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Boomers Working for Millennials: Finding common ground! [Guest Post]

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Boomers Working for Millenials

MillenialsIf you are a baby boomer, you probably have children that are millennials. Do you network with people your kid’s age?

Could you see yourself working for a millennial in the near future?

Have you incorporated millennials into your job search network?

If you have not, you should, and here is why.

Millennials Will Dominate the Workforce

First, look at the current demographics of the workforce. According to the Pew Research, baby boomers make up 1/3 and generation X and millennials make up the other 2/3s.

The reality is, many of the current hiring managers are much younger than you, and in they will continue to be in the future. Millennials will dominate the workforce by 2020 and outnumber the baby boomers.

What does this mean for you as a Job Seeker?

It means you need to make sure millennials are in your job search network NOW!

Are millennial managers in your network?

Your new approach is not to spend time looking in the advertised market. Develop relationships with millennial managers who could hire you.

Find a “common ground” with Millennials by understanding what they look for in baby boomer new hires.

You want to know this before the interview—not during it.

As one of Stephen Covey’s Habits of Highly Successful People, “Seek to understand, then to be understood,” which could translate into: Learn first and then sell yourself!

New Approach

How can you get started on your new approach? Here are some 7 tips to help you!

  1.  Adjust your mindset so that, on Monday morning, you have new job search responsibilities and activities to begin your day. You will NOT be applying for jobs in the advertised market!
  2.  Create an uplifting 30-second commercial using language about the changing demographics and your goal of building a network of millennials.
  3.  Invite a group of your children’s friends and work colleagues over to let them know you are in the job market. Tell them that you are trying to build a diverse network that includes young professionals.
  4.  Ask great questions to learn about their values, motivators, and what they may be looking for in a baby boomer employee.
  5.  Attend an association meeting for young professionals where you will meet many people from different industries and disciplines, too.
  6.  Update your LinkedIn profile that includes interests of activities that keep you active. Ask for recommendations from someone younger that either worked for you or with you.
  7.  Volunteer your time with organizations that need mentors where younger people can see you engaged and connected to what they are doing.

Baby boomers are going up against younger job candidates. The more you understand and “find the common ground,” you just might increase your chances of being hired!

What is your next step to find common ground with millennials?

About the author

Jayne_MattsonJayne Mattson is Senior Vice President of Keystone Associates, a founding partner of Career Partners International LLC, a partnership of global leaders in the talent management and outplacement industries. Jayne consults with professionals from a diverse range of industries and functions and specializes in mid-career change and pre-retirement planning. She is a Certified Retirement Coach and Master Career Consultant.

Jayne frequently authors articles on numerous career topics; her work has appeared on Mashable.com, Monster, Career Builder and print publications including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

Jayne volunteers her time in youth organizations to help them build self-confidence and professional leadership skills.

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The Generational Fault Line – Quake or Tremor

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The Generational Fault Line

Why the differences between generations will reshape your workplace

generational fault lineThere is a definite Generational Fault Line that was clearly denoted in a new report I was asked to review. The report, The Great Generational Shift –Why the differences between generations will reshape your workplace was developed by Hudson, a leading provider of specialized recruitment, talent management, and recruitment process outsourcing services in the Americas and worldwide.

This is by far the most comprehensive study of generational issues in the workplace that has given psychographic assessments to a large audience (28,000) and was multicultural (22 languages).

I have written extensively on the Multi-Generational Workplace on this blog. This report largely supports many of the conclusions that I have written but is backed with a comprehensive study of thousands of workers.

Generational Fault Line in Leadership Style

Baby boomers were trained in traditional leadership traits based on leading, decisive, motivating, and persuasive. Baby boomers scored significantly higher in these leadership traits than Gen X and Gen Y.  However, the report states:

Today’s workforce does not need to be persuaded of the facts (they can check Google) but instead seeks leaders who can sift through mounds of data and translate it into meaningful insights.

Gen Y has been raised in the era of big data. It is more about being able to analyze data and translate that into business results.

