Millennials in the Newsroom

As millennials come of age, they're infiltrating the work force in all areas and all industries. Many, like me, are becoming journalists. And some, like me, are continually re-evaluating this career decision. While I think you can find recovering journalists in almost every generation (I've chatted with way too many people who seem to have concluded that being a journalist was more appealing on paper than in practice), there are some unique reasons why the news room can be a toxic place for millennials. At the same time, the digitalization of news is providing opportunities that mesh really well with the Gen Y mentality.

Keen observers of Gen Y know that this generation craves work-life balance. For us, sacrificing a personal life to climb the ranks at work isn't a reasonable trade-off. We want jobs that can accommodate life, not a life that has to accommodate the job – an aspiration that is often at odds with the status quo in many work places. It is an especially lofty goal when it comes to journalism, a career that often requires late hours and weekend work to meet deadlines.

Predictably, millennials in journalism aren't happy about those long hours. According to a 2005 Poynter survey, journalists between 20 and 34 years old were most likely to say they had considered leaving journalism because of work-life balance issues. And newsroom vets generally aren't getting it. Danna Walker, an adjunct journalism professor at American University who also works as an editor and producer at CBS, says that "the older generation didn't know what to think" when millennials first showed up in newsrooms. "The assumption is that millennials aren't as willing to pay their dues," she says. In fact, the whole "pay your dues" mentality is "worn out," according to Bea Fields, author of "Millennial Leaders." Control tactics do nothing to attract and retain Gen Y employees, as Fields explains over at Y Blog.

Newsrooms also rarely meet Gen Y's mentorship and training expectations. A young journalist recently submitted a question to "Ask the Recruiter" columnist Joe Grimm, a well-know recruitment and development editor for the Detroit Free Press. The recent graduate wrote that he got "minimal feedback" from the editors at his paper, leaving him with "no idea" whether he was doing a good job or a bad job. "If misery loves company, you have plenty of both," Grimm writes in response, citing a survey that found that lack of training is the number one complaint that journalists have about the profession.

But millennials aren't totally doomed to an otherwise unhappy or non-existent future in journalism. The Internet and multimedia news can add a "wonderful dynamic" to newsrooms, says Jill Geisler, a journalism leadership and management specialist at Poynter. Young journalists with technical skills are in big demand to staff news Web sites. As a result, many new hires are commanding respect from day one because they're often the only person in the newsroom with the multimedia know-how to perform certain tasks. "As editors realize they need new approaches and people with new media skills, younger folks are becoming more valued," Walker writes in an e-mail. A Gen Y friend who works for NBC in Washington, D.C. tells me that she and some of her other colleagues are sought after by their older newsroom counterparts who are hoping that the millennials can teach them a thing or two about the computer programs they learned in journalism school. In many situations, multimedia is not only allowing Gen Yers to get a foot in the door, but it's immediately positioning them in roles where they are taken seriously from the start.

In addition, the expansion of online news is also catering to Gen Y's job-hopping tendencies. New positions are popping up in many companies that are launching or expanding Web sites to complement print work. Job-hopping within the industry is common, observes Meg Martin, a multimedia producer for the Roanoke Times. "There's a lot of crossover and a lot of news organizations are encouraging people to explore different positions," Martin says.

The news industry is facing a moment of significant challenges and prospects in terms of recruitment of Gen Y journalists. Will digital news be journalism's proverbial "knight in shining armor" when it comes to recruiting millennials and then retaining them for longer than five minutes? Could it set journalism apart from other industries in the quest to adapt to Gen Y? The answer will certainly depend on how individual newsrooms resolve work-life balance concerns, training needs and other issues that matter to millennials. But for me and the thousands of other millennials with notoriously high student loan payments, the bottom line might just end up getting the largest say.

Meet 3 Simple Networking Goals Everyday

Whenever I think about networking, the first thing that comes to mind is reaching out to the big people who can help shape my life in big ways. It's probably the way most people think about networking. Which makes sense, the bigger picture usually comes first. But it isn't the only way we should be thinking about how we network.

Another great way to think about networking is how we interact with the people we already know and have established a semi-trusted bond with. I like to think of this as network maintenance. And the best way to make it work is to set up daily networking goals.

Sure, things are usually not as structured as they look when you write them down on paper, but being aware of what you want to accomplish in any given day is enough to keep yourself moving in the right direction.

'Check in' with one person

"Just checking in" is a great way to remind someone that your connection is important. There's so many ways to do it too. So if you're an introvert, you don't need to worry about picking up a phone or setting up a coffee date to make it work.

While checking in is usually just a way to remind someone else that you're still around, it can sometimes trigger some great opportunities for collaboration. A long-lost fraternity brother contacted Healy and I a few weeks ago just to catch up. Now he wants to get involved and write some posts on Employee Evolution.

Call one person who can use your help

The other day I talked to Ray Jarosz, a contributor at Employee Evolution and fellow entrepreneur. He needed some advice on how to work effectively in a startup when a major team member is older than you are. Considering my experience with Penelope and Brazen Careerist, I knew I could provide some worthwhile advice.

