Peer to Peer Magazine

THE Y FACTOR: A GENERATION UNVEILED TRUTH BE TOLD While some criticisms are exaggerated, Gen Y lives up to many of them. This is the generation that produced Paris Hilton and Snooki, gets their breaking news from Twitter, and believes jeans and flip flops can be worn for any occasion. And, while it's silly to stereotype an entire generation, a "Generation Y and Facebook" study conducted by Millennial Branding shows "owner" is the fifth most popular job title for Gen Y users' Facebook profiles. And those who enter the workforce spend an average of just over two years at their first job, changing employers multiple times in their careers. We want a career that allows us to have a good work-life balance, has excellent health and retirement benefits, offers on-thejob training, values our input, is a fun environment, and pays a salary that is equal to the work we do and value we bring. That's not too much to ask, is it? DIVERSITY PROVIDES VALUE I'm a millennial and have plenty of experience in what my older peers would call job-hopping. When I lived in Los Angeles, I worked as a valet parker, a Starbucks barista, a Fuddruckers cashier and a juice bar cashier. I worked at a gym, as an extra on movie sets and TV shows, and almost sold Herbalife — all within two years. Then I moved to New York, where I worked at a gym for six months and as a receptionist at a real estate development company for a year. Finally, I settled down to my first long-term job at a law firm. I stayed in that position for four years, and then I was transferred to the firm's Dallas office. A year later, I moved to Washington, D.C. and worked for a different firm for a year, followed by another year at a new firm. Now I am settled happily at a third firm. I realize how that looks. But for those who know me, they know my time was well-spent in each position. Each job taught me something new about my trade, about life and about myself. Each company was eager to see me grow — not just within their ranks, but in life's ranks — and they sought out every opportunity to help me move forward. My diverse resume is part of what makes me valuable. I'm not alone. ADVICE FOR GEN Y FROM BOOMERS Of course, Gen Y doesn't have all the answers, so I asked my dad what advice he would give someone my age. I've heeded most of it, and it's always made me feel more confident and in a better position to move forward. This is what he had to say: • Everything is negotiable. The key here is the word "no" is an unacceptable answer. If you hear no, ask why. In many cases, you'll find there is room to negotiate. • Try to understand your older superiors. Previous generations may have experienced the first color TV and seen computers shrink from being room-sized, so their perspective regarding technology may be different from yours. An idea to implement the latest technology into a successful business that still holds the "that's the way we've always done it" mindset might be shunned by an older boss. However, understanding this creates an opportunity for you to speak their language; he or she understands cost savings and return on investment, whether that means purchasing hardware or software, or hiring a bright new employee. • Your network is key. Not the network techies think of, but the network of people. The more people you know, the more resources you'll have to solve issues and expand on opportunities. And "people you know," refers to the people you actually eat with, talk to on the phone and visit with beyond Facebook and Twitter. Peer to Peer 59

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