The Millennial Question, by Dan Taylor

Dan Taylor is the National Recruitment Manager for DialogueDirect, Inc. You can read his blog (here). Few people have the experience that Dan has recruiting in the millennial space yet each of you will soon be tasked with this challenge.

Here's what Dan has to say in his article written for JobSearchMarketing.com, entitled, 'The Millennial Question.'...

The Millennial Question, by Dan Taylor There’s a lot of buzz being created recently about the Millennial generation, how they are different, how they’ve been treated, and how we should be dealing with them.  I’d like to toss my hat into the ring here, and give my two cents on the Millennial generation, and what they mean to recruitment. As recruiters we are all acutely aware of the great scare of ’10.  Meaning…the predicted 10M worker shortfall projected by pretty much everyone and their brother.  What I haven’t heard much about is how exactly we’re going to fill these slots.  Enter stage right…the millennials! Whether you’ve heard about them or not, get ready for them, because they’re coming at you, and coming fast.  There are approximately 80 Million millennials, and are defined as the generation born between 1982 and 2002 (+/- 3 years, depending on whom you talk to). As opposed to the Traditionalists (1925-1945), the Baby Boomers (1946-1964), the Gen Xers (1965-1981), the Millenials define themselves quite differently, yet quite the same.  The millennials are sometimes referred to as the echo boomers, as in some ways they do reflect the values of the Baby Boomer generation (their grandparents!).  They have been raised on instant technology, reality shows, and team sports. Generational Values:

Traditionalists: Hard Work Dedication and Sacrifice Respect for rules and authority Honor Duty before pleasure	Baby Boomers: Optimism Personal Gratification Involvement Personal Growth Youth
Gen X: Independence Techno literacy Fun and informality Balance	Millennials: Civic Responsibility Confidence Achievement Oriented Respect for Diversity

While this is all fine and dandy defining a generation, how exactly does that translate to the workplace? The key to understanding this new labor force is to understand where they are coming from.  Have you hugged your child today?  How many of you out there can remember this phrase?  Yes, this is the generation that was hugged everyday.  This is the generation that was scheduled en mass; they have had very little time to form their own opinions.  Dance class, soccer, homework, AP classes, etc..  This translates to a generation that is hungry, almost to the point of obsessive for feedback, aren’t afraid to speak their minds, and place the value of the team very high on their list.  While these are not necessarily bad or harmful characteristics, it does beg the question; with so much importance on team, will the transition to autonomous leaders be the meltdown of the millennial? It is also important to remember that tomorrow’s millennial workforce has been so well versed in technology; it’s almost second hand to them.  I’ve personally watched a millennial text message with one hand, have an open conversation on IM, have an ipod plugged in, all the while playing an RPG on their laptop. They are the generation that grew up with the internet.  As they went through the teething stage the internet wasn’t far behind them, and they continue to grow together.  It is this generations’ taste and preferences that are even helping to shape the future growth of the internet (del.icio.us, digg.com, etc…).  It is important to remember that this generation wants to be challenged.  So challenge them.  Give them the power and the tools to use the technology.  They are already doing it in their free time.  Imagine…harnessing the power of play into a productive workforce.  Now THAT’s productive. While I could go on and on regarding the Millennials, I think they are a truly exciting generation to work with, as they often end up teaching ME something new everyday (did YOU know you can custom create emoticons from animated .gif files?).  And if you think these guys are a tricky one to figure out now; exit stage left millennials….stage right…..welcome the MyPod generation……..

Comments

[woody]

This is a very interesting article with a tremendous amount of insight. So how do you capture the next generation? What kind of employer branding is necessary to tap into this audience? What tools will Dan incorporate to reach these folks?