So what did this opportunity to help a fellow peer offer me? Besides that fuzzy feeling you get when you do something nice, nothing immediate. But who knows when I'm going to need to call on Ray for some advice in his realm of expertise?

Call one person who can help you

Last week, I talked with two very popular recruiting bloggers, the Recruiting Animal and Jim Stroud. I had been impressed by a few podcasts they ran, so I wanted to get some advice on starting my own.

Not only do they give great advice, but they're both really nice guys. Sometimes you never know what a blogger is really like until you pick up the phone.

But what was really great about making the connection was that both now send me follow up emails when they come across something that might interest me. Without taking the time to reach out and ask for help, I would have never established these connections.

Millennials Are Civic, Not Idealistic

What do George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt all have in common?

If you guessed they were all great presidents, you'd be right. But there's more. According to an article in the Washington Post, (which I believe is citing Strausse and Howe's Generations book) each of these presidents presided when a "civic" generation was coming of age.

The Washington Post says that about every 80 years in American history, "a civic generation emerges to make over the country after a period of upheaval caused by the fervor of an idealist generation."

Idealist generations, on the other hand, typically create very divisive times. The baby boomers were an idealist generation, obviously (and often angrily) splitting the country between traditionalists (conservatives) and progressives (liberals).

Millennials are the next "civic" generation. Our fights and causes will be not to tear down established systems like the federal government and big business. Rather, we will strive to fix, repair and rebuild these broken systems, because history shows that the systems do work – if properly designed.

And we're already making some headway. Take Super Tuesday for instance. Three million Millennials cast their ballots in the primaries.

But young people don't vote! This is what people have been saying for years. Apparently what they should say is that young people didn't vote until the Millennials came along.

Look closer and you'll notice that we're starting to push for change in corporate America. In fact, companies are almost scared of our generation. Consultants teach companies how to deal with us crazy young folks, 60 Minutes airs propaganda segments that warn, "Here Come the Millennials,"and women like Jean Twenge swear we will be the downfall of all things sacred.

They're worried that Millennials are hopping jobs, starting businesses, and searching for meaning and passion instead of just blindly conforming to the ideals of past generations. They don't understand that it's not about being lazy, pampered, or entitled. History says our destiny is to be the next great generation, a generation of builders and doers.

Millennials aren't revolting in the streets or marching on Washington, as Thomas Friedman suggests we should. We know that doesn't actually accomplish anything by itself. What Millennials are really all about is improving broken systems and unifying unnecessary divisions. The best way to do that is by working within the system and doing, not by dropping out and making a lot of noise.

By using our political power to vote and by not settling for a meaningless job just because it pays well, we are making a lot more noise than all the screaming, yelling and protesting in the world ever could.

Grad School and Experience: A Scientist's Perspective

People decide to go to grad school for a variety of reasons, some good and some not so good. I went to grad school straight out of college because I had an interest in science and no career aspirations. After college the only job prospect I had from our career services involved moving home and taking a lab technician job that paid less than the stipend I received in grad school.

Looking back on it now, I really had no idea what I was going to do, even during grad school. And what ensued turned out to be one of the most educational experiences I have ever had.

Just because you have an advanced degree it does not guarantee you a job. In some situations, such as the one I am going to introduce, it can actually work against you.

Typically, after earning a PhD one embarks onto another period of time known as a post-doctoral position (post-doc). This is an intense period of anywhere from 1-5 years when you become the "workhorse" of the lab, not only performing your own experiments, but also advising graduate and undergraduate students (this is analogous to a residency, for all you Scrubs/ER/Grey's fans).

You work long hours and make virtually nothing (the NIH pay scale starts at roughly $37K with medical insurance and that is assuming that your institution actually pays using the NIH scale). When your contract is up you are expected to either have landed a professorship or find another post-doc (which can end up being an entire career for some people).

With a glut of scientists in a market where the science budget is the lowest ever, things were not looking good. Towards the end of my tenure I realized that the bureaucratic nonsense of academia quickly beat the enthusiasm for basic research out of me.

I was tired of being a slave, so I decided to try to change fields. Let me tell you, it's not easy trying to market science to anyone else but a scientist!

Here is where my ability to network saved me because even before defending my Ph.D. thesis, I had two solid job offers, Job A and Job B.

Job A was a scientist position for a healthcare company. It was a riskier jump into the real world because there was not a direct translation of my skill set. If it paid off, the dividends were huge. On the other hand, Job B was a nice ease into leaving the science world, like a warm bathtub. I was still doing science based work, but I was slowly transitioning out of research.

Guess which one I chose? Yep, Job A, because I figured I could make it work. After a week of orientation they decided I was not cut out for it and disbanded my position, and subsequently the entire department with it. The way I found out was awful. I had to drive out to the company headquarters, an hour away from my apartment. I was 1.5 hrs late for the meeting with my boss due to a traffic accident. Once I got there I had barely said "good morning" when he broke the news. I drove back to my apartment and sat there, still in shellshock.

