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Millennials make great unpaid interns. I'd never hire one though. They're on their phone too much and they have too much of a sense of entitlement. I keep them on for about 6 months and get the next one. It's a great way to have a free executive assistant. Maybe I should get an "unpaid intern" to be my driver.
As the economy has come back you really don't want to treat employees poorly. The internet works last I checked.
To comment on some earlier parts.
"You don't learn common sense from watching TV or playing video games. As great as technology can be, it ruined all generations who grew up with it. "
Not really. Technology can be a rock and a stick. It's all about the application and frankly without that there is no use. I would estimate the loss of knowledge from being out of a industry is about 5% a year. You can go two to three years out and be OK but if you haven't worked there in 10-15-20 years then the information you have is basically lost. How? Technology, customer change, labor changes, competition, turnover etc. To take someone from windows 95 to windows 7 is quite a leap. Likewise rules and regulations change.
"There are some things school can't teach you and can only be learned from experience. Why not listen to those who have experienced?"
But that contradicts itself. The saying "Experience is the best teacher" is a fraud as it is someone elses experience. That's why there is empirical knowledge and research. You never start with ground zero in terms of information. Anyone that took high school chemistry knows that when acid and base combine it creates a chemical reaction. You don't need to build vinegar baking soda volcanos all day to know that!
Last year I worked a bit with a guy that was retired and he had no clue how direct deposit worked even though that's how social security is paid out. Like it or not everything is going to be electronic and be online. I went to transfer some funds from a bank the other day. Received a bank check from one to deposit from another. there's no more deposit slips/withdrawl slips...ANY slips. Just swipe your debit card. Don't have a debit card? Too bad. The problem with much of the old ways was frankly there was no real way of measurement and if you can't measure it you can't use it.
Standards for younger generations are much higher then those before them. How many had a drug test in the 50's and 60's let alone 70's? Background check? Credit check? How was manufacturing examined before Six Sigma and massive manufacturing without a care of quality? Anything on a cash basis was manually counted which of course creates fraud. The average demographic of accounting fraud is not some new person in their 20's or 30's. Try 40's to 50's which 10-15 years in a job with a house and two kids.
I'd say one of the biggest differences today vs the past is some act as if people will always stay somewhere and never leave. In a era of cell phones and internet single people can and will move. We can't assume with the economy improving that there's always someone unemployed that will take the job. There are places I know that beg for younger people because you can't exactly pull out a 70 year old to do work that someone half their age does. On Cape Cod the housing prices are so high they can't get people because they cannot afford it. So instead of making more affordable housing they try to sponsor visa programs which make more seasonal then anything else. At the end of the day you have to court younger people otherwise you age out. If it means an internship that then gets offered a part time position then so be it. Baby boomers ARE retiring and employers must have contingencies for continuity. I can't tell you how many places I know of that are running around like chickens with their heads cut off because they had no plans. What did you expect if you have someone working in their mid 70's or early 80's? I love seeing people retire. They work hard, plan, save and finally get to do what they want to do.
I would not be surprised.
Millenials got screwed over because of the Recession and our career paths have been delayed.
By the time Generation Z graduate from college, Recession would probably be over and they are applying to a healthy job market with no career delays. I mean, would a hiring manager hire a 23 year old college graduate that hasn't missed a step in the year 2022? Or would the hiring manager go for the 35 year old Millenial that is educated but spent the years from 2009-2018 getting *any* job they could to feed themselves and not be homeless, before FINALLY getting a foot in the door in an industry that utilizes their degree?
Z, can start in the industry at 23.
Millenial/Y starts in their industry at 31.
Huge difference, especially if Y ends up in a field where their age is a huge factor against them :/
I don't think we got screwed over..... (Yes, I'm a millennial)
What we were presented, was a different obstacle than previous years have had. Rest assured every generation will face obstacles and will have to struggle to overcome those obstacles. I didn't graduate college until I was 30. Went into management at 30 and have had a nice career going since then. It's all in your efforts.
I went through this recession and actually ended up jobless at one point. I did exactly what people joke about on here and pulled myself up by my bootstraps. I was unemployed for less than 30 days because I got out there and made it work. Dead end jobs, side jobs, etc... Whatever it took to make it work. Because of those differing experiences I was able to present those in such a way that impressed the companies I have applied to, and hired on at.
