Explain how your Gen-Y employees fit into the bigger picture of the organization. How are we helping the organization grow? Let us know, because we’re intrinsically curious about how we fit.

Thanks Olga! Looking forward to seeing you at tonight’s #SXGenY Happy Hour!

Connect with Olga Garcia:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/olgalg

Be yourself. It’s okay. Gen-Y workers want their managers to have a personality. It makes it easier for you to connect with us, and for us to connect with you.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Tyler!

Connect With Tyler Durbin:
Blog: http://www.genyjourney.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/tylerdurbin

This is a guest post written by Melissa Breau. She is an emerging freelancer and is chronicling her career journey on her blog. Connect with Melissa on Twitter: @MelissaBreau

Often Gen-Y is looked down upon for being the “now” generation; for our desire to skip the whole ladder-climbing-thing; for our love of informality and our desire to be recognized for our achievements.

In truth, the assets to be had in working with gen-y are much greater than the detriments. Here are three steps managers can follow to encourage gen-y employees and leverage them for their full potential.

1) For starters, let us be passionate about what we are doing. We want to believe in the company we work for and in its work. If we feel passionately about “our project” we will work overtime, miss sleep, skip eating – we will work on tight deadlines and still turn out high quality work. We understand how to research topics online through both traditional and untraditional methods; we will pull out all the stops for something we believe in and are allowed to be passionate about.

2) Explain why, not just what. Our passion drives us to want to take the next step on a project. If you allow us to believe in our work and our company, we will constantly be on the look out for new opportunities. However, unless you explain your rationale and decision making processes, we will be unable to filter these things so that we can bring the most appropriate proposals to your attention. Take the time to discuss what the company needs, and we will search for a solution. We like finding answers. If you give us the information to evaluate opportunities, we will proactively work to improve the company.

3) Ask us for our opinions. As several video-posters have mentioned, we want to collaborate. Acknowledge that we have valuable opinions, not by constantly praising our achievements, but by considering our ideas. We understand that you know more about the way things have worked than we do. We want to understand everything that you know. But we also want to teach you everything we know – about leveraging new tools, about finding untraditional opportunities, and about promoting the company and brand socially.
Managers who follow these three steps will see their gen-y employees become top producers. They will win those employees loyalties and that will directly impact the company’s bottom line in unexpected but positive ways.

Connect With Melissa Breau:
Blog: www.jargonwriter.wordpress.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MelissaBreau

Meghan talks about three things that managers can do to tell us where we stand:

1. Feedback: It’s VERY important!
2. Talking to us about our goals
3. Let us know if we’re high performers

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Meghan! We’ll see you at SXSW!

Connect with Meghan Skiff:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/meghanskiff

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