Help! In Need Of A New Name For Blogging

I'm working with a sharp group of Communication majors from the University of New Hampshire right now. Honestly, their enthusiasm each week for the assignments I've given them as part of the unpaid internship they're participating in has been fantastic. So, imagine my surprise at a recent team meeting where I had asked them to research, compile and come prepared to discuss a list of popular blogs read by their peers. The conversation went like this:

Me: "Okay, so what are the top blogs college students are reading?"

Them: Silence.

Me: "What's up? Did you have trouble with the exercise?"

Them: "No. We just couldn't find any blogs that they read."

Me: "What? Why?"

Them: "Well, everyone we asked said they don't read blogs because they are just silly rantings by people about their personal lives."

Me: "Are you kidding? But we're planning to create a blog as part of this internship project."

Them: "We know, we needed to talk to you about that J.T. – Can we call it something else? Because all our friends said they won't read a blog and it's kind of embarrassing to say that's what we are working on."

I was shell-shocked. You see, I only stumbled across the power of reading and writing for blogs in the last year. The truth is, it was actually Ryan and Ryan from EmployeeEvolution.com who got me hooked. Thus, while I can see how blogging isn't fully embraced by the older generations yet (Gen X and above), I never considered that the younger generations might actually be AVOIDING them.

The session with my team turned into an hour-long tutorial on the upsides of reading and contributing to blogs. By the time we were done I was convinced they had 'seen the light' and would be ready move forward, but instead, they said something to this effect:

"Okay J.T., we see how the blog we're creating is going to benefit students and recent grads, but that makes us even more certain we'll have to call it something else. Trust us."

And I do trust them, so we decided to all separately brainstorm alternative terms for blogging about career development. The problem is, I'm coming up short. I reached out to friends and family, but nobody's given me squat to work with. As I mentioned, these interns are really talented, so you know they are going to show up with some great terms when they get back from Spring Break in Acapulco next week. (They promised they'd work on this while they were there – I should believe them, right?)

So, can you all help me? I'd be grateful for some ideas so I don't go to our next meeting without at least one decent term.

Anyone?

Managers: What's Your Definition of 'Grown Up?'

I was chatting with Ryan Healy this week about his post on moving back home. Given my line of work, I know the number of college grads who are returning to the parental nest is high. I even heard once that more than 70 percent of the graduating class of one of our most prestigious and expensive American universities said in a survey they planned to move home too.

There's actually a term people are using to describe college grads who move back to take advantage of nice living quarters, laundry service, good food and the various other perks living at home provides: KIPPERS. (Which stands for 'Kids in Parents Pockets Eating Retirement Savings.') A more commonly known term is 'Boomerang Kids.' Both are meant to be humorous, but we all know, humor is usually rooted in truth – or at least in perception. Which leads to one of the major concerns I hear from corporate managers today: When will Gen-Y grow up?

Yes, clients I work with all seem very focused on getting Gen-Y to realize they need to be responsible for themselves. They are frustrated by the fact that when they graduated, they were forced to, as one client told me, "live in a roach infested apartment, eating Ramen noodles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner." They see Gen-Y heading back to the comforts of home and start to think this will be the generation who 'fails to launch' into adulthood. Moreover, they view Gen-Y's job hopping as a product of how they are able to, 'take this job and shove it,' because no one is making them pay the bills and survive on their own.

In short, managers don't think Gen Yers are acting grown up, and they don't want to invest in them because they consider them unreliable. As I told Ryan, I actually have personal experience with this mentality. Let me share…

In the very first years of my own career, I went in and proposed myself for a new position that was being created in the start-up firm I was working for at the time. I had been with the company a little over a year. I told my boss, an ex-marine and former Fortune 500 manager, I was perfect for the job because I was young, single, and had no spouse, kids, or mortgage to worry about. I stressed that this made me totally available to give the job 200 percent. His response: "That's the exact reason why I don't want to hire you."

I almost fell off my chair. He proceeded to explain, "I want to invest in someone who will stay put. I don't want you to get the job up and running and then just take off for a better opportunity. So, I want someone with a big mortgage, a spouse, AND kids. Someone with personal obligations that will keep them loyal and productive."

Without saying it directly, I could tell my boss did not see me as a 'grown up.' Which also meant, I wasn't going to get any sort of position of significance until I met his definition. What do you think I did? I'll tell you shortly, but let me offer this first:

There have been endless discussions on turnover and the lack of loyalty amongst Gen-Y being attributed to their child-like acts of entitlement on-the-job. Corporate America, it's time to take a closer look at Gen-Y's current career reality and what's driving those actions.

Today, the average college student has $17,000 in debt upon graduation. In the last 20 years, the cost of inflation has severely outpaced the increase in starting salaries. And let's not forget that our society expects everyone to have a degree, which means a diploma doesn't give you a "leg up," just a ticket to the career starting line.

