreams.
Your chance to lead is coming. But you’ve got to prove you can do the job first.
Tiffany,
Thank you for posting this. I am, at times, absolutely disgusted by the sense of entitlement I see in my peers, the ones who try and convince others (because they themselves are convinced) that attending XYZ Private and accruing massive debt is the only way to make money, the ones who snub anyone not in their perspective major because “[said major] is where the money is at,” the ones who badmouth their teachers over low grades because “they worked hard and deserved an A.”
The absolute arrogance of so many of my peers, 99% of them not even out of college, can be astounding. I am sure that it is the result of always being comforted and told that they are special by their parents, but I just can’t believe that so many of them remain under the delusion that they are truly such stand-outs they ‘deserve’ a high-ranking management position fresh out of college.
So, thank you for addressing this topic — it definitely served as a bit of a reminder and inspiration for me, and I hope it reaches many others as well.
Thanks for the advice, Tiffany.
In hindsight, I feel lucky that I pretty much followed the advice you give here.
I feel confident in my abilities but it is always understated. Wherever you go or whatever job you go for, there will always be someone with more experience than you – it is often your attitude that will get you the position/progress your career.
If others had to take away anything from this article, it should be the short sharp points that Tiffany finshes the article with:
Invest in your career. Master Personal PR. Grow your personal brand. Do your best work every day. Align yourself with opportunities that can lead to your dreams.
Or as Hugh MacLeod put it:
“Work Hard. Keep at it. Live simply and quietly. Remain humble. Stay positive. Be nice. Be polite.”
http://snurl.com/23wio
@ Glenn – I’m glad I’m not the only one who notices this trend. It’s tough for our generation to face criticism, because most of it comes from elsewhere, which at this stage in life, means people in “older generations.” It becomes so easy to brush off their remarks because they “just don’t get it” so I finally felt it was time to address this as a trend that Millennials themselves notice and don’t appreciate.
That said, I’m definitely not saying Gen Y doens’t have a chance to make a difference and “be the change they want to see in the world” or in this case, workplace. But in order for that to happen, some of these ideas (or myths) need to be hashed out and we need to have an honest and frank discussion about the realities of the workplace today.
@ Ben – Most Millennials I know who are frustrated with their jobs or the corporate life are merely operating under these false mentalities – and taking responsibility for your own attitude can make a world of difference. And thanks for the MacLeod quote – a great, inspirational way to start the morning!
I touched on this today as well. It’s a tricky subject and there is a large quarrel about it right now in my twitter feed.
Some qualities that Millennials tend to possess, such as Vision, Confidence in their abilities, and Ambition, can positively lead to someone who can see where they want to be in the future and plan their way accordingly. Unfortunately, they can also lead to someone with no self awareness about their abilities and where they fit in a company. Really funny story about the “Future CEO,” even though I’m sure you were horrified at the time! 😉
@ Amanda – You’re right on. I am very proud of Gen Y for having these very qualities you describe, but this is also where the issue gets sticky, as you point out, because (without experience to guide them!) people can take these qualities and pervert them into something that actually works against them and their career.
What Gen Y needs to learn to to is to harness these qualities and use them as tools, in the proper context, to become leaders who can shape tomorrow’s workforce. We may not get exactly what we want from the workplace as it is, but if we earn respect and demonstrate thoughtful leadership, we will be the ones in positions to make decisions about that work is and should be – and that’s an honor we need to aim for!
Hi Tiffany,
This article, in defence of Gen Y, would be of use to anyone following this conversation:
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/apr2008/ca2008048_634448.htm
Thanks,
Ben
While potential depression and choice overload hardly serve as excuses for the expectations and demands placed by over-confident Generation Y members on their employers, the article does bring up a great point regarding why Y feels so overwhelmed.
Tammy Erickson, the author of the piece, hits the nail on the head when she references Barry Schwartz, the author of the must-read ‘The Paradox of Choice.’ Life is fueled by incentives and opportunity-costs, and as such, the more choices we have, the more we feel that we are giving up… and Generation Y in particular has grown up facing that unique challenge. Our parents grew up with little to no television… we grew up knowing that if we turned to Nickelodeon we were missing Cartoon Network and saturday morning cartoons and any VHS recording we might have.
Those choices we face these days are of greater consequence, but the impacts of the same. We are undoubtedly giving up other opportunities when we make a decision, and I feel that many in my generation realize this, and as a consequence decide to pursue that new goal with all the energy and ambition they can muster, tact or no tact.