It's an attitude. It will never work as long as any generation has the us vs. them mentality. Each generation offers a different skillset that the other generations can benefit from. Of course finger pointing has to stop first and everyone has to start being accountable for themselves instead of blaming others for the position they are in.
I don't think we got screwed over..... (Yes, I'm a millennial)
What we were presented, was a different obstacle than previous years have had. Rest assured every generation will face obstacles and will have to struggle to overcome those obstacles. I didn't graduate college until I was 30. Went into management at 30 and have had a nice career going since then. It's all in your efforts.
I went through this recession and actually ended up jobless at one point. I did exactly what people joke about on here and pulled myself up by my bootstraps. I was unemployed for less than 30 days because I got out there and made it work. Dead end jobs, side jobs, etc... Whatever it took to make it work. Because of those differing experiences I was able to present those in such a way that impressed the companies I have applied to, and hired on at.
It's an attitude. It will never work as long as any generation has the us vs. them mentality. Each generation offers a different skillset that the other generations can benefit from. Of course finger pointing has to stop first and everyone has to start being accountable for themselves instead of blaming others for the position they are in.
One difference that is definitely not the same for previous generations is the emergence of the middle class in foreign countries that are cutting wages thanks to technology and central banks debasing currency. Boomers didn't have to compete with overseas workers until maybe the 80s with Japan (correct me if I'm wrong). Now China, India, and all of the poorer countries are getting into the race, which equals more competition worldwide. At this point, if a job can be outsourced, it will and that wasn't something that was common until probably the 90s I would guess.
One difference that is definitely not the same for previous generations is the emergence of the middle class in foreign countries that are cutting wages thanks to technology and central banks debasing currency. Boomers didn't have to compete with overseas workers until maybe the 80s with Japan (correct me if I'm wrong). Now China, India, and all of the poorer countries are getting into the race, which equals more competition worldwide. At this point, if a job can be outsourced, it will and that wasn't something that was common until probably the 90s I would guess.
There was Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars back in the 1980's (ones I played with as a kid like the Matchbox Superchargers) that were made in China but it was in no way to the extent of off-shoring now. Phone banks definitely wasn't sent over to India at that point until the late 1990's. Japan was the main competition in that you had Japanese automobile and electronics companies doing better quality at lower prices (or had better fuel mileage in the case of cars.) The start of the potential problems were there but agreements like NAFTA allowed it to get even worse effecting boomers, gen X and of course now millennials who can't even start on the ground floor without two years experience in the exact job in the exact workplace style.
One difference that is definitely not the same for previous generations is the emergence of the middle class in foreign countries that are cutting wages thanks to technology and central banks debasing currency. Boomers didn't have to compete with overseas workers until maybe the 80s with Japan (correct me if I'm wrong). Now China, India, and all of the poorer countries are getting into the race, which equals more competition worldwide. At this point, if a job can be outsourced, it will and that wasn't something that was common until probably the 90s I would guess.
Again, different hurdles for different generations. Baby Boomers have in some aspects, made it tougher for millenials to come up since many were not taught lessons that we needed from this previous generation. But that doesn't mean all the blame can be laid onto them.
Boomers faced an increasing racial tension, Vietnam War, civil and equal rights movements, the rise of the computer (which made some jobs irrelevant) amongst other hurdles. All of this created tension that they had to overcome. They are now having to fight to remain relevant in the workplace when millenials such as us come along with a fresh new perspective. Business requirements have changed exponentially and many boomers have discovered they don't have all of the skillset that we do and it makes any chance of mobility in the workplace more narrow.
Millenials face a completely different set of problems, but the path forward is still the exact same. Analyze the problem, figure out a solution (sometimes this requires some creativity), and move forward. The only thing that is going to happen when we all sit back and complain that they had it better than us is that we will continue to fall further down a hole where we cannot climb out. For some this may mean college (yes a degree can help if you know how to use it), for others it might mean learning a skilled trade which many millenials seem to think they're too good for. Find YOUR path, and follow it. YOUR path is going to be different than MY path and that's ok. It doesn't matter what others think of your choice. That's the beauty of it. Don't think that you need to make $1M or more a year because your neighbor does. Find what fits you, and do that.
You have two choices. Give up, or make it. If you want to make it you have to be willing to throw all the finger pointing out the window and make it work.
Again, different hurdles for different generations. Baby Boomers have in some aspects, made it tougher for millenials to come up since many were not taught lessons that we needed from this previous generation. But that doesn't mean all the blame can be laid onto them.
