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Gen Y Wants More

According to an article at CNN.com called Generation Y: Too demanding at work?, young first-time hires in their 20s expect and want more benefits and perks out of college than did their counterparts from previous generations. Based on a recent survey from CareerBuilder.com and Harris Interactive, the story claims that "Technology is largely responsible for the shift in expectations." And this is causing a generation gap of understanding between twenty-somethings and their older employers.

The survey reveals that Gen Y workers want "better pay, a flexible work schedule and company-provided BlackBerrys and cell phones" and that "87 percent of hiring managers and HR professionals say Gen Y exhibits a sense of entitlement that older generations don't."

Is this really about entitlements or is it more about differences in experiences and a sign of misunderstanding and poor communications between generations? If the latter, this would not be the first time that generations have talked past each other.

In the article. Mark Treichel, a recent college graduate, says: "Employers expect entry-level employees to have substantial work experience, be top of their class, dress professionally, et cetera," Treichel says. "Personally, I worked hard at two year-round internships while still going to school my last two years. I don't expect high pay and a BlackBerry, but I do expect to be compensated for the hard work I put in preparing for the position."

As a Baby Boomer, my peers and I also worked unpaid internships, and in my case, I had no choice as it was a requirement of my degree. Personally, I did not expect my pay or benefits to be relatively better than those who came before me, as internships were but a price of admission to my chosen career. So what's really going on here? I don't know, but I expect it has more to do with cultural shifts than an unwillingness of Gen Ys to pay their dues. And we older generations responsible for hiring need to understand what that cultural shift looks like and means so that we can better understand the wants and needs of those coming to us for jobs.

Once again, I believe it is a business leader's first responsibility to understand the wants and needs of not only their customers and clients but also their employees, if they are to develop great products, services and experiences that others want, need and desire. And being the best we can be as leaders begins with listening to what others are saying, and then setting aside what we believe so that we can analyze the existing gap and find ways to create a state of happiness within our business culture, where productivity and creativity flourish. Doing so calls for give and take where both sides want to do what is best to achieve personal and business greatness.

Here is the place in the story that requires an ending: How can this gap be closed between what workers want and business leaders are willing to give? What can be done so that both business goals and employee's needs are met?

Boomers Aren't Dead Yet

It's no secret: Businesses are having a difficult time finding qualified and experienced workers to fill jobs.  And as Baby Boomers fast-approach retirement, more than a few businesses are worried as they watch their most experienced workers head for the exits. Just in time, up pops YourEncore.

Headquartered in Indianapolis, YourEncore is an employment agency for retired scientists and engineers. Executives at Proctor & Gamble worried about losing their most experienced workers developed the concept for YourEncore. They wanted to keep the retired experts, but HR hurdles and part-time rules kept getting in the way. So they came up with YourEncore to connect scientists and engineers with companies that needed their knowledge and experience for short periods and would hire them on a contract basis. Eli Lilly and Co. and Boeing Co. joined forces with them, founding YourEncore together.

So far, the concept is working well. We wonder if the success of YourEncore might spread to recruiting retirees from other fields to work on short-term contracts. Nurses come to mind; why not marketers and sales people; teachers; and software developers. Is this the leading edge of a new hiring process of simply an anomaly.

Is It Time to Replace Unions With Something Better?

I grew up in a union family more than half-a-century ago. Anyone who reads history understands that  the rise of unions to protect workers from the powerful and the greedy was necessary and good. If unions hadn't come along when they did, someone would have had to create them. However, as we enter the second day of the General Motors strike, I ask who will be the winners and losers. Frankly, I can't think of any winners, no matter the outcome. And without winners, the next reasonable question asks, "What purpose do unions serve?"

I don't know the answer. Decades ago, Unions struggled against poverty wages, child labor, unfair practices, horrible working conditions and job security. In the U.S. and Canada, those issues exist only in the worst corners of our countries, and those places aren't unionized, mostly because the workers are migrant or the poorest of the poor. Except for the issue of job security, which only exists in the minds of those who refuse to accept the fact that job security is no longer a factor in our economy, worker's issues are tightly regulated and workers are protected by those regulations. As for job security, most of today's workers and management reject the idea of a single job career for economic, business, family and professional-growth reasons.

