I am seeing several disturbing trends in the Millennial Generation workforce. If the Millennials don’t get their heads on straight in this economy, they’ll be living with mommy and daddy for a very long time. Here are a few words of sage advice, which will probably just get Millennials angry. But they should be listened to.
1. It takes more than a few applications to get a job. Recent statistics (supplied courtesy of Entry Level Rebel) show 55% of recent college grads apply to less than five jobs before giving up and moving in with mom and dad (or staying there). My highly experienced clients can apply for 50 jobs or more before landing. Persistence counts. So does patience.
2. Your social life has to take a back seat. One thing I’ve seen with many Millennials is a constant party, with drinking most nights, regardless of which night of the week it might be. Partying is for the times you have a day off the next day and can recover. If you are looking for a job or have a job, all of your brain cells need to be present with you. This is not going to happen after a night of partying.
3. There are jobs out there. They may not be great jobs. But, even if a job pays minimum wage, it is an addition to your resume. Given the unfair and extreme prejudice against the unemployed, it is better to be working than not. Even if the job is flipping burgers, your resume shows, unlike many of your generation, you had the work ethic to do something. Someone flipping burgers will get a decent job long before someone who is sitting at mommy and daddy’s playing video games or “chilling.”
4. When you get a job, do it. I could name, right off the top of my head, two dozen or more cases of Millennial incompetence due to simply not paying attention. Pay attention when you’re at work! Be there and give more than you’re asked. There are ten or more people waiting to take that “lousy” job. Keep yours.
5. Stop arguing. A Millennial was waiting on us a little while ago in an upper-range restaurant. He ignored us. I finally flagged him down, and indicated that he really wasn’t paying much attention to us. He argued and said he was, where the proper response would have been, “I’m sorry, sir. I’ll make sure you get taken care of from now on.” This got him a complaint to the manager and $2 tip on a $60 lunch tab. But I’ve seen a tendency in Millennials to defend everything they do. Rather than a customer service attitude, there seems to be an attitude of “I can do no wrong.” This is not an isolated incident. I’ve seen this take place many times when a Millennial is performing a service for a customer. If criticized, don’t argue or justify yourself. Apologize at once and fix the problem! (And never argue with the boss. You’ll lose.)
6. Stop negotiating! Another Millennial trait I often see is constant negotiation about everything. Listen — in the work world you are not in control. You haven’t paid your dues or earned the right to have any control yet. Our lousy schools and coddling parents have given our younger workers the idea that everything can be negotiated into a better deal. Nope. With today’s economy, most things are “take it or leave it, buddy.” You might well negotiate yourself right out of a job.
7. Listen to your customer. We had an order-taker at Arby’s who just couldn’t get it out of her head, though we repeated it several times, that she had taken our order wrong. After repeating it three times, she simply walked away and we had to repeat our whole order to another (and older) employee. This should not have happened. Listen to what your customer is saying rather than the spooky voices in your head!
I don’t blame the Millennials for being this way. Our school systems and their parents gave these folks an extreme entitlement attitude and few social skills. But if Millennials ever hope to move from their parents’ homes before they’re 50, they will start to change their attitudes about work and life immediately.
Please feel free to invite me on LinkedIn. I accept all invitations from individuals. Also, please join my LinkedIn Group “Getting Employed” for great employment discussions.
John Heckers has over 30 years of successfully helping people with their careers. He has consulted to executives from Fortune 500 companies, five-person companies, and everything in-between.Photo credit: Shutterstock
Bigstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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