The entitled stereotype of Gen-Y

So if you haven't heard the words "entitlement" and Gen-Y" in the same sentence, you've obviously been working somewhere very far away, or living under a rock.

Researchers and career experts say that the ubiquity of job hopping, particularly for Gen-Y (those born after 1979), is partially being driven by their reluctance to painstakingly pay their dues.

This has given way to the coining of Gen-Y as "entitled," a nebulous term that I have always had trouble defining.

My best estimation of what people mean when they label someone as "entitled" is that they've had their first interaction with a 20something who waltzes in and inquires about applying for the marketing manager position that just opened up, when she has barely clocked six months on the job.

It's a sense that I deserve this, even though I haven't paid my dues to get it.

But would a guy who had the same chutzpah—I mean confidence—be characterized as a real "go-getter" or "entitled?"

Think about this way. Would legendary business leaders such as Stephen Schwarzman, the Chairman and co-founder of the Blackstone Group, Jack Welch, the former Chairman and CEO of General Electric, or Bill Gates, the Chairman and co-founder of Microsoft, be perceived as entitled or just confident if they were starting out in 2007?

But let's put gender aside for a moment and pay lip service to the fact that what has been labeled the Achilles' heel of Gen-Y might actually be beneficial for employers.

Research by Bharath M. Josiam, a University of North Texas associate professor in the School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management, found that while a previous generation may have felt that that promotions aren't worth the headaches or hassles, Gen-Y hospitality students believe the advantages of a job promotion outweigh the disadvantages

For employers, the storyline here only seems to read as positive — an aspiring, enthusiastic, hard-working crop of workers is at their fingertips.

"Employers should be heartened that (Gen-Y hospitality) students on the whole are not slackers," Josiam says. "They have a positive attitude toward work, a low level of promotion cynicism and a strong work ethic."

What's wrong with feeling entitled to a position that you worked hard for or intend to work very hard in? Isn't that what they just called "earned" or "ambitious" in previous generations?

Part of this post originally appeard on WomensWallStreet.com.

How I've been finding my best mentors

Successful entrepreneurship usually includes a group of trusted mentors, according to Ben Casnocha, author of, My Start up Life. But now that I've spent a few months in corporate life, it's clear to me that having a group of mentors is important whether you work for yourself or for someone else. However the majority of people I know are not great at seeking out and developing these relationships. What I have learned in the past few months is it's easier than you think! Here are three things I have done that have helped me develop very rewarding relationships with mentors.

1. Find the right network

For twentysomethings, the easiest place to look is in your parent's network. Take advantage of it because they've been developing these connections for years. Ask your parents if any of their friends or colleagues work in a field you are interested in.

If you are not lucky enough to have well connected parents, all is not lost. Networking groups are everywhere these days. MeetUp.com gives you a way to find people with similar interests. Or you can start a niche blog and comment on blog posts from field-related experts. Leave a few insightful comments and your foot is in the door to contacting them.

2. Reach out

Once you have made the first connection, the next step is simple. Reach out with a short email. Ask for a few pieces of advice. Assuming your contact replies, continue the conversation for a few days. Finally, ask if she is interested in meeting up for a quick lunch. Despite the ease of connecting online, face to face interaction can make a big difference in how quickly you make your mentor feel connected with you. At the very least, try to have a relatively long phone conversation to get to know each other.

Read the rest at the Brazen Careerist.

Being a Gen-Y Leader

It's a myth that the workplace is turning into one big leaderless state. Just as decisions made by committee often require head banging, life without leaders would be one big headache. Yes, leadership has changed and decentralized organizations are here to stay, but there will always be leaders. We want success. We want to win, and winners have leaders.

Once you've tossed aside the crutch of hierarchical authority though, "knowing how to build relationships, use influence and work with others is crucial to achieving the results you seek," according to Valeria Maltoni, a specialist in connecting ideas and people.

A Generation Y leader inspires by enabling others to be leaders. They know the strengths of those they lead, and exploit those for the success of that person. A Gen-Y leader delegates to help the worker achieve their goals. They are motivated by relationships and have an obsession with seeing others succeed.

By making room for other leaders, "you attract people who aren't followers, who aren't looking for the kind of leader who will save them from the anxiety of responsibility," according to Michael S. Hopkins. And the millennial generation does not follow.

Instead, we create our own content, build our own businesses, do things our way. Be an entrepreneur or die, says Sam Davidson at Cool People Care. For the Gen-Y leader, it isn't about ego, but about sharing ownership and building a community of ideas. An effective Gen-Y leader helps our generation to embrace entrepreneurship at every level.

A Gen-Y leader is inclusive and collaborative, and not just within their sphere of influence. An isolated organization will perish. Successful organizations are defining themselves as the gateway expert in their field. On the playing field, in this instance, companies must pick the competitor to be a part of their team for bigger and better results. It's not enough to have a quality product; you must reach out and promote others. Teamwork is no longer just within a company. It's industry-wide.