Finally, we must recognize that universities don't prepare every student for the workforce. Colleges focus primarily on teaching students how to learn, not how to find the right career and be a good worker. For many, their first job after college is also their first experience in the professional world. Therefore, every college grad today is bound to mistakes and adjustments to their careers over the first 5-10 years, which will hopefully teach them how to identify and achieve the personal and professional satisfaction they seek.

I suggest companies recognize that Gen-Y needs your help gaining their independence, not your criticism. Offer professional development opportunities in the forms of customized career and financial coaching to your young professionals. Give them the chance to learn how they can achieve their goals with your help.

Yes, they may still leave you, but I assure you, they will remember you fondly and recommend their peers to you. And any HR manager will tell you, WOMP (Word of Mouth Potential) is the best recruiting and retention tool a company's got. As the saying goes, "if you set them free, and it's meant to be, they will come back to you."

Young professionals often need to jump jobs in order to leverage what they have learned, not to mention, be able to have additional experiences that will make them a more valuable asset (potentially for you!) in the future. I know many, many people who have left firms only to return to them several years later, prepared and excited to do great things for the company who has welcomed them back. So invest in Gen-Y employees, regardless of whether or not you think they'll stay, and you'll see a return one way or another.

I'll end by telling you that one week after meeting with my boss, he brought me in his office and said, "Against my better judgment, I'm giving you the job." I spent the next nine months building, learning, and growing in the position. And then, I took that experience and landed myself a new job someplace else.

Yes, I left him, just as he predicted, for the reasons he outlined. He wouldn't speak to me for my final two weeks. I've never seen him since and I wasn't comfortable ever using him as a reference. I just couldn't be sure he would talk objectively about my skills and abilities. On that last day, I made a promise to myself that I would never do that to a young professional in my employ when they gave their notice – and I never have. In fact, at my subsequent jobs, I actually became known as the manager to reach out to if you wanted to leave because I would help individuals find a new job on the condition they would help me find their replacement.

Eventually, I left corporate America and became a career coach and HR/workplace consultant. I honestly think my experience with my former manager is one of the reasons I do what I do today. So, I hope somewhere he is out there, reading this post, and knows that I am actually grateful for the entire experience – all of it. And, I hope all managers reading this will think seriously about the long-term benefits of investing in Gen-Y as well.

Helicopter Managing Fails With Some Gen-Y & Corporate America's Pushing Back

Recruiting Gen-Y has been a hot, I mean a HOT, subject these days. (If you are an HR manager and you haven't read up on the best way to recruit college grads, then I suggest you get the new book, "Recruit or Die" which summarizes the approaches that have worked best to date.)

But, even with all this insight on the tactics necessary for capturing young talent, the word on the street from some managers is in spite of doing what they were told, Gen-Y employees are still leaving after only 6 – 18 months of employment. As you can imagine, that's pretty frustrating to some Boomers who, against their instincts, embraced the 'give the kids what they want' methodology, only to see them still walk out the door. I expect to see dialog soon on the idea that giving Gen-Y what they want is 'helicopter managing' – and like helicopter parenting, it has its drawbacks. Just like the parenting version, helicopter managing is paved with well-intentions, but when your best efforts to impress, motivate and engage a workforce still ends in them leaving you, the result is often a wounded ego and some bitter feelings towards a generation that ultimately doesn't really know what it wants – yet. And, as some job-hopping Gen-Y have learned recently, the reaction to their decision to move on may include some 'tough love' commentary from their bosses. I recently heard of a Boomer owner of a mortgage company who decided to hire a pool college grads in an effort to create a young, hip culture. 20 months later, and with 95 percent turnover, the figure moved to 100 percent, as his top 23-year-old producer, who was making a high, five-figure income, gave her notice. His response, "Go ahead and leave like the rest of your !@#$% generation. I don't need you!"

Now, do I support tough love and a desire to see Gen-Y humbled? Of course not. In fact, I share with managers why this approach only serves to hurt both sides. The employee jumps jobs without learning what it takes to stay happy in the role, and has ill-will to boot. Meanwhile, the boss and his company end up with a tarnished reputation amongst Gen-Y workers (bad news travels fast), an empty seat, and the turnover costs associated with it. For companies hiring Gen-Y talent, the answer to keeping them lies in addressing the four elements vital to creating a corporate culture that supports retention of human capital. Yet, as you can imagine, some of those companies who have given it their best shot to woo Gen-Y but are still failing to keep them, are starting to think the answer is to refrain from hiring young professionals altogether until they 'grow up' and have life changes that will cause them to appreciate their jobs a bit more.