Baby boomer leaders were trained to be strategic in their leadership style. Gen Yers have entered the job market at a time of tremendous change and uncertainty. The report states:

Generation Y is much less ‘strategic’ than Boomers, which may reflect today’s increasingly volatile and uncertain
business environment. It is harder than it was in the past to develop long-term business strategies, and leaders need to be nimble to deal with frequent changes to the competitive landscape.

Long term strategy is far less important in a world where you have to be able to pivot…and pivot quickly.

Do you see the generational fault line pressure building?

Boomers Will Have to Adjust Expectations

The generational fault line is going to shift. If you are a baby boomer, you have to accept it is going to happen! With many baby boomers unable to retire, baby boomers will have to adjust their expectations.

The study finds that baby boomers are less ambitious and altruistic than Gen Y. I cannot speak for everyone, but I am far less ambitious now in my late 50s than I was in my 20s and 30s.

There is no question in my mind that Gen Y is far more altruistic than baby boomers.

The report states:

As new leadership traits creep into the workplace, Boomers will need to be aware of the key drivers behind the visibly different behavior. Avoiding judgment and embracing Boomers have a great deal still to contribute to the workforce in the coming two decades, not only in their own skills but in passing on these skills and mentoring younger generations. Yet they are less ambitious and altruistic than younger people so will need to be motivated to share those skills in other ways.

I previously wrote that it is highly likely you will work for someone who looks like your kid!

Are you ready to mentor the next generation to be leaders? I have expressed concern in the past on where Gen Y will acquire and learn leadership skills given the demise of long term corporate employment.

There is a definite generational fault line between Baby Boomer and Gen Y expectations in the workplace.

Generation Y May Not Be Entitled and Impatient, Just Misunderstood

I have said over and over that:

Gen Y is the way they are because—we made them that way!

Gen Y was raised in an environment where everyone wins. Everyone gets a trophy or blue ribbon. These expectations need to be managed. At the same time, they were raised in a connected world. They are used to constant communications and, therefore, feedback.

I hear complaints that Gen Y do not have interpersonal skills. They have very different interpersonal and communications styles than baby boomers or Gen X. 

The report states:

Raised in a connected world, they will also prefer to communicate through non-traditional channels and may need more regular feedback and reinforcement than other generations think necessary.

Organizations need to ensure they are aware of the benefits of a well-rounded individual and provide opportunities for Generation Y to see and experience other traits such as motivation and persuasion in action.

What About Gen X

Lori Hock, Hudson CEO Americas stated:

Generation X will have to become the diplomats in this great generational shift. They will have to learn traditional leadership skills from baby boomers and adapt them to the new workplace. They will need to learn to lead but share with baby boomer leadership and up and coming Gen Y leaders.

Every generation is necessary going forward in to keep the generation fault line from creating an earthquake.

Every generation will need to be making adjustments and accommodations to create a stronger and more united collective.

This is just in time, especially in the USA, as we have much new and re-building to do ahead. Business, as usual, is changing much faster than any new way is replacing it.

Take the time to download and read this report, The Great Generational Shift –Why the differences between generations will reshape your workplace.

What are you doing to keep the generational fault line slowly shifting and preventing a major earthquake?

Marc Miller  

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Workplace of the Future – Defined by Gen Y

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Workplace of the Future

workplaceThe workplace of the future will be defined in next 10-15 years by Gen Y. The current workplace was defined by baby boomers and their parents, and not much has changed in the last 40-50 years. Yes, there have been technological changes, but the basic concepts that define a workplace have not changed much until recently.

Today, Gen Y makes up 36% of the American workforce. There are projections that in a little over ten years they could make up 75% of the worldwide workforce.

Whether you like it or not, Gen Y will re-write the rules of the workplace. In my honest opinion, for the good!

