Hello! And thank you, Patrick, for asking me to participate on your blog. I'll look forward to many more questions and hopefully providing people with some good advice and/or insights.

This first question is a challenging one! Considering we're in the worst job climate since the Great Depression, I'd have to say optimism isn't at an all time high for members of any generation.

But, obvious remarks aside, Millennials are an extremely optimistic crew. Pepsi launched their Pepsi Optimism Project (POP) in January of 2009, and kicked it off with a survey to determine Millennial optimism. I'm very familiar with the survey and the POP campaign as I was hired by Pepsi to be their media spokesperson for the campaign for several months.

Two key results from their survey were:

1. 77% of Millennials report having a strong sense of optimism about their careers.

2. 4-out-of-5 Millennials reported being hopeful about the future.

Certainly many are now feeling "overwhelmed" by their job seeking efforts, as are most generations, but the Millennials' positive attitudes will be the driving force to getting ahead and getting through all this.

In terms of opportunities, the Millennials have a major factor on their side: The US is in the early stages of a major labor shortage of skilled and educated workers...of around 35 million people! This is a result of Boomer retirements starting, Gen X being a smaller generation, and trends in birth rates. It is reported this labor shortage will last for the next 25-30 years, thus making employers eager to hire young talent to fill the "seats" they'll have empty.

It's hard to see/feel this "shortage" now because of the economy, but things will eventually get better, and hiring Millennials will increase again. I discuss a lot of this in the seminars I conduct, and it's amazing how many people aren't aware of this looming workforce shortage. However, the companies that are, are using this downturn to hire Millennials to build up their workforce, OR they are using this downturn to "plan" their recruiting efforts of Millennial talent when things rebound.

So, if you can look past the next 1-2 years, the job market for Millennials will be outstanding, and the aggressive recruiting of them (that was happening 12-18 months ago!), will happen again.

And this labor force trend will also benefit other generations. The bottom line is that there are simply not enough people to fill the slots that large corporations and small-medium sized businesses will need to grow and remain competitive.

One report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics states: "By 2010, US corporations and small to medium-size businesses (SMB's) will be short 10 million workers". That's the first wave of the 35 million shortage I mentioned above...and 2010 is next year!

Again, none of this feels like a reality now due to the CURRENT job market, but it is the reality. And it's one that "smart" companies are taking very seriously when planning their growth strategies.

I hope this sheds some "positive" light for Millennial job-seekers. The demand for you will rise again because companies need you for their future success..in a BIG way! So, hang in there!

Bye for now,

Lisa

Hi Kachina,

Thank you for your question(s)! The Millennials were born with wires protruding from their bodies and entered the world when computers were the norm. When I was in my 20’s, fax machines were the big things in office environments. I have a 3 year-old son and he already knows how to open his online learning games by himself, skillfully use the mouse, and says things like, “Mama, this is where I have to double click”, or just the other day he said, “Mama, my system just crashed.”

So, whether he decides to become a computer programmer, software developer, or truck driver, he’ll eventually be more tech-savvy than I am. He’ll probably be more tech-savvy than I am by his 5^th birthday.

Based on this personal example, and my leadership coaching of, and research on, Millennials who are in their 20s, here’s what I believe: Regardless of what department they are in (IT, Marketing, HR, etc.), their comfort with technology certainly benefits employers. It enables them to embrace new systems quickly, suggest new software solutions that can run a department, company or process more efficiently, and it has been the tech prowess of many Millennials who have lead the social media initiatives implemented by their companies.

Obviously some Millennials will pursue technology-related careers, and some will not. But their upbringing in a 24/7 tech-driven world will, and is, benefiting employers. In the Bay Area we “assume” everyone in the country is engrossed in technology. But I consult with a lot of companies outside of the Bay Area, and outside of California, that are not technology companies (e.g. an insurance company in Michigan). And if it wasn’t for their Millennials employees, the only technology tools  the company would utilize is their website and a few software applications.

When I explain to them the benefits of having a brand presence on FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, etc. for their recruiting, employee retention, sales, customer support & engagement, and/or Marketing & PR efforts, their (typically, Boomer) eyes glaze over. So I suggest having an internal Millennial taskforce be responsible for making it happen, and they (the older executives) gladly hand it over to them.