The only place where the idea wheezes along is within unions, and that seems unfair to members and to their families. Job security went out with textile's last breath in the U.S. and the introduction of cheaper and more efficient automobiles from Japan and the world. When the import-export barriers fell like the Berlin Wall, job security was replaced by flexibility, international competitiveness, and opportunity to do what you wanted to, where you wanted to do it, if you understood and accepted the new reality, which requires each of us to be responsible for our own careers.

At the end of the day, it comes down to competitiveness for both workers and employers. To be competitive, businesses must employ the right people, in the right job, at the right time and at the right price. For workers, they must take responsibility for their own careers and recognize that nothing can ultimately prevent unemployment, if they fail to prepare for it.

Here is my take on the best ways to prepare ourselves for employment in this economic order:

• Complete high school, go to college if that is a good fit and an opportunity for you, but whether or not you go to college, become a life-long learner.
• No matter your profession, learn as much as you can not only about your job but about the jobs of those around you.
• Become computer literate, no matter your profession.
• Be a hard worker and a smart worker. They require different skills.
• Train yourself so that you are prepared for the next promotion opportunity.
• Change jobs every three-to-five years to gain experiences.
• Use those experiences to move up the business and income ladders.
• Don't depend on others to protect you from losing your job. They are too busy looking for their own opportunities.
• Look seriously into entrepreneurial opportunities. You may be your own best boss.
• Become the best communicator possible.
• Be a good listener.
• Find your position on the team and play it as error-free as possible.
• Be on the outlook for your next best opportunity and be prepared for it.
• Take personal responsibility for your future. The Union isn't your Dad and the company isn't your Mom.

So what should replace Unions? Lots of workers create support groups and professional groups. And how do we break the cycle of dependence for those who still believe unions are necessary and work in this economy? Or do we? Maybe I'm wrong. What is best for workers? What is best for customers? And what is best for business? For in the long run, only what is best for all three represents an economy where employment is bountiful and profitable.

Get Smart: Free

I'm combining two things in this post: First, if you haven't yet discovered Drew's Marketing Minute, here's a great opportunity. Second, if you are a recent college grad, are graduating within the next couple of weeks or years, or the parents of a college grad or one soon to be, Drew's blog has a free eBook that is loaded with free job hunting advice.

It is 50 pages long, and features advice from lots of smart business people. Here is the list of "professionals who took the time to offer a word of encouragement, a war story or an idea. Without them, this would have been a very short book!", Drew says. The links are live at Drew's. Click here for the free eBook and Drew's Marketing Minute.

Aaron Potts
Andy Brudtkuhl
Andy Nulman
Andy Wibbels
Ann Handley
Ann Michael
Anne Simons
Becky Carroll
Bob Glaza
C.B. Whitmore
Carolyn Manning
Chris Cree
Christine Brown
CK
Darren Barefoot
David Reich
Delaney Kirk
Derek Tutschulte
Designer Mike
Doug Karr
Doug Mitchell
Drew McLellan
Joan Schramm
Kevin Hillstrom
Lewis Green
Liz Strauss
Mario Sundar
Mark Goren
Mark True
Mary Schmidt
Nick Rice
Patrick Schaber
Paul McEnany
Phil Gerbyshak
Roberta Rosenberg
Roger von Oech
Rosa Say
Seth Godin
Sharon Sarmiento
Stephanie Weaver
Steve Miller
Steve Sisler
Terry Starbucker
Toby Bloomberg
Tony D. Clark
Valeria Maltoni

Change is Beautiful

Today is a changing day in my life. (Didn't Dr. Phil say something like that.) Over lunch, I am finalizing  the details of a new partnership with a business owner who I have known for three years. For the past year, we have been discussing ways to take his product (a pre-packaged marketing kit) and my services, combine them, and thereby offer the best of two worlds for alternative healthcare clients starting their practices or needing to grow them. The kit provides a low-cost alternative to our creative charges, and my services provide the knowledge and means that no kit alone can offer.

L&G Business Solutions will continue to offer marketing and branding services to established businesses, especially high-tech companies, travel and tourism, traditional health care, retail, security businesses, and consulting firms. The new partnership specializes only in alternative health care marketing and growth strategies and tactics.