Gen-Y readers, are you thinking, "So what? They'll be back, there's a talent shortage coming." Don't be so sure. There are several alternative talent sources savvy companies are starting to utilize in order to diminish their reliance on you. They are:

1) Stay-at-Home Moms - These women are educated, resourceful and looking for opportunities that will let them keep their skills current and their brains engaged while their little ones grow up. I spoke to one executive, who recently put together the company's first job-sharing program say, "The moms in this program are the best employees we've got. They can get 40 hours worth of work done in 20, and they aren't constantly looking for praise or advancement."

2) Semi-retired Baby Boomers & Matures - 'Stepping down' is a lot different than 'stepping out' of the workforce. The older generations don't want to retire completely; they just want to find careers that let them leave 'work' at the job. Consulting, part-time opportunities, and even jobs as individual contributors as opposed to management roles are appealing to this generation, who knows work helps them feel productive in life.

3) Foreign-born Workers – For many young professionals born in other countries, working in America is still a dream come true. Some companies are finding that foreigners who now live in the US have more positive outlooks and are more appreciative of their employers. It's no surprise that they tend to excel on-the-job and are more loyal as well. I know a brilliant Slovakian-born college grad who wrote her Bachelor's degree thesis on a famous American bank. She applied and started out as a teller with them. Two promotions later, and in less than two years, she was her branch's top-producer as a personal banker. And, when she wanted to reduce her hours so she could help her husband in his business, they accommodated her schedule.

I don't want to see the friction between younger and older workforces continue. It's time we bridge the gap and learn to work with each other. Boomers must recognize the need to partner with young talent. At the same time, here are two proven approaches Gen-Ys can take to find and stay at a job for say, 2-3 years, without going crazy.

A) Seek professional help. No, not a psychologist, but a career coach, mentor, etc., someone who has the experience and know-how to help you identify and pursue your unique vision of career success. You need to assess your strengths and get some guidance from an unbiased advisor. Your family or friends should not be your sole advice sources – they think everything you do is great and can't be objective about what you should do to move forward. Not to mention, many parents today (sorry Boomer Moms & Dads) are providing their offspring with outdated career advice or unfairly pressuring their children to meet their own expectations of professional success. It's time to seek the help of someone who can effectively help you leverage your strengths and create a two-year career plan that will let you feel focused and fulfilled.

B) Identify how to motivate yourself to stay past the honeymoon stage of your next job. What I love most about working with Gen-Y is the fact that they want to have satisfying careers that support a successful life. In short, they plan to make work-life balance a reality. However, while this generation believes that 'what you do' shouldn't define you as a person, I can tell you 'how you do it' does. If you want to find professional satisfaction for the duration of your life, identify ways to stay satisfied on-the-job so you can build your professional reputation as an employee with patience. Give your employer the confidence you are going to stick with them for a bit and they just might give you what you want. Mentors don't grow on trees and your managers are not your parents. They aren't required to support your hopes and dreams, but, they can be enticed to do so if you show them loyalty works both ways.

In closing, let me stress that I'm not saying a Gen-Y who is truly miserable shouldn't move on. What I am suggesting is to complete some personal assessment and to seek some fresh perspective before making your next move. There are 70 million Gen-Y. That's a lot of competition, and here's what we're seeing to date: Gen-Ys who succeed at connecting with Boomers and exemplify greater patience on-the-job are the ones who are having the torch passed to them sooner.

Where's A Career Fairy When You Need One?

When Baby Boomers say to me, "Those kids today, they can be anything they want to be and yet none of them seem committed to being a professional," I secretly cringe, bite my tongue, and then choose my words carefully. I actually think the opportunity to be anything we want to be is, as the saying goes: a blessing and a curse. Yes, the younger generations have more opportunities than ever before, but, with that comes the added pressure to choose wisely, as well as a sense of obligation to explore lots of options. Picking a career today is like going to a super-sized grocery store and standing at the front with your hands tied behind your back, then being told to select just one food without reading the label, fully knowing you will be expected to eat it five days a week for at least the next year of your life. To me, it's no wonder why 'career,' no matter how you spell it, is an ugly, four-letter word to recent college grads.

The bad news is there's no such thing as a 'Career Fairy.' As much as we want to believe that eventually the perfect job will come along and lead us to the ideal career path – it doesn't. Yet, I also know there is a way to start narrow down the unlimited number of career choices, and it begins by identifying our Unique Gifts.

What's a Unique Gift? It is a skill a person possesses that is innate within them. It's something we are so adept at doing that others seek us out and ask for our help. Everyone has a Unique Gift. In fact, I find most of the people have several of them. The key is to identify your own Unique Gifts and then choose a career path that will allow you to leverage them on a daily basis. Sounds easy, right? There's a catch…

Most people have a very difficult time identifying their Unique Gifts. Why? Because they come so naturally to us, they don't feel special. We hear the term "unique" and assume that we must be good at something that is rare or different. Not true. The reality is that our Unique Gifts will be possessed by others as well. Yet, when we use them, we are so good at them, we naturally excel. We draw others in to us. We get respect. We get results.