As a result, lines haven't just been blurred; they've been pulverized on high in a blender. Competitors are partners, work is play, and boundaries no longer exist. As such, Gen-Y leaders must be leaders by example, and in every aspect of their life, whether family, work, or play.

Generation Y leaders, however, can and will be easily replaced by their peers. We are a starfish generation. Go ahead and try to chop one of us down, and we'll grow a whole sprawling forest in that person's place. We're that strong. We're that motivated. We don't respond lightly to pressure or corruption.

A Gen-Y leader's efforts to maintain influence will be harder for that reason. Especially because it is often our peers doing the chopping. As a generation, we're remarkably good at calling bull. We have no qualms about holding our leaders up to the light to check for transparency.

Gen-Y leaders then must know themselves first, and project their authenticity. They must also be constantly learning, experiencing, doing, networking, creating, giving. It won't stop. Our generation won't put up with selfish thoughts, unethical behavior, or tired ideas. The Gen-Y leader must be constantly on.

That's how we will become the next great generation. We won't stop. Change is in the air; inhale deeply.

It's All About Selling Yourself (Out)

SELL! SELL! SELL! That's all I hear lately from the career advice experts. You want to make it in the grownup world? You better figure out what you're all about and preach it loud.

Dear advisors, please write this down: Your hearts are in the right place, but you're driving me off the deep end! I'm 23-years-old, I have no idea what I want and I'm not ready to sell my soul for a job I'll most likely hate in six months.

So what about the millions of other twenty-somethings that didn't graduate college knowing who they wanted to be? Where's our lifeline? The majority of us are going to take a first job with the sole purpose of putting some bread in the bank. Do we still follow the "sell yourself" mentality in an interview? I'll tell you right now, it'll be a hell of a performance, but it sure won't be me telling an employer who I really am.

The problem with telling young people to sell themselves is that most of us don't have much to sell – we lack experience. If you put us in the hot seat and tell us we have to have a vision and a concrete mission statement, we're going to spew BS like it's a congressional hearing. Is that what employers really want?

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm going to make the presumption that an average person (at any age) creates a tiny bit of fantasy when placed in first-round dialogue with a potential employer. What do you think happens to a person like me? My only defense mechanism is to conjure up something I think you want to hear. Not exactly the most honest approach, but what do you expect? I'm trying to make a living.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to be completely honest with you. I feel like scum when I walk out of an interview knowing I've sold myself out because my real answers wouldn't have made the cut. But a guy like me can't be that moral in the corporate world. The "sell yourself" mentality and the hard-hitting questions that go along with it just won't let me.

The worst query ever posed: "Where do you see yourself ten years from now?"

Employers, next time you ask this question, think about what you would've said. If you really, honestly knew – congratulations! But if you're anything like me, you'll realize that the answer you're getting is probably a heap of bologna.

One thing the experts always fail to mention – selling yourself is a dirty business.
You could end up selling yourself out.

Before You Apply to Grad School, Stop and Think

One of my favorite topics is the value and purpose of going to graduate school, especially in your twenties. I just heard another story about a twenty-something with a newly minted MBA who's having a devil of a time finding a job. When employers see MBA on her resume, they assume that she should be looking for a management position. Unfortunately, because this grad's previous positions were primarily administrative and customer-service oriented, many employers don't think she has the practical experience to qualify for such a position.

I've gotten dozens of e-mails from graduate school alumni in similar situations. After spending tens of thousands of dollars on an advanced degree, they find that they are no more marketable in their chosen field than they were before they started school. The only difference now is that their job search is more urgent because they are deeply in debt.

To me, this phenomenon speaks to the danger of going back to school without a great deal of forethought. So many people choose a graduate program because they aren't sure where they want to go with their careers, when in reality, they should first be doing a cost/benefit analysis to determine what such a program is going to bring them in terms of increased job prospects and financial compensation. Of course, before investing an enormous amount of money, time and effort securing an advanced degree, they should also do enough research and have enough hands-on experience to know that they actually like the field. I've heard lots of stories of twenty and thirty-somethings who graduate with a Ph.D., JD, or MBA only to end up deciding they want to do something else entirely. Lawyers become advertising directors, doctors become life coaches, marketing executives become journalists, and so on.

Bottom line: Although returning to the safety of books and finals might feel more comfortable than the workplace grind, graduate school is not something you should do just for the heck of it. Rather, you should first determine in concrete terms why you need the advanced degree to move ahead in your career of choice, and then map out a plan for how you'll use the training and degree to facilitate the level of success you desire.

Sometimes people ask me why I haven't gotten an MBA myself, and the reason is this: I work for myself, and as such don't have a company subsidizing the $50K tuition. If I'm going to pay that kind of money out of my own pocket, then I better be sure I'm going to make it back with my post-MBA income. I know for a fact, though, that right now this won't happen. I'm at a point in my career as an author, and my career as a marketing and career consultant (both of which I love), where getting that MBA won't make much of a difference at all. I would like to get an advanced degree someday soon, but I don't kid myself. It's because I like to learn, not because I think it's a magic ticket into an uncharted area of the career stratosphere.