Two weeks ago I did a lunch presentation for our local chamber on Junior Leadership and Attracting Young Workers.

Why?

At the beginning of my presentation I threw out the question:

Why is this such a big deal today?

We briefly talked about two issues:

1. Boomers retiring and leaving the workforce.
2. Personality challenges and differences between older workers and younger workers.  Older workers don’t know why Gen Y does the things they do and Gen Y doesn’t understand their superiors very well either.

I asked them to elaborate on point # 2 and I heard:

• Work starts at 8:00 NOT 8:05
• Work finishes at 5:00 NOT 4:55
• Cell phones need to stay in pockets or not come in to work at all.
• No Social Media . . . Facebook, Twitter, MySpace etc.

There is clearly a gap between both younger and older workers, but who is responsible?   The answer is obviously both, but I think it’s important for younger workers to understand the dynamics of the world they are entering into after college.

• Most people you interview with and work for are going to be older.  So if you want a job, you better be able to adapt.

I heard a story of a kid who interviewed for an IT position who told the person interviewing him that if he can’t check his Facebook at work he is not willing to work for them.

What do you think happened?

SEE YA!

• The fact that you are a college graduate really doesn’t make you that special.   Take a look around and see how many other people are getting college degrees.  You’ve got some competition . . . how are you different the other kids you graduated with?

I was 21 when I got my associates degree.  Up to that point the entire world painted a the picture that my life was going to dramatically change . . . the opportunities would be endless . . . and money was going to come easy.    Wow did I have a rude awakening!

• Unless you are truly amazing . . . which means you aren’t average . . . which means you are doing things different than most other people . . . the real world isn’t terribly interested in your story.   The real world . . . the companies you are sending your resume to really want to know three things:
  • You are focused!
  • You are stable!
    
  • You are profitable!

They don’t care how you grew up, what challenges you have had to over come, what school you went to, or who your parents are.    This stuff might get you in the door, but again if you’re not focused on their business and products . . . if you’re not stable and dependable, this means you do what you are supposed to do and do what you say you’re going to do . . . if you’re not profitable . . . if you don’t know how to make them money . . . you won’t be around very long.

I see and talk to so many young people who have been sold this dream of how life is supposed to be like if you follow the plan only to discover it’s very different than what they were promised.

They feel disrespected, disengaged, and unfulfilled and that’s not doing anyone any good.

If we don’t start preparing younger workers for the realities of the world they’re about to enter how are we ever going to overcome these challenges?   After all . . . these people are going to fill a significant void in years to come.   We need them:

• Focused
• Stable
• Profitable

If we don’t take action things won’t change and everyone (young and old) will be throwing their hands in the air asking . . . WHY?

Jason Kiesau Business Leadership, Careers, Personal Leadership