SX Gen Y

Today we’re pleased to have Anya Kamenetz, author of DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Education, talk about her thoughts on Gen Y’s changing role in the workforce — and the long term effects of that.

Also, if you’ll be at SXSW, Anya is doing a reading of DIY on Friday at 2:30 – check it out!

Alexandra Levit is the author of some incredible books like They Don’t Teach Corporate in College and New Job, New You. Safe to say, she’s pretty familiar with Gen-Y in the workplace.

Alex brings up some great points:

• Gen-Y wants to be doing meaningful work right away.
• Gen-Y loves their flex time and is interested in achieving work-life balance.
• Gen-Y isn’t really into hierarchy – they don’t want to be quiet because they’re junior – they’re eager to share their ideas.
• Gen-Y is really into social responsibility.

What do you think? Is there anything she touched on that you disagree with?

Connect with Alexandra Levit
Blog: Alexandra Levit’s Water Cooler Wisdom
Twitter: @alevit

Ryan touches on a lot of great points:

• Gen Y wants constant feedback
• Career development opportunities
• A mix of work and play
• Leaders to get in the trenches with them
• And managers to be open to telecommuting and flexible hours.

“Most importantly, I think Gen Y isn’t that much different from other demographics of workers.”

What do you think? Are we similar to other generations?

Connect with Ryan
Blog: Ryan Stephens Marketing
Twitter: @ryanstephens

Emily makes some great points – our managers can shape us to be excellent leaders. She encourages leaders to share their stories, let us learn from your accomplishments and struggles.

What do you think? Can managers help shape us as leaders? What’s the best way to do that?

Connect with Emily
Blog: From the Gen-Y Perspective
Twitter: @emilyjasper

Allison Jones, of Entry Level Living, thinks managers can better connect to their young employees by making a committment to keeping diverse, young, and fresh perspectives in their organizations — and we agree. What do you think?

Jenny Blake works in Career Development at Google and she blogs at Life After College. She’s been on both ends of the spectrum – both as a Gen-Y Employee and as a manager.

Basically, career development is different to everyone. Her tip for Gen-Y: remember, you own your career – nobody is going to do this for you. Her tip for employers: get to know your employees, check in with them and show that you care.

What does career development mean to you? What are you doing to own your career?

Connect with Jenny Blake
Blog: LifeAfterCollege.org
Twitter:  @jenny_blake

What Shane says it true. The world is changing so fast, and so quickly, that we all need to be learning from each other.

Let’s all make a pact to let our guards down. Whether you’re a Gen Y or a seasoned veteran, the workplace would be a much cooler place if we acted as teammates.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Shane!

Connect with Shane Mac:
Blog: http://www.thesquab.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/shanemacsays

A few things that Mike mentions in his video:

• A willingness to work WITH us
• Feeding our desire to learn/grow
• Pushing us to the edge of our abilities
• Generation Y is NOT afraid to fail (our favorite!)

Generation Y is not afraid to be wrong. If you’re afraid to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original. Eradicate the stigma of failure in your organization and you’ll be well on your way to creating a Gen-Y friendly workplace.

Thanks for your contribution Mike! We can’t wait to meet you at SXSW 2010!

Connect with Mike Diliberto:
Blog: http://blog.mikediliberto.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mikediliberto

We love what David is saying here. One of the things that employers need to realize is that they’re not our end all be all. We have BIG plans!

The other thing we like is the idea of taking the relationship beyond the office. An office Happy Hour would be great, but even a cup of coffee goes a long way.

Thanks David, for starting things off on a positive note. Keep those submissions coming!

Connect with David Spinks:
Blog: http://davidspinks.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DavidSpinks
Company: http://www.scribnia.com/