So, how can we identify our Unique Gifts? We can start by answering several questions, soliciting the thoughts of their friends and family so that they can get help seeing what they can't always see in themselves. The questions are as follows:

1) What do friends and family members come to you for advice for most often and why?
2) What three personal accomplishments are you most proud of and why?
3) What are the three things you are most knowledgeable about and why?

The answers to these question will provide some interesting insight into your Unique Gifts. Look for patterns. And from there, start to research careers that would let you leverage your Unique Gifts. There is no simple way to finding a career you love. The best we can do is to continue to assess ourselves and become more aware of our professional strengths. This much I know: a job that lets you do what you do best, is a job that you'll enjoy most in the long run. Just ask Michael Jordan…

J.T. O'Donnell is a career consultant who specializes in helping new professionals find greater satisfaction on-the-job. She provides free career information and resources just for Millennial at http://www.jtodonnell.com/spark/spark_land.html.

Why 'Managing Up' Is Worth the Trouble

As a workplace consultant and career coach (and Gen Xer), I was thrilled to see Employee Evolution develop. I fully support the desire to change the American workplace, so I thought I'd share how I've seen 'managing up' get some new professionals heard – and ahead.

There are three rules to managing up. But before we can follow them, we must first embrace one principle: that all working professionals, even new ones, are salespeople. I realize this thought makes most people cringe, but we are all selling ourselves; our services, our ideas, and our visions for the future. Managing up is just another form of selling. I tell clients, "think of your co-workers and managers as customers." That being said, successful selling on-the-job begins with a simple concept: "Ask, don't tell."

We've all experienced a bad salesperson. You know the type, an intense individual who has all the answers and makes it a point to bombard us with every single one so we supposedly have no choice but to buy. It's such a turn off; we say to ourselves, "How dare he act like he knows exactly what I need when he doesn't even know the first thing about me." Worst still, when we balk, he acts frustrated, like we're completely inept for not immediately wanting to buy what he's selling. Sound familiar?

Unfortunately, I've seen and worked with young professionals who have unintentionally done this. They hit the work scene, complete a surface assessment, and determine what they think is wrong and should be fixed. They believe in teamwork, and so in a sincere effort to help, they start to make suggestions on how to improve things. I will also tell you that many times, their ideas are great, and with a little collaboration, could be very useful. However, great ideas can often take time to be accepted, just like a sale can take time to close. But, some young professionals find their patience running short – becoming immediately frustrated and angry when their ideas aren't acknowledged or implemented. I've even seen some get so upset that they make sweeping generalizations about their job, manager, company, and even their industry, subsequently sending them looking for a whole new career. While in some cases the decision to move on made sense, I've seen plenty of instances where the new employee didn't do their homework and left prematurely, missing out on a great opportunity to grow. From what I've seen, if we want to get older generations (a.k.a. upper management) to actually listen, make changes, incorporate our ideas, and utilize us in a more challenging capacity in the process, we need to prove to them we truly understand and respect their perspective.

At this point, you might be saying, "Why do I have to do all this work just to get my ideas heard? They should be more understanding. They are the ones who aren't being good team players." I know how frustrating it is. I also don't agree with the older generation's attitude towards us younger ones, but instead of getting mad, I really believe it's wiser to be resourceful. Here's a story to consider…

I recently worked with an executive whose management team ranged in ages of 24 to 67. I was impressed by how well they worked together and respected one another's ideas. I specifically asked him how the younger managers had gotten positions of power at their age. His answer: "I don't care about age. I simply hire managers who know how to manage me." When I asked what he meant, he replied: "I look for managers who understand how to ask me things, people who know how to communicate and build consensus. In short, I look for people who are smart enough to know how to educate me, ultimately broadening my perspective and helping me see the value of the solutions they propose." Now, you might think this CEO is a swell guy, full of compassion and understanding. Wrong. He is one of the most direct, intense executives I've ever met. He is no 'people person' and I'm sure he has scared many an employee away with his professional nature. But, the people that work for him have figured out what it takes to connect with him, and they are reaping the rewards.

In summary, I really believe managing up doesn't mean "sucking up" or even "looking up" to those in charge, it means "teaming up" with them in a way they can relate to. And that means, in some cases, being the bigger person. For those of you who are still saying, "They are the older ones, they need to do the changing," I say, you could be in for a long, lonely career progression. Managing up does more than help to overcome challenges with the older generations in the workplace, it shows the capacity to be an effective team player. Up, down, or across, managing in the workplace is every employee's job. So why not practice managing up now in preparation for leading tomorrow?

If you want to learn the three rules to managing up, click here to begin.