What Gen Y Means to Occupy Movement and Presidential ElectionFebruary 05th, 2012Hi All! I recently came across a great blog post by Carol Phillips, a colleague of mine who is also a Millennial (aka: Gen Y) Expert, however she focuses on them as consumers, whereas I tend to focus on them more as employees. And Carol is also the President of BrandAmplitude, LLC and runs the Millennial Marketing blog. The blog post she wrote, and that I’d like to share with you, is entitled: What the Occupy Movement Means to the Millennial Vote in 2012. Here is an excerpt from Carol’s blog post: In the recession-dominated four years since the last Presidential election, Gen Y has gone from being optimistic and ‘hopeful’ to discouraged and angry. The shift seemed to have happened quite suddenly, triggered by the realization that trillions of stimulus dollars, gigantic industry takeovers and costly bank bailouts were insufficient to create jobs and give young adults a toehold in the economy. Why ‘sudden’? Even as little as a year ago, I would never have predicted anything like the Occupy Wall Street movement. In fact, when Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert launched their “Rally to Restore Sanity/Fear” in Washington DC last October, I wondered whether it would resonate with a generation notable for its lack of protest and desire to work within the system to create change:
When you’re hurting, inequity is an easy concept to grasp — just ask any four year old. In 2011, evidence of unfairness was easy to find. The concept that lit the spark was growing lopsidedness in wealth distribution. The target of resentment was easy to find, as well – Wall Street. The way money is made by corporate fat cats and Wall Street bankers became the focus of Millennial discontent, not those who set the rules in Washington. This is good for Obama, and bad for Republicans who are more associated with the 1% than the 99%. So, what does Carol think it will take to win the Millennial vote in 2012? Click here to read her entire blog post and see what she has to say! Bye for now, Lisa 40 Percent of the Fortune 500 Won’t Exist in 10 Years Due to Gen YJanuary 13th, 2012Hi All! Okay…so for over 5 years companies have been hiring me to conduct presentations about how to manage, recruit and retain Millennials (aka: Generation Y). And, as an expert, they also hire me to conduct training workshops for Millennial employees that cover leadership, business etiquette, generations at work, communication and personal branding for career success. BUT, according to an article I came across yesterday, it looks like I might see an uptick of even more Fortune 500 companies contacting me. Why? Well, according to the article entitled, “Gen Y Traits in the Workplace Unveiled” by Kristin Burnham, she shares: Millennial Branding together with Identified.com, studied 4 million Gen Y Facebook profiles to obtain better insight into how members of this generation operate professionally-a topic of increasing importance as they are projected to make up 75 percent of the workforce by 2025. According to the study, only 7 percent of Gen Y reports working for a Fortune 500 company-a statistic in line with another report that predicts that 40 percent of the Fortune 500 will no longer exist 10 years from now. So, where are they going to work? The article states: Instead, Gen Y workers are turning to startups in which the hiring process tends to be much quicker than that of the Fortune 500, and where Dan Schawbel says Gen Yers feel they can make more of an immediate impact. While Gen Yers are turning more to startups for employment, they’re also branching out on their own in what Schawbel calls an “unprecedented entrepreneurial spirit.” “Owner” is the fifth most-popular job title, trumped by “server” (No. 1), “manager” (No. 2), “intern” (No. 3) and “sales associate (No. 4). Retention is also a challenge with Gen Y because according to the report, they only average 2 years at their first job. These are serious statistics and facts that large companies need to be aware of. If 75% of our workforce is going to made up of Millennials by 2025 (that’s only about 10 years away!!) companies need to start preparing NOW for a solid recruitment and retention plan of talent. I’ve been preaching this for a long time and the smart companies are already doing everything they can to retain their younger talent because they know their companies’ future well being NEEDS younger talent now, and they need to groom them for future leadership positions. On average, 1 Boomer is retiring every 8 seconds, so companies are also scrambling to retain their employees who are 55+, too. NOT every Boomer was affected by the economic downturn so we have millions of them who CAN retire comfortably at 60-65 years old but companies need their expertise and knowledge to help the younger employees grow. I’ve written TONS of articles, and have been interviewed by countless media, about these topics because it’s ALL true. But I also find many companies still have their head in the sand and suffer from denial. I have endless research material on the labor shortage the US is facing, and it’s based on the perfect storm of birth rates, Boomers retiring, etc. The numbers don’t lie, people! Sure, because of the current economy it’s still an “employers” market…however I’ve been warning executives in my seminars that it will change soon, and the competition for talent is going to re-ignite and then it will turn into an “employee” market again and employers will be begging for top talent…and employees will be in control of the whole enchilada. EMPLOYERS: Start planning NOW and get ahead of the curve…and if you’re a Fortune 500 company, as many of my clients are, YOU really need to take all of this seriously! Bye for now, Lisa Startling Facts About Boomers and Retirement SavingsDecember 11th, 2011Hi All! Read these scary statistics carrefully. They are fightening: According to this 2010 report, The EBRI