<p>Know any kids like these? [The</a> ‘Trophy Kids’ Go to Work - WSJ.com](<a href=“http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122455219391652725.html?mod=djem_jiewr_swwgn_102308]The”>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122455219391652725.html?mod=djem_jiewr_swwgn_102308)
“If there is one overriding perception of the millennial generation, it’s that these young people have great – and sometimes outlandish – expectations. Employers realize the millennials are their future work force, but they are concerned about this generation’s desire to shape their jobs to fit their lives rather than adapt their lives to the workplace.
Although members of other generations were considered somewhat spoiled in their youth, millennials feel an unusually strong sense of entitlement. Older adults criticize the high-maintenance rookies for demanding too much too soon. “They want to be CEO tomorrow,” is a common refrain from corporate recruiters.”</p>
<p>jessie, Thank you for sharing your perspective. </p>
<p>This is an old song and the lyrics are always the same. The baby boomers were a disappointment to their parents because the boomers were lazy and demanding. My generation was a disappointment to the boomers because we were lazy and demanding. Now my kid’s generation is supposed to be a diappointment to be because…you know the lyrics by now!</p>
<p>“Millennials also want things spelled out clearly. Many flounder without precise guidelines but thrive in structured situations that provide clearly defined rules and the order that they crave. Managers will need to give step-by-step directions for handling everything from projects to voice-mail messages to client meetings. It may seem obvious that employees should show up on time, limit lunchtime to an hour and turn off cellphones during meetings. But those basics aren’t necessarily apparent to many millennials.”</p>
<p>On my husband’s first day of work at a commercial real estate firm right after he graduated from college, the owner walked into his office, tossed the yellow pages on his desk, and said “Here’s your training manual. Get to work and sell some real estate.”</p>
<p>Guess that tactic wouldn’t work too well on any new employee (regardless of age) who needs a lot of instructions and/or structure on the job. But my husband figured that considering his “salary” was 100% commission from sales, he would have to figure out a way to make it work. And he did.</p>
<p>“Why? So they can be the first people fired so the firm’s stock would go up a quarter of a point? No thanks.”</p>
<p>The experience and wisdom is a perk. If it’s there, take it. That should be a lifelong pursuit. I understand that kids have things that they want to do but gathering wisdom early and fast can make your path through life easier in the early going laying a foundation for the rest of your career.</p>
<p>The internet is a great equalizer though. There is a lot of this wisdom that you can download to your computer for free and simply absorb. But it can be a little dead in the absence of a working context.</p>
<p>There are companies out there where you can make a career, where they treat employees more than well and where the bench strength is strong. They are certainly getting challenged in the current economic environment but there are companies with long-term goals and long-term projects that are funded. </p>
<p>“That’s not training. That’s bullying.”</p>
<p>If you haven’t already done so, I’d suggest watching The Karate Kid.</p>
<p>This is for the kid at the health organization in the article who said he wasn’t reminded about the project deadine: GET A PLANNER. That was inexcusable, and I’m in my 20s. I carry a planner with me all the time (personal, work, and projects listed, including deadlines I give myself to keep myself on track). Seriously, managers should NOT have to look after employees. I like some structure, but I value the fact my managers can TRUST my work.</p>
<p>As for the job-hopping, it’s true that this is no longer the era where you stay for the same employer for 20+ years or even 5 years. Many millenials have graduate school options in their minds, especially women who want to get that advanced degree before marriage and family obligation. You could also say this generation is very entrepeneurial and socially responsible.</p>
<p>I am prone to making my own schedule and hours to fit my lifestyle, but I continue to do superb work at my job so that my manager has trust in me. It’s a two-way street: You can’t expect to have everything without contributing.</p>
<p>Oh, I agree it’s not training. But it’s not bullying by any definition I know.</p>
<p>What this forced him to do was seek out mentors who had been in the business a long time, ask questions, watch and listen, and work many long hard hours for months with no compensation. He didn’t leave the office early because he refused to work more than 40 hours a week, when he co-brokered a deal, he did his fair share of work and then some. In fact, for several years, he worked 7 days a week. Not because the boss required it, but because on 100% commission, you must if you want to eat. Pretty much the antithesis of many of the criticisms in the article. I don’t have observations of the millenials in the business world, just some memories of my husband’s experience when he was at that age.</p>
<p>I haven’t noticed the attitudes described in the article in my profession, but my profession is by nature pretty structured and there is no wiggle room at all for what time one comes and goes, or how few days a week one can work if desiring to be considered a full time employee.</p>
<p>I think that the work ethic may have decreased for some, but not for all. My friend’s D is about to take a high power job in NYC, and the parents are worried about her long work hours etc, which they know she will put in. Others might not…</p>
<p>I do think that the indulgent parent who did everything for their kids, probably did the kids a disservice. At work they won’t remind you about your deadline or hold your hand if they feel that it is not necessary. Major companies think nothing of firing long standing employees on no notice when there is a merger or other downsizing, so what do these kids think will protect them? Let Mom or Dad call the CEO?</p>
<p>I do think that employees owe the employer their full attention during work hours, and if these are long hours, then so be it. I personally left a large law firm, like so many others, to pursue a job with less hours. However, while I was there, I did what was required. I got good references when I left. Some of the comments in the article sounded so juvenile. These workers have growing up to do.</p>
