enx magazine

“What’s wrong with all these interviewees?” Moans the office manager, “All they want to know is what’s in it for them? These people act like they are coming to work so I can provide them with new skills to improve their resume, so they can get a better job in the future. They are more interested in how much vacation time they will get than our bonus program for overachieving goals. They want to know exactly where they will sit, what type of music we play and if the lunch room has windows.”

“Don’t they understand they are applying to W-O-R-K? This is not a summer camp or college dorm. As an employer, I am looking for what an interviewee can bring to our company. The younger generation has an entirely different outlook on life. They make no pretense of masking their needs before any job offer is ever made.”

Welcome to Generation X, Y, Echo IGen and NetGen. If they are our future, I must truly be living in the past. Toto, this does look like Kansas. Beam me up Scotty. The Tribe has spoken. Times they are a changing.

Some place between the past and the future is now. So I guess all of us must make some adjustments for the cultural ineptitudes of clashing generations. Should a worker of today be expected to know their multiplication tables? Is it important to know that 8 X 8 = 64 by using your brain? Or is it acceptable to know how to pull up your calculator on your computer screen and tap in 8 X 8?

What does all this mean to the baby boomer that is in charge of interviewing, hiring and training new employees? How have the hiring and work ethic standards changed when dealing with potential workers that were born in a different generation? Who should be expected to move out of their comfort zone?

How does a 50-something manager relate to people who would rather instant message than talk on the phone? People who want to meet ‘their group.’ People who have over 100 friends on their My Space or Facebook account. People who text faster with two thumbs than I can key stroke with all ten fingers.

Times they are a changing . . . or should I say they have already changed for 500 million people who have grown up under the direct influence of the Internet, Game Boy, PlayStation, GPS navigation, flat screen high definition TV, iPods and of course instant messaging.

These new generations have a group-think mentality. They have been raised to collaborate at home, play as team members through 12th grade and are forced to be part of work groups in college. It is now hard to go solo in the workplace. Most are more comfortable staying within the group than creating value by thinking out of the box. Small businesses often find it difficult to hire an individual that will not have a team to back them up.

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