So there I was, one month out of school in a strange city and unemployed for the first time. I had never been without a job, even as a kid I had always lined my jobs up early. "Now what," I thought. So I did what any other person would do in this case, I called every contact I knew of; friends, colleagues, head hunters, people I had just met. Then I searched for jobs outside of my network.

I ended up applying to a number of jobs in a multitude of fields, finance, medical writer, even some low research jobs that I was overqualified for. Luckily Job B was still available and I took that after a few stressful weeks. Here are 5 lessons I learned that can serve us all:

1. Just because you have a PhD, or any advanced degree, it doesn't guarantee you a job

This may sound like I'm beating a dead horse, but until your thrust into that situation you don't really worry about it. Grad school is what you make it! I received an education in life as much as science. I liked my research project and even branched out to find others, but I consider myself lucky. Some students I knew never found their niche and burned out quickly. I did things that are important to building future success like not getting straight A's, volunteering, playing sports, and networking everywhere I went. When I was panicking to find a job my advanced education actually worked against me because I was overeducated for entry-level positions in my field. The jobs that required a PhD wanted experience I didn't have. What the heck I thought, I went to grad school to avoid that whole mess. Nope, it actually makes it worse.

2. Experience trumps all

Companies always want experienced individuals. Period. I found out that 1 year of a post-doc translated to 2 years in other industries. Lots of good that information did me when I couldn't even land an entry level position.

3. Salesmanship is an art that only experience gives you

Being able to sell yourself becomes incrementally harder outside of your own field. Had I gone on to a post-doc I would have been fine. Moving out of science I had to market my talents in a manner that non-science employers could appreciate. It was only until I actually attempted it that I learned how. Had I developed my name and branded myself properly I would either still be at Job A, or have had an easier time finding a new job.

4. Don't lose the ability to hold a conversation

Even in this age of mass communication the important aspects of life are still carried out person to person (i.e. dating, interviews, networking etc.). With all the means of communications today teenagers are becoming more dependent on text messages and emails and less able to hold conversations in real life. You may have 900 friends on Facebook, but can you ace your next job interview or business presentation? Our generation is big on teamwork and corporations are realizing this fact and making amends to help facilitate communication amongst its workers to harness this energy. If you can't tell them why you will be a crucial member of their team, they will never know.

5. Like Verizon, it's all about the network

In an age that is based upon rapid dissemination of information it's still all about who you know. We are a generation who thrives on social networks and contacts with hundreds of people at the touch of our fingertips. It really is a great way to keep your options open when hunting for a job. I was told once that the majority of job listings found in the big science journals were only formalities, the candidates were already in mind. If you think about this, it makes perfect sense, as the job you are looking for will rarely be posted in an ad or database.

3 Ways to Look More Professional than You Really Are

Being thought of as a professional is not all suit and tie. It's not all about qualifications either. True professionals have an aura about them. And even though they may not completely understand every situation they're thrown into, they can navigate their way through it with little problem.

Few of us walk into the corporate world with that professional aura already in place. I was no exception.

My first meeting was with my boss, a couple VPs and a bunch of high-level consultants brought in to pilot a massive transformation within the company. I was in way over my head.

But after a few months in a high-profile position, I taught myself how to act in order to gain the respect of my established peers. Today, in a new career path, I'm more prepared and more confident when dealing with people. And it's all about looking professional while doing so.

1. Be the first to shake someone's hand

It's the first thing you always do when stepping into a meeting. But it can be so customary that we're sometimes apathetic about it. Someone will initiate it eventually, so who cares?

When you're the youngest person in the room especially, it's really important that you make an effort to be the first hand that's reaching across the table. It says a lot about your energy level and your confidence as a professional.

2. Know how to make small talk

Nothing is worse than uncomfortable silence when a meeting gets put on hold. Last week, Penelope and I had a meeting with a local radio station. Halfway through, Penelope had to take an important phone call and left me alone to entertain.

One of the people we were meeting with was a marketing exec, so I asked her how the web was affecting ad sales in the company. But I didn't stop there. I went on to talk about how I loved the fact that they were putting radio on the Internet and how it was the best way for me to stay in touch with my favorite programs back on the coast. They loved it.

In short, it's really important to be conscious of your audience. And not just about what they're saying, but what they'll be interested in you saying.

3. Be aware of opportunities to send thank you notes

It's a really good gesture to send a follow-up email or a card to say thank you. I always think it's nice when someone is thankful for my time. And why not? It makes me feel important.

It's not always appropriate though. Typically, Corporate America doesn't send out a thank you notice when a meeting takes place in-house. I sent an email thanking a VP one day. The next day, my boss gave me a reality check. A VP doesn't need to know how thankful I am. They don't care.

I was pretty amazed by this at the time, but I guess it makes perfect sense. In the world of entrepreneurship showing your gratitude is pretty common. Our time is important to us and it's nice to show your appreciation. But there's always such a thing as too much. Even though the line tends to be rather blurry sometimes. So learn a little more about who you're dealing with and then decide exactly how you're going to show your thanks.