You Must be this Tall to Join the Conference

Marina is a recent college grad working in the field of information technology. While registering for her first technology expo in the "real world" she came across something that didn't sit right. Here's her story…

I got my diploma in December, and found my first real gig as a software developer in a small office. My coworkers seem cool enough, though they occasionally mention that they have video game systems older than I am. Recently, my boss suggested I attend an information technology conference: a sort of trade show, where companies and self-proclaimed experts show off their wares to unsuspecting engineers and their managers. I eagerly filled out the form, but my excitement was cut short when I received this admonition in the confirmation email:

"Persons under the age of 21 (including infants in strollers and backpacks) and students are not permitted."

Now don't get me wrong, I understand that a conference isn't a mall or an amusement park; it's not the sort of place where screaming babies should be crawling around amidst the computing equipment. But this sort of condescending attitude towards students and young people in general, is what turns our generation off and makes us not want to work for you, or even with you. I'm annoyed by this rule not only because I just turned 22 and consider myself mature and professional in every respect, but also because I know lots of people (who happen to be under 21) that are doing great things, especially in the fields of business and technology.

Many of the world's top technology companies were started by people right around this age. You'd think that anyone who's trying to be a leader in the field would encourage young people to attend their events and learn about their products, not forbid them. After all, these are your future employees, if not your future bosses.

That's not to say that no one sees the power of the generation that's grown up with the internet. The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), a prestigious computing organization, has student chapters, and even encourages young not-yet-professionals to join by giving them a discount. CIOs today are younger than ever, because it turns out that experience isn't always everything, or even the most important thing. At Google, only 2% of employees are over 40.

The fact is, when choosing a job, members of Gen-Y are likely to look at how open the potential boss is to new ideas and change, and whether years of paying dues are required before your ideas can get heard. One of the things I really like about my job is that my manager made a point of telling me how much the energy and fresh outlook of a recent graduate could do for the team, and meant it. He listens to my thoughts on new technology, methods, tools, recruiting, web design, and so forth: the things that someone fresh out of college is more likely to be up-to-date on than a 20-year company veteran. Of course experience is important, but naiveté, ambition and sheer curiosity have a place at work as well.

Our generation might be throwing loud parties next door or frightening your grandma with our piercings, but we're also doing amazing things in every field. Far from turning us away at the door, the organizers of that conference should have been eagerly inviting us in.

Pursue the Passion: What Should I Do With My Life?

Brett Farmiloe is the co-founder of Pursue the Passion, where his goal is to develop resources that assist aspiring individuals determine their career direction. Join his 14,000 mile, 3 month journey this summer as he interviews 200 passionate professionals about their career path at www.pursuethepassion.com.

Half of the American work force is satisfied with their job, while the other half dreads reporting to a job they hate, working for a boss they can't stand. As a senior at the University of Arizona, I was determined to join the group passionate about their work. But the biggest obstacle that stood in my way was that I did not know how to get to where I wanted to be, or for that matter, what I should do with my life.

"What should I do with my life" is a question on the minds of many students and young professionals because it's a damn good question. You just spent four, five, six years in school and now you're expected to answer it. You have parents pressuring you, friends and colleagues off to undoubtedly successful starts to long careers, and then you have your situation. I'm here to tell you not to worry. Not everyone has their life figured out at our age. In fact, no one really has it figured out.

Last summer I ventured on a cross country roadtrip to interview successful people who LOVE their careers. I wanted to talk with these extraordinary individuals about the path that they pursued so I could develop an idea of which path I should pursue. The single most important thing that I took away from 75 interviews and 3 months of grassroots roadtrip travel was that at 22-years-old, I didn't have to figure it out.

One of my interviews was with University of Arizona head basketball coach Lute Olson. At 21, he was pumping gas and cleaning grease bays in a job that required him to work the graveyard shift so he could pursue his love for education. Another was with Barry Moltz, who a week before college graduation did not have a job, accepted a position with IBM because he didn't have anything to do the following Monday, and nine years later transitioned out of the corporate world to enjoy a successful career in entrepreneurship. Then there were seventy-three other people I talked with that all shared the common characteristic of not having life completely solved when coming out of college…if they even had the opportunity to attend college.

The point is that life takes too many twists and turns to decide right now what you want to do forever. It's just not possible. The only thing we can do is accept that fact, and have a determination to one day join the better half of the workforce by loving our work. It's about the evolution, like this site preaches, and progressively working your way to pursuing your passion once that drive develops.

How Much is the Perfect Resume Worth to You?

Today's post is by Potres. We met him through Employee Evolution a few months ago and have had some great conversations about work and life since. Potres is 28-years-old and has a background in non-profit, journalism and business.

While in college, I saw my classmates putting a lot of work into participating in student organizations, voluntary research activities, workshops and conferences, mainly because "it looks good on a resume". In our final year of school, most of them were not so much into finding jobs they'd find fulfilling, but rather, jobs with big name firms, whose culture, organizational structure and policies they didn't care much about. "I need to put something really good on my resume and then I'll be able to find a job that I really like," was their rationale.

I can understand the importance of a resume for the hiring process, but I cannot understand how building a resume can almost become a profession in itself.

It is understandable that in the early stages of their career, people have to make sacrifices and investments so they can move forward. Some people might know exactly what they are doing; the results of their research and networking, specific internships, or leadership experiences, will largely help someone land that particular job with the company they admire.

On the other hand, there are people who were told by their parents, career counselors, and authors of outdated books, that building a good resume is the way to land a good job. And in the early stages of your career you have to work hard to build a resume so you can enjoy the many "perks?? of it later. The major problem with this way of thinking is that a lot of these people get to learn about how important a good resume is for their career before their career even starts.