Boomers faced an increasing racial tension, Vietnam War, civil and equal rights movements, the rise of the computer (which made some jobs irrelevant) amongst other hurdles. All of this created tension that they had to overcome. They are now having to fight to remain relevant in the workplace when millenials such as us come along with a fresh new perspective. Business requirements have changed exponentially and many boomers have discovered they don't have all of the skillset that we do and it makes any chance of mobility in the workplace more narrow.
Millenials face a completely different set of problems, but the path forward is still the exact same. Analyze the problem, figure out a solution (sometimes this requires some creativity), and move forward. The only thing that is going to happen when we all sit back and complain that they had it better than us is that we will continue to fall further down a hole where we cannot climb out. For some this may mean college (yes a degree can help if you know how to use it), for others it might mean learning a skilled trade which many millenials seem to think they're too good for. Find YOUR path, and follow it. YOUR path is going to be different than MY path and that's ok. It doesn't matter what others think of your choice. That's the beauty of it. Don't think that you need to make $1M or more a year because your neighbor does. Find what fits you, and do that.
You have two choices. Give up, or make it. If you want to make it you have to be willing to throw all the finger pointing out the window and make it work.
I don't know how you read my post as something that blamed boomers. I specifically said that boomers didn't have to compete with the same technology or the debasement of a currency, both of which are matters of fact.
The idea that one has 2 choices (give up or make it) is just a logical fallacy plain and simple. Sorry, but real life isn't so simplistic. Sometimes people work hard to better themselves, but get hit by a car or shot in crossfire. That's why they're called tragedies. Sometimes people aren't really going anywhere and then somehow catch a break despite no real effort of their own (lottery winners). That's not to discount hard work, but to say plain and simply that success (whatever that means) is simply a matter of individual effort is just an overly simplistic conclusion.
I don't know how you read my post as something that blamed boomers. I specifically said that boomers didn't have to compete with the same technology or the debasement of a currency, both of which are matters of fact.
The idea that one has 2 choices (give up or make it) is just a logical fallacy plain and simple. Sorry, but real life isn't so simplistic. Sometimes people work hard to better themselves, but get hit by a car or shot in crossfire. That's why they're called tragedies. Sometimes people aren't really going anywhere and then somehow catch a break despite no real effort of their own (lottery winners). That's not to discount hard work, but to say plain and simply that success (whatever that means) is simply a matter of individual effort is just an overly simplistic conclusion.
We do have two choices in regards to work. The problem isn't anything other than you're making it more difficult than it has to be. I don't call winning the lottery a success. That is a short lived experience that usually ends in being broke again. Success is a career that you build and is earned.
I didn't say you blame boomers, but many millenials do and they shouldn't. It is absolutely the amount of effort you put in. Go read these forums.... you will see those of us who are successful have a much better attitude than the ones who aren't successful.
We do have two choices in regards to work. The problem isn't anything other than you're making it more difficult than it has to be. I don't call winning the lottery a success. That is a short lived experience that usually ends in being broke again. Success is a career that you build and is earned.
I didn't say you blame boomers, but many millenials do and they shouldn't. It is absolutely the amount of effort you put in. Go read these forums.... you will see those of us who are successful have a much better attitude than the ones who aren't successful.
You can choose to live life in a black and white world if you want to, but there is so much gray out there whether you want to believe it or not.
Also, I wasn't saying that winning the lottery was a success necessarily, but it was to illustrate a point that sometimes people can literally stumble into a break without any real effort at all. I think of the actor Danny Trejo as an example. The guy got started in acting thanks to his time in prison and a tattoo that he had on his chest. It's not like he was working towards acting, but the opportunity came to him. Sure his effort after the fact is all him and he worked hard after that, but it's not like he was exactly pursuing a career in acting like Sylvester Stallone did. Are you saying that Danny Trejo's through his crimes that lead him to prison, which eventually got him discovered once he got out is the effort that made him a success?
And for every Sly Stallone there are 1,000s of nobodies that put in just as much effort, but didn't catch a break for whatever reason. Look at all the people that go to American Idol and try to sing. Sometimes you have talent and sometimes no matter how hard you try, it just isn't going to work out for you.
My uncles and aunts are very successful career-wise, but I wouldn't say they have great attitudes, in fact I would call them bitter and negative (very negative). Again, you can say what you want, but I don't think reality is so simplistic.
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