Some people say that 2014 will be the Year of Workplace Reinvention. Pam Ross wrote in her article on the Huffington Post:

“The Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) challenges traditional management strategies. Jody Thompson, and Cali Ressler, co-creators of the ROWE, describe it as “a management strategy where employees are evaluated on performance, not presence.” In a ROWE, workers can work wherever, whenever, and however, they choose to, as long as they achieve their results.”

Does that sound like an environment in which a Gen Yer would thrive?

Millennials (Gen Y) Are Rewriting the Rules of Management

In an article posted on Chief Learning Officer, Millennials Are Rewriting the Rules of Management, the author Ladan Nikravan states:

“Because Millennials feel a bond with globalization and diversity, they tend to believe a diverse group, with an assortment of ideas, comes up with a better solution than a lone leader. This is changing traditional management practices.”

Brad Karsh, author of Manager 3.0: A Millennial’s Guide to Rewriting the Rules of Management,  said in the article:

“…we focus on millennials and how this generation will lead. We have talked to thousands of Millennials across the country, and there are a few things that we heard time and time again that just aren’t working when it comes to management. A few ideas and icons that don’t work at work for Millennials include:

  • Corporate ladder
  • Bureaucracy
  • Overly formal communication
  • Inflexibility
  • Lack of diversity
  • Boring work

Millennials aren’t afraid to say these elements of the business aren’t working, and they’re standing up for the new rules of management and fostering a positive work culture. As millennials take on management roles, they are pushing for new ideas and values.”

Outsourcing and Crowdsourcing

Back in the 1990s, outsourcing became the fear of just about every worker. Today, outsourcing or globalization is a fact. When you include the new concept of crowd-sourcing, where you can find groups of people from around the world who can and will do micro-tasks for you, the concept of a traditional workplace pretty much disappears.

This is the brave new world that Gen Y will be bringing to the workplace.

Are you ready?

Please read the rest of the Multi-Generational Workplace Series.

Marc Miller  

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Baby Boomers, Gen X and Y – Feedback

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Baby Boomers, Gen X and Y

Baby Boomers, Gen X and YI have been blogging on Baby Boomers, Gen X and Y in the Mult-Generational Workplace for the last month. Several of these posts have generated a lot of feedback.

If you have not already read some of the series, this is a good time to review: Multi-Generational Workplace Series.

As you might expect, a lot of the comments I received centered around Gen Y and their lack of conforming to workplace rules.

Paying their dues

There were several comments that new Gen Y employees expect to come into the workplace and rapidly move up, but that they should have to pay their dues before being able to move up.

Hmm… Pay their dues. My first reaction was why?

The world is changing at a phenomenal pace. If someone can do the job better than someone else, why should they have to wait in line? What difference does their age or years on the job make?

With the workplace rapidly moving to a more nimble place, why does anyone need to pay their dues?

Why do we have to label people?

There were quite a few comments about using the labels Baby Boomer, Gen X, and Gen Y!

These are not homogeneous groups. They are very heterogeneous with a lot of variation, especially when people are born at the edges of each generation. These labels were created by sociologists and others to understand the characteristics of groups of individuals who had common experiences. For example, Baby Boomers were uniquely shaped by having lived through the Vietnam War and Watergate eras.

In addition, the years that define Gen X and Y can be quite different!

I think the labels are good when used properly to help discuss our differences. The challenge is that each generation looks at the others through their own lenses. Each generation is different, and it is wonderful when we can discuss each in a multi-generational setting.

Gen Y Managers

There were multiple comments that Gen Y managers can be capable of managing multiple generations. My personal observation is they are more socially aware of the differences in their employees.  On the other side of the equation is who will be training them in leadership and management skills? In the good old days, large companies had management training programs, and many of today’s managers went through those programs.

The good old days as we knew it are gone. The workplace will shift to a Gen Y-dominated environment over the next ten years and this concerns me. Who is going to train them?

Gen X and Y

As I wrote in my last post, Gen X and Y are very different. The real issue going forward will be – are there enough Gen Xers to replace retiring Baby Boomers?