Here is what I am struggling to understand: Is taking a lame job and spending hours handing out flyers for your student organization really worth the time, effort, and energy? Are people who are trying to improve their careers by doing what "some day will look good" really better off than all the others? And finally, if you can buy a right to add any single sentence on your resume, how much would you be willing to pay for it? What would you be willing to do to earn that right?

I remember buying ridiculously expensive "things?? just because I convinced myself they were worth the price. They were really cool and I'd be able to use them for years. Now, my storage unit is full of stuff that I COULD use forever. I just don't care enough about them any more. Changes in my interests, technology and the market have made all of them obsolete.

Think of that one "wild card sentence?? that would look really good on your resume. Think about what it is that you would be willing to give up so you could have it there. Whatever price you pay for it, make sure you save the receipt.

What is Your Definition of the American Dream?

by Ryan Healy 

Typically, we try to stay away from stealing someone else's material and posting it to our site for your viewing pleasure.  However, I stumbled onto an amazing article from The Future of Information Work the other day.  Among other things, the article discusses the millennials shunning corporate jobs for entrepreneurial ventures and the need for companies to repair the lost trust that stems from watching our parents being downsized or let go.  The article pretty much sums up my thoughts about the corporate world.  I recommend reading the entire thing, but here is a small sample:             

…. In the case of corporate America, now facing the reality that the next generation of worker is willing to give up benefits and pay for time, that they are not committed to the workplace like previous generations were, that they see jobs in many cases, rather than careers — they children of the downsized-right-sized-laid-off parents feel the only things they can trust are themselves and communities they belong to, be those communities physical or virtual…..           

….. It appears, however, that the lost American dream may be detrimental to large organizations, and alive and well with the Millennials as they snub traditional employment in favor of new work models, including an entrepreneurial spirit that may well reorganize the American workplace into something industrial age workers and leaders would not even recognize. I for one, look forward to the rewards of the transformation, and the chaos of the journey.  

It has been well established that the new American dream is no longer two kids and a dog, a white picket fence and a safe job with a large corporation.  Is the new American dream this entrepreneurial spirit that I can't seem to shake?  Will this re organize the workplace as we know it? 

Should we even be discussing the American Dream when we now live and work in a global economy?

I don't have the answers to these questions, and I'm not sure an entrepreneurial spirit is enough to be classified as the American Dream.  I believe the new dream is whatever you want it to be.  Everyone I know has a dream, but none are the same.  My dream is to wake up every day with a smile on my face, excited to go to work,  even if going to work means walking into my living room. 

What is your definition of the American/Global dream?  Hopefully we can come to some kind of consensus.  But I have a feeling everyone will have a different answer…. 

Give me a mentor, not a boss

Jaerid Rossi offers an interesting perspective on Millennial life. He's 27-years-old, a proud parent and has five years of work experience under his belt. We hope Jaerid will continue to share his experiences with us in the future, but until then, check him out on his blog, "Life's Lessons.??

I've been out of college for five years now and recently started my third job. I have had a variety of experiences already, including a technology startup and a very large multi-national company. I've had the experience of a horrible boss who passes blame and judgment for his own gain, but also had an amazing mentor who guided me where I wanted to go.

The story of my first job (the startup) is a bit of a worse-case scenario. When I first joined the company (literally in a garage, as the 7th employee) the founders were very supportive and eager to teach me. Then we grew, got funding and hired more people. Soon, there where 16 people and we had 5 VPs, a CEO, a CFO, and a CTO. I was now working for a new VP of engineering. He was a boss that micro-managed me, pressed personal agendas and sacrificed my reputation for his own personal gain. He would give me philosophical talks about how I had to be a company man and should work long hours to show my commitment to the company. However, what I saw in him was a man on his third marriage, a man who had not spoken to his own children in 15 years, a man who had been fired from countless positions and a man who cared for himself alone – he had no interest in my success. Despite my better judgment, I worked hard for that company. I still felt there was an opportunity…financially if nothing else.

Then I was on a business trip presenting at a technical conference. I checked out our brand new website and found my job posted as an open position. When I challenged my boss on this, he stammered and couldn't give me a reason for it. I had a good relationship with a board member who told me in confidence that my boss had sold me out. That I was the reason he was behind on his projects – projects I had no knowledge of. This resulted in me being passed over for any sort of financial incentives and walking away from the opportunity. (By the way – that company eventually folded)

After that experience, I had a bad taste in my mouth, but I managed to hit gold in my next position. I had an excellent mentor as a supervisor. He spent a lot of time understanding what I was interested in learning and what my career aspirations were. Then he helped devise a plan to make it happen. He suggested books I could read, helped me reflect on mistakes and showed me how to do the same with other people. Once he told me that it was his job to train employees to do what he could do. If one of us eventually took a similar position, or even his if he moved on, he felt successful. He and I would have long conversations where he would challenge me and help me see outside my realm of thought. I knew that he wouldn't give me the answer, but would help me find it.

What I look for when I interview at a company is an opportunity to learn and grow. I want to gain experience and knowledge while also contributing to the company. I look for mentoring qualities in a supervisor, because I know that such a person will help me achieve my goals in development. I'm much more eager to do work for a mentor than a boss. I don't look at things as being mundane when a mentor asks me to do them and I become as interested in his success as he is in mine.

I know many Millennials feel this way. We want to learn and grow in a position. We want our colleagues to be successful and have very little tolerance of those who are only looking out for themselves – especially those who are supposed to be guiding us. So please, be a mentor, not a boss.