Today’s guest post is written by Molli Megasko. I love 60 Minutes just as much as my grandma does, but unlike my grandma I’m only 28. So you can imagine my distress when they aired a segment on the Millennial generation shown in an unfavorable light.
This is my generation they are talking about and I am upset about their generalization.
According to them, we are selfish, sheltered, spoiled, coddled by our parents, and ill-prepared for a demanding workplace. The episode goes on to some extreme examples of moms calling bosses to talk about their kids’ annual review and organizations changing their management style to fit the “emotional needs” of people my age.
Yes, I had a rocky first year of work out of school. It was not filled with my most proud professional moments. But I’ve spoken with many Baby Boomers who have told me they to have felt unprepared for their first jobs. So why the harsh perceptions?
I’ve held steady jobs way before I could even drive. I’ve been promoted with every job I’ve ever held. I was even promoted while holding a four-month summer position at Panera on college break. So is it just a few bad eggs or are we really that “entitled?”
I’ve been pretty pissed off about this recently and finally felt empowered when I saw this quote posted on the Newera Social Marketing Facebook page;
I’m part of that generation known as Millennials, and even if we don’t know whether social security will be around when we retire, or if we’ll be able to retire, or if we’ll even have jobs to consider retiring [from], we know this: We are hustlers.
– Taken from a Good Culture post titled What Generation Overshare Can Learn from Biggie.
I realize it’s not enough to just be pissed off. I also can’t change the paradigms of the generations before me. What I can do is hustle and help my fellow Millennials.
To do this, I’ve joined Kristine Simpson and the Young PR Pros team to help prepare new graduates entering the workforce. The weekly podcasts include interviews, tips, and advice to help entry-level communicators get a successful start to their career. We talk not only about what to expect, but also what employers expect of them.
One step at a time. Here’s to being proud of the Millennial title that was given to me.