One of the big reasons that there are predictions that Gen Y will make up 50% of the workplace by 2020 (by the way, the SHRM article I link to defines Gen Y starting in 1975 through 1994) is because there are so few Gen Xers. Generation X is a very small generation, at approximately 50 million. Compared to the Baby Boomer Generation’s 79 million and Generation Y at over 80 million, Generation X is tiny. There are lot reasons for this:

  • Silent Generation was also tiny due to low birth rates during the depression and WW II
  • Birth Control became available in the mid-1960’s and birth rates flattened out
  • Vietnam war drove millions of Baby Boomers to college to avoid the draft and therefore, delaying household creation and having children
  • High divorce rates among the silent generation

The issue we have not discussed here is the effect of immigration. There are significantly more people in this country who fit into Gen X age range who were not born here. They do not classically fit into the Gen X experience. What do you think this means?

What do you think is going to happen?

Please read the rest of the Multi-Generational Workplace Series.

Marc Miller  

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Gen X and Y – Like Oil and Water?

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Gen X and Y – Do they get along?

Gen X and YAs a baby boomer, I would assume that an office full of employees from Gen X and Y would work together harmoniously.

WOW, is that a bad assumption!

Gen X and Y are cut from very different cloth.

Gen X

Gen X (born 1965-1982) were the children of the Silent Generation (born 1925-1945).  I was talking with a client yesterday who told me that her parents divorced in her early teens.  She said when she was in middle school it was common to hear from her friends that their parents were divorcing.

Generation X were the first latchkey kids. Their parents divorced in record numbers. To a large extent, they raised themselves. Many went to work in their teens to help support themselves and their family.

The generational echo effect is that Gen X has the lowest divorce rates. This is primarily because they have waited to get married. I currently know quite a few Gen Xers who are 40 and getting married for the first time.

I spoke at a recruiting conference a few months ago, and I was talking about how Gen Xers wait to get married. A female Gen Xer offered up that she told her parents she was gay in order to get them off her back about getting married!!

When these kids left home, many had to put themselves through college.

They also entered the workforce starting in the mid-1980s—about the time that companies were discontinuing jobs for life. The concept of loyalty to a company was disappearing.

Gen Xers created the concept of “work-life balance.”

Gen Y

Let’s contrast this to Gen Y (born 1983-2000). They are the children of baby boomers. Until recently, baby boomers have had stable marriages. Gen Y grew up in relatively stable homes when compared to Gen X.  As a baby boomer parent, we raised our child to build a college resume. We did not want him to work so that he could focus on his studies. Therefore, often their first work experience was in college—and that may have been an unpaid internship.

Gen Y entered the workforce when at the beginning of the worst recession since the great depression. Many stayed in college because they could not get a job. Therefore, this is rapidly becoming the most educated generation ever. It is also the most in debt generation ever due to student loans.

Gen Y grew up in an age of organized sports where everyone got a blue ribbon or trophy. Some will tell you they grew up entitled.

Gen Y has entered the workplace with a thud. We baby boomer parents encouraged our children to ask for what they want.

Gen Y will ask for the promotion or pay raise.

We wanted our children to study and not have to work.

Gen Y is entering the workforce with less experience as an employee than any other generation.

Today’s Workplace

As Gen Y enters the workplace, they have either baby boomer or Gen X bosses. Over and over, I have seen the mix of a Gen X boss and Gen Y employee become toxic.

These Gen X and Y grew up in very different environments.

The challenge is both baby boomers and Gen X bosses look at Gen Y employees through their own lenses expecting them to be like them.

They are not!

When Gen Y employees enter the workforce, they need far more coaching to become employees than previous generations. They do not have work experience.

If Gen Y employees do not get the experience they want in the workplace, they will leave and go somewhere else. Why?

Because we raised them to ask for what they want!

Do Gen X and Y get along?

Not really. They do not mix well, just like oil and water!

What is your experience? I want to hear your Gen X and Y story!

Please read the rest of the Multi-Generational Workplace Series.

Marc Miller  

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