Retirement Readiness RatingTM: Retirement Income Preparation and Future Prospects, by Jack VanDerhei and Craig Copeland of EBRI.org: 47.2% of older Boomers (56-62) are at risk of outliving their retirement savings. And 43.7% of younger Boomers (46-55) are at risk of not having enough money for basic monthly expenses when they retire. These sobering statistics have millions of Boomers currently wondering, “What can I do to generate income, full-time or part-time, that is flexible, interesting, fun, possible to start on a tight budget, and do way into my golden years?” I wrote my newest book, “Boomers into Business: How Anyone Over 50 Can Turn What They Know into Dough Before and After Retirement”, to answer those questions. I explain how to take what you know, from your career experience or hobbies, to develop a “topic expert” platform that can lead to consulting others, conducting training seminars online and offline, developing many strategies for on-going passive income, and much more. And it doesn’t matter whether you’ve been an employee your whole career or whether you are currently self-employed. Nor do a person’s education level, career background, or business experience matter. The book was written to take a lot of guesswork out of the process. Basically, most everyone knows something, from their career background, life experiences or from a hobby that other people will pay to learn about. Whether you’ve been an HR professional your whole career, or a construction worker, homemaker, lawyer, Life Coach, housepainter, or a lover of growing roses, my book teaches Boomers how to monetize what they know to create a good income, in a wide variety of ways, as a topic expert. And the book not only teaches how to determine a topic focus and how to create a unique brand platform, but it also outlines the tools needed to launch. Plus, I asked 15 other business experts to provide chapters on PR, marketing, and social media strategies, plus many more business-building and revenue generating ideas. The reviews on Amazon have been great so far, and here are 2 examples of how my new book is helping those who read it: “I’m now 50, a single mom with a teenage son, and I’ve worked at Title Insurance companies for over 20 years. I currently don’t have enough money to retire comfortably in my 60’s and have been trying to figure out what I can do make money on-the-side of my day job,” says Kathy F. in San Jose, CA. “ ‘Boomers into Business’ was a godsend! It opened my mind to possibilities I had never thought of before and I’m now developing ideas for an expert platform and consulting business that will provide me with the additional income I need to be more comfortable now and later in my life.” “This book was so helpful, easy to follow and really fun to read! It’s loaded with So, if you can relate to anything you’ve read in the blog post, check out my book on Amazon. It’s available in both Print and Kindle versions, and for a small investment it could bring you a serious return that can help your retirement picture. And, for any of you Millennials (aka: Gen Y) wondering what to get your Boomer parents for Christmas, my book is a great gift idea! You’ll be responsible for helping your aging parents and this book might help improve their future income situation. Bye for now! Lisa What Are the Most Overrated Jobs College Students Should Be Aware Of?November 13th, 2011Hi All! I came across this interesting article today on Yahoo! Finance and wanted to share it. The information provided is certainly helpful for recent college grads, college students, and Millennials (aka: Gen Y) in the workforce to be aware of as they plan their career paths. Normally, we see tons of articles that are about “the hottest careers“, so I thought a topic about careers that are the most overrated was a fun twist! Here’s an excerpt from the article, 12 Most Overrated Jobs, by Daniel Bukszpan, courtesy of CNBC: When parents look at their young children and imagine what they’ll be when they grow up, many different possibilities come to mind. They dream of little Junior growing up to be a surgeon, or perhaps a commercial airline pilot, or maybe a banker, and they imagine a rewarding future of power, prestige, and high pay. The reality is actually a little different. The job search portal CareerCast.com , created a list of 12 jobs that are traditionally believed to be great occupations, but that actually look a lot better on paper than they might be in reality. Despite the public perception of some of these jobs as impressive and rewarding, some have less-than-stellar salaries and frankly lousy hiring prospects. Others come with so much on-the-job stress that the six-figure income barely seems worth it, particularly when the work involves the safety and well-being of others. Whatever the case, CareerCast.com characterizes all of the following jobs as overrated, but with important caveats: “A job that’s overrated doesn’t mean it fails to serve an important function in our society. In fact, these jobs play an integral role in our workplace,” says the website . “It’s just that the hype surrounding them sometimes makes these jobs sound much better than they really are.” So, are you curious what the 12 most overrated jobs are??? I’m sure you are! Bye for now! Lisa The New Diversity Issue Created by Gen Y at WorkSeptember 20th, 2011As you read this, Millennial (aka Gen Y) Professionals are being actively recruited prior to, and upon, college graduation. Many are already busy navigating the waters of their first (or second) professional job since graduating. And as I write this, well-known companies are hiring me to conduct seminars to educate their HR executives and internal recruiters about attracting and recruiting Millennial Professionals, as well as conduct seminars to educate their Gen X and Boomer employees about managing, motivating and retaining them. So, this isn’t just me saying they are a big deal to the future of our professional