Some Millennials (as with any generation) have a deep technical knowledge and pursue careers in that arena, but others simply have an intuitive understanding and comfort level with it. The latter may not be the next wave of young employees who develop software or tech solutions we’ll all use, but their tech-savvy nature will benefit their companies in many other ways. And as I stated before, they already are.

Bye for now!

Lisa

Hi Lora!

This is another big question that I could write about at length (and have!). I conduct 2-hour seminars on this topic and have a chapter all about “Managing Millennials” in my book. Your question is actually a combo of “managing & retaining” Millennials. And even though “management strategies” play a HUGE part in retaining Millennials, I also consult with companies on specific “retention” strategies that are more company-wide initiatives.

One thing I will tell you, and tell everyone, is that many people in management really need to step up their game. Millennials expect a lot of their leaders, and if they don’t have a “bond” with their manager, and respect for that person, they’ll leave. This is very different from the generations before them. Older generations were raised to “tolerate” a rotten boss, and some would for years. But Millennials have been raised being told: “Life is too short! If you don’t like your boss, or don’t feel valued at work, leave!”

And who has been telling them this? Typically their Boomer parents who are emphasizing: “Don’t make the same mistakes we did”.

The result? There is more pressure than ever on managers to be good ones. A company can change their culture to be more “Millennial-friendly” (have videogame systems for employees to use, hold Guitar Hero competitions, allow people to work from home, etc.), but the real “retention success” will typically fall on the shoulders of the day-to-day managers of Millennials.

That said, here’s a short list of management and retention tips. I offer many more in my book and seminars, but these are a good starting point:

Constant Contact: Robert Half International and Yahoo! HotJobs® polled more than 1000 Millennials about what they wanted from an employer, and over 60% of them responded that they wanted to hear from their managers at least once a day. That message is pretty clear: They want to communicate with their managers often, so consider making that happen.

Praise Culture: Millennials need praise. If they are not feeling “valued” they will leave. Many well-known companies are shifting to a “praise culture” to retain them…and it improves retention of their Boomer and Gen X employees, too! Get creative and have fun with this. I know of one company that actually appointed a “celebrations assistant” in their office and her job was to throw confetti on employees (in their cubes or offices) whenever a manager told her their employee had done something exceptional. But if your company won’t create a company-wide initiative, create your own “recognition” plan for your department.

Rapid Advancement: Millennials feel that having to “pay their dues” is just occupying space for no good reason. So if a Millennial employee is truly qualified for a promotion, many companies now offer it versus giving the position to someone that has simply been at the company longer. But what if they’re not qualified to move up the ladder yet and are getting antsy? Give them more responsibility through creative ideas: Have them start the company blog, or set-up a company page on MySpace, or think of ideas about how the company can be on YouTube, or write an on-going column in the company enewsletter. You don’t always have to give them a raise or promotion to keep them happy; being creative with increased responsibility can work great. AGAIN, this requires managers to get creative and step up their game.

Cubicle Shackles: Millennials have a very hard time understanding why they need to be sitting in a cubicle to do their job. With modern technology, they want the flexibility to work anytime, from anywhere, and not have to always sit at their desk to get work done. Many companies are revamping their policies to provide more flexibility, and they’re also using it as a recruiting “perk” to attract Millennials to their workforce. And older generations are enjoying it, too.

Mentor Programs: This is key! Millennials have grown-up with a lot of guidance from their parents, society, and teachers. And they now expect this type of handholding at work. So, heed this advice! If your company, large or small, doesn’t offer a formal (or informal) mentorship program, create one. I have spoken to many Millennials who have left a job due to mentors not being available at work. Think I’m kidding? I spoke to several Millennials recently, who had been heavily recruited, and had quit their jobs due to being promised mentorship and never receiving it…and they were leaving companies with brand names you’d know.

Curb Curt Communication: Many Millennials have been raised “respected” by our society and by their parents. The old saying, “A child should be seen and not heard” was eliminated when they were born.  They have a very hard time working for managers who possess a curt communication style and cranky “edge”, and they will not tolerate being spoken to in a disrespectful manner for very long. AS I mentioned before, Boomers, Gen Jones and Gen Xers have (typically) been able to tolerate bosses like this over the years, but Millennials normally won’t.

I hope that helped!

Lisa Orrell

Speaker & Author

Leadership Coach For Millennials & Gen X

TheOrrellGroup.com