@ Ben & Glenn,
I started writing a long comment to respond, and then decided I wanted to share it with my readership at large, so I think I may turn it into a post instead!
“Warm bodies for empty thrones” – hilarious!!! I do know this attitude, and it is prevalent in some circles. But they learn soon enough. Far more prevalent is a general despondency and confusion about where to go in the job market in a recession where employers are busy shipping jobs abroad.
If one is only interviewing the top 10 percent of a graduating class, surely there often is a sense of entitlement. How about interviewing the bottom 90% to get a great, humble, multidimensional candidate?
Tiffany,
Thank you for this insightful piece. It seems as if I’ve been reading a lot of Gen Y blogs whose focus is entitlement and working fewer hours. It’s great to see a blog that reminds Millennials that leadership roles are earned.
I “found” you on Brazen Careerist, and plan to visit often
Best,
Miriam Salpeter
Keppie Careers
@ Renata – I agree that the fear of entering the job market at a time like this seems challenging. That’s why I wrote this piece to remind new grads not to worry too much about getting the perfect job right now. In my market and field, the job market was absolutely horrible when I entered the workforce four years ago. But what I did – taking an internship and a huge cut in what I expected to make – was the best thing I could do for my career. The network I was able to build through this experience led to the job I have now.
Learning to navigate through the corporate world has been a challenge, I will say that. But it has paid off already. In many ways.
@ Miriam – I’m glad you found the blog and that my writing resonates! I’m not afraid to go against the current of my peers, because I know what things look like from the employer’s side of things, and the reality is that all the idealism of our generation is going to get us nowhere if we can’t figure out how to navigate ourselves to a seat at the big table.
Once we get that down, I truly believe we will be able to affect positive change. But we have to be willing to work in the world as it is first, before we can help the world become what it should be.
Hey Tiffany,
I really wanted to write something smart right now so I could add to the comments, but everyone above has made such great points, all I can say is, “Amazing job on the post, as always.”
Have a good weekend!
@ JT – Don’t worry about repeating people! This is an always share zone! Thanks so much for your support, as usual! And enjoy your weekend, too!
This is a well-written and articulate description of a major trend. I agree that Gen Y is entering the workplace with some seriously skewed perspectives on how a company should be run.
I’m not sure where the idea that the “In 5 years I’d like to be sitting in your chair” response came from but it truly does sound laughable in an interview. There’s nothing wrong with being honest with yourself about everything you’ve yet to learn. If most people ascended to senior management 5 years out of college I think they would find themselves thinking more often than not, “What am I even doing here?!”.
@ Erika – Thanks! That interview I mentioned is one of those things that lives on in infamy at the office. More quotables than a good episode of the office, that one!
But it’s sad to have to say that this attitude is a trend we’ve been seeing, even from candidates who don’t have the gumption to say so outright.
That energy isn’t a bad thing, Millennials just need to learn to harness it into power that employers find appealing rather than dangerous.
Great post. While I find many of our Millenial employees to be hard-working, humble and brilliant in an anything-goes way, there are too many who seem to need to find a lower peg on which to hang their hat (before we point it out to them).
You can rise pretty quickly in a PR firm, but at my place at least, you rise faster through hard work and humility. Our top execs tend to be folks who never had to ask for the big raise or big promotion. They earned it and trusted us to know it.
This post really gave me a lot of insight because I am currently going through my second internship interview, for my very first internship.
I think there is a line between being ambitious and being big-headed. And I think this applies to positions before you even reach employment. In PRSSA, we had a girl run for office that didn’t have much experience, but was saying how she wanted a certain position this year because she wanted to become president after that. She was a freshman too.
Sure, I’d love to be president too. But I don’t think I’m near ready yet and I am extremely involved in the organization. Instead, I settled for a lower position that would give me great experience to move up with.
@ Todd – It’s good to hear some feedback from an employer perspective. I think that hard work and humility go a long way in whatever your field. What most people get confused about is that having humility doesn’t mean lacking confidence!
@ Rachel – You are already a step ahead of people like you describe because you realize that “because I want this” is not a good platform for effecting change or becoming a leader.
Yet, every day, I seem to come across Millennials who are using this type of language to try to convince people to give Gen Y what they want – whether it’s on the invididual level (give me this job) or the corporate level (give us flextime and telecommuting).
The advices given by you are excellent. What will we do without your posts??
Because of technology, the work environment is morphing constantly. As such, the old “thrones” aren’t always as stable as they once were. The Millennials’ goal isn’t to take leadership from the old regime, it is to turn the kingdom upside down.