How did this happen? I never wake up in the morning without thinking that today a new opportunity might present itself. And then asking myself: Am I ready for it?

If I were to give one piece of advice to an entrepreneur, that would be my advice. Look for changes that can build your business but stick to your core purpose and do what you do best. Growing businesses using marketing and branding tools is my firm's core purpose, and getting myself and other's noticed (marketing and communications) is what I do best.

How do you approach change? Do you embrace it? Fear it? Ignore it?

Help Wanted Goes Social

If you are looking for new opportunities, a new job or a new career, your best source may be sitting  right in front of you. According to an eMarketer article entitled Social Networking for Jobs, "Business-specific social networks have the attention of both employers and job seekers, and millions are using the sites."

Believe it! Job hunters are marketing themselves online at social networks, and US employers are noticing. In fact, the article says that employers are contacting highly qualified prospects, who themselves have not indicated they are looking for a job.

According to a survey by SelectMinds, young workers are the biggest group using social networking sites for career development. Since these sites provide career information that is pre-qualified by its users, job seekers can safely assume the information is credible.

"Nearly three quarters of GenYers said they viewed these networks as very important, compared with 66% of workers age 30-39 and 61% of workers age 40+," the eMarketer article says. And when we note that sites such as LinkedIn are showing rapid growth, job seekers are smart to use them. For example, LinkedIn reported 89% growth in members from 2005-2006 and now boasts over eight million members.

If you are looking for a job or looking to hire, why wouldn't you use one of these social networking sites? The members are pre-qualified, diverse in job skills and cultural background, and easy to find.

Have Laptop, Will Travel

We are for hire! Yep! Writing this blog is not nor will it ever be the way I pay my bills. Like many of you, I can pay those bills only when I have work.

What brings this up is a post over at CK's Blog called Hire CK...yep, I'm for "hire" (but cannot be  bought). It is a great post about CK's consultancy and what she brings to the table. Apparently, she needed to post it in order to get her "for hire" information into her blog's sidebar. I understand very little about most technology other than the tools I use, but that doesn't matter. What does matter is that most of us are for hire, and, I suspect, we blog not only to share and to build relationships, but to build our businesses. Can (does) blogging help us do that?

To date, I have no first-hand evidence that it does. Some wonderful things have happened since I began blogging, including an additional (non-paid) writing gig, some presentation invitations and introductions to an amazing group of people who have created a community to which many of us belong. And that's all good. But I can't buy corn flakes with love.

So I ask these question:

1. Shouldn't we be finding ways to share leads and referrals with each other?
2. Am I the only one among us who wonders if my time could be better spent using the traditional and time-tested tools that build businesses instead of blogging?
3. How will business come our way, if at all, through blogging?
4. And should it matter?
5. How can we as a community reach out to each other in ways that will help us grow our businesses?
6. And are you who are in the corporate world reaching out to blogger consultants within the community to outsource work?

Dazed and Confused

The wacky college graduation season is almost upon us, and Drew over at Marketing Minute is asking those of us who still can remember back that far to offer graduates advice about getting that first job. Going on my own experiences, which is all I have to offer, my comments are more appropriate for students who still have time to boost their resumes while still in school. Drew's post is entitled, Help me give college grads a fighting chance.

Here is what I offer:

When I graduated from the University of Florida, I was one of two graduates who donned our caps on Saturday and went to work on Monday. Here's what got me the job:

1: Throughout school I held various part-time positions in businesses within my career field, resulting in stuff to put on my resume and job references.
2. From the real world, I learned that taking classes outside my degree focus was important, as I came to the business world with a well-rounded, double-major academic background, as well as a sense of what others not seeking jobs in my career field thought.

3. In my last two quarters, I interned (for free) at businesses where I wanted to work. One of those businesses hired me, because I proved that I was a hard worker, willing to go the extra mile, a quick learner, a non-complainer, a guy who showed up on time, and a person who met every deadline. Why is that important?

4. Frankly, most graduates are equally trained. Forget the "I went to Harvard so I'm better than those who went to a state school." Most businesses don't care where you received your degree. They want to train you to fit within their culture not Harvard's culture. So what makes up your advantage: The Things I mentioned above.

For more suggestions, visit Drew's post at the link above.