workforce; companies all over the U.S. and abroad are starting to see it, too. But before I get into why they are creating a new dimension to diversity, let me give you a snapshot of why this new generation of young professionals has become such a hot commodity in the media and the business world. One key factor is the looming reality of the Boomer Brain Drain that companies across the country are going to feel over the next decade. Here’s one simple statistic, out of many, from the Office of Employment Projections that will quickly put this into perspective: The average large company in the U.S. will lose 30-40% of its workforce due to retirement over the next 5-10 years. Ouch. And we have as many Gen Xers on the planet as there are going to be, so the replacements for this massive Boomer exodus are the Millennial Professionals. That is why M.B.A. students were being offered amazing employment packages a few years ago, and impressive signing bonuses were being offered. And, due to demand for talent, that trend will pick-up again as the economy recovers. Basically, out of head count necessity, recruiting and retaining them has turned into a big, competitive business. Through the research for my books, I also realized many Gen X and Boomer professionals in today’s business world rarely have a clue about this new generation entering their domain. This research also led me to understand that the Millennial Professionals have their fair share of complaints about their older work colleagues, and one of their biggest complaints may surprise you. Aside from companies clamoring to implement, or improve, their rewards and recognition programs, and scrambling to find unique ways to recruit and retain Millennials, they are also dealing with a new dimension to diversity this generation creates. Here is the big complaint I alluded to that may surprise you: Many Millennial employees are claiming to be victims of reverse age discrimination. We all know age discrimination has typically referred to older employees feeling bumped out by younger co-workers. And this is still an on-going issue as reflected in high profile lawsuits that involve older employees suing companies like FedEx and The Tropicana Casino. In both cases, older employees claim they were laid-off so that the companies could replace them with younger employees who they could be paid less. But I recently moderated a panel made-up of 5 Millennial women, between 22-26, and they each came from different companies whose names you’d know. All the women had Master’s degrees and each panelist came from a different ethnic background. When I asked them if they felt they had the same opportunities as their male colleagues, they all quickly said that they felt that gender discrimination was a non-issue (from what they had experienced thus far). And they said that their race was not an issue at work. But they ALL said they face age discrimination on a regular basis and that it was very frustrating. The 100+ audience members (mainly women in leadership positions ranging in age from 30-60) found this to be so interesting. Most Boomer and Gen X women in business have been battling gender discrimination for years. And, on top of that, many Boomer and Gen X women of color have had to also deal with race discrimination in the workplace. So it was a surprise to the audience that these Millennial women felt neither of those things affected them (at this point in their careers). To them, it was all about not getting respect from older employees because of their age. Several of the panelists went on to say that they were thankful they were entering the business world at a time when so much correspondence is done online, and relationships are forged virtually, because it gives them the opportunity to establish their credibility with colleagues before having to meet them in-person. Each of the women did look young and they felt that was a liability. I was quick to say they wouldn’t feel that way when they were older…they’d be praying to look young again! But all joking aside, I understood what they were saying and respected their frustration. On a positive side note in terms of diversity, we have a strong generation of young women coming up and a generation where gender and race lines are becoming blurred. A majority of Millennial women were raised to believe they could do anything boys could do and they were just as important and as smart as boys. This is also the first generation where boys and girls hangout together as platonic “buddies” starting from a young age through college. This is also a generation where over 80% answered “Yes” when asked if they were okay with marrying, dating, or having a life partner outside of their race (2007 California Dreamers Survey conducted by New America Media). After moderating that panel, and speaking to many more Millennials about their experiences with age discrimination, I now really emphasize the importance of respecting them as “people” when I talk to Boomer and Gen X executives in my popular Get A Grip On Gen Y Seminar. I let them know this generation expects to be respected from Day One, regardless of their age or experience, and that a key strategy for retaining them is respecting their ideas and encouraging them to offer opinions. This may seem like common sense to you, but I talk to many Millennials whose bosses disregard their ideas and/or rarely ask their opinion about anything. Unlike some Boomer and Gen X employees who may tolerate this from their bosses, Millennials will quickly quit. It is critical for employers to recognize that aside from race, gender and lifestyle diversity, age diversity is now something to be aware of. Younger employees probably won’t sue you based on age discrimination like older ones might, but they can still wreak havoc on your company’s stability. It’s impossible to grow and groom your next generation of leaders if they don’t stay!
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