<p>I used to be of the mind that this issue is way overrated. Then I met our graduate students a few years ago. WOW. </p>
<p>Now I lecture to various managerial groups around the globe. EVERY SINGLE CLASS brings this up. Its stunning. I don’t bring it up- they do. Doesn’t matter the country, the industry, the occupation-- its a serious challenge for people to learn to manage this new breed of worker.</p>
<p>I know this doesn’t apply to everyone of this generation at all. Like talking about any group differences, its a difference in means of groups, it doesn’t describe the individual within it. Moreover, I also know this generation has had to work much harder than prior ones- the craziness of school and such has been something our generation didn’t have to deal with. </p>
<p>I am not sure what to make of it, where it comes from. It might be simply having grown up during economic good times, combined with parenting and schooling embedded in a ‘self-esteem’ movement, and a difference in what is valued.</p>
<p>That’s a two-way street. Employees owe their employers full attention at work, and employers are obligated to pay them FAIRLY for their work.</p>
<p>And if a firm values me so little that they’d fire me in a second with no notice during a downsizing, then I’m going to job-hop my entire career. If the company doesn’t care, why should I give up extra money to stay with them? They’ll do what they do to maximize their profits, but that’s also a two-way street-I’m doing what I need to do to maximize my own-including leaving an employer with no notice if I get an offer with a 20% raise-even if I’m in the middle of the largest project in the company’s history. It’s not my job to finish the project. My job is to work on it until I quit or get fired.</p>
<p>“I do think that employees owe the employer their full attention during work hours”</p>
<p>There isn’t a very clear set of work hours in many modern professions today nor is there necessarily a set of places where employees work. I’m at the office but it’s pretty lonely as so many are working from home a few days a week to save on gas and time. But we can work late at night from home or the office or from China or India if we happen to be traveling on work or pleasure.</p>
<p>My workplace is wherever I can hookup my laptop to the internet.</p>
<p>I know about long hours, twenty years ago I worked for a large law firm doing m&a.</p>
<p>Future student, if it is not a fair wage, you can leave; there is no law of indenture. What I meant is that it is not right to cut out whenever a person feels that their personal life is more important. Or texting at work, or personal email etc. etc. etc. If a person thinks he is paid poorly, he can leave. Big companies are not so naive as to be unaware of this.</p>
<p>As a caution, I would not take a job if the employer said that I must leave my other position without notice. I have never had that happen, but I have not had many employers either. If the employer’s regard for the current employer is so low, it is almost a guarantee that the employee will also be dealt with roughly. I always received offers where the employer said, give reasonable notice,and accepted the time frame that I gave. Which, incidentally, is not a flat 2 weeks fits all. Poor references will follow a no notice departure by the employee. The downsized person usually will still get good references. Also gaps in a resume are red flags. Just a few words of wisdom.</p>
<p>I don’t like to hire job hoppers myself. Just my 2 cents.</p>
<p>I agree with anothermom that many employers (including my own) view job hopping and gaps in a resume as big negatives. Likely, those folks will never even get their feet in the door here. </p>
<p>We would never ask anyone leaving one job for a job with our company to leave without or with short notice, as we would not want to hire anyone who would be so disrespectful to us down the line.</p>
<p>Re: Job hoppers: For those of you saying that you/your companies don’t like to hire job hoppers, what do you consider a job hopper? How long does someone have to stay at each job to not be considered a job hopper? Or is there some other factor that goes into it?</p>
<p>There is no hard and fast rule about what job changes on a resume will lead a company to think that someone is a job hopper. Needless to say, though, the more jobs that show up on a resume in a short amount of time (let’s say less than 3-4 years per job), the more likely that job history will be viewed negatively. Of course, as you become more senior, you will be expected to have longer tenure at each job relative to your total years of experience.</p>
<p>Here’s another way to look at it . . . it is still almost always unacceptable for someone out of school less than ten years to have a resume longer than one page.</p>
<p>There are advantages to hiring job hoppers but the idea is that you hope that they settle down at your company. There are hiring and training expenses that can take a long time to recoup for a company. An engineer on a particular project that is very complex may take years to get a good handle on an application.</p>
<p>Job hoppers have exposure to many companies and, in some many cases, exposure to a variety of technologies. Insular companies may be unfamiliar with technologies that can help them out.</p>
<p>It’s the responsibility of the company to manage their retention rates. If people are job hopping out of your company, what are you doing wrong so that they look to go to other companies? I’ve been working with the same group for over 20 years. But I changed jobs about every 1 to 1.25 years, including starting a company with a friend, in my first decade working professionally.</p>
<p>“Here’s another way to look at it . . . it is still almost always unacceptable for someone out of school less than ten years to have a resume longer than one page.”</p>
<p>Generally, yes, once you’ve had a permanent job. The exception would be if you did something extraordinary during your internship, or if the internship continued throughout the school year for more than one full year.</p>
<p>I would add that I personally included one of my two school-year college jobs on my resume for a few years. I was a bartender and worked at the same job in the same restaurant/bar for three years. I found that employers loved to see that I worked while I was in college, as it showed that I could juggle multiple responsibilities, and employers loved that I had a job where I was truly the face to the public, which can be difficult to manage at times.</p>