SX Gen Y

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/

It’s an honor to be speaking on behalf of Gen-Y employees at SXSW 2010. In the past couple years I’ve witnessed so many amazing young professionals get online and become part of the movement to give Gen-Y employees an authentic voice. Elysa, Nisha, Sydney, Ben and I are committed to giving SXSW attendees an diverse look at who Generation Y is and what they want, but we need your help.

We’re asking our fellow Gen-Y bloggers to submit 2-minute videos that answer the question:

How can managers connect with their young employees?

Leave a URL to your video in the comments section below and we will include it on this blog and as part of our presentation at SXSW.

Thanks to everyone who contributes. We’re pumped to include you in our panel!

So in 17 days, I’ll be hopping on a flight to Austin for SXSW. In 21 days, I’ll be speaking on a panel with four of my fellow Gen-Y bloggers/pros/friends/future colleagues. I’m so freaking excited I can’t even stand it.

I’m excited because, HELLO, this is an awesome opportunity. I think we’re going to have an incredible discussion about why Gen-Y wants to work “with” you, not “for” you. I anticipate a lot of our Brazen buddies and other community members will be there. I also hope to see many of my mentors, some of which I met at the conference last year. I’m excited because just a year ago, I dreamed of someday speaking at SXSW, and now that “someday” is 23 days away. Safe to say that happened a little bit faster than I had planned.

I’m excited because there are a TON of people there that I’m super-stoked to finally meet offline. I’ve been talking to Jenny Blake for over a year now and we finally get to connect face to face. That’s going to be AMAZING! There are a bunch of students from USF that are coming, and I can’t wait to see them again and catch up on their lives in Tampa and see how their coursework is coming.

I’m excited because I want you guys to tell us what you want to hear. I know a handful of you will be at the panel – and we’ll obviously have video to share afterwards. So what do you want to hear? What parts of the Gen-Y reputation/stereotype/etc would you like to have discussed? Is there any part of “with” vs. “for” that you agree with? Disagree with?

This is a huge opportunity for five of us to have a voice. If you were on the panel – what would you say?

From Sydney: Unfiltered.

::pulling out my hair::

There are eleventy-million bloggers out there these days branding themselves as “Gen-Y” and really using that for all it’s worth. And that’s great – really. I get it. I feel like the Gen-Y community as a whole is walking a very fine line that divides us between totally awesome advice-givers and shameless self-promoters that leave an icky taste in your mouth.

What side of the line are you on?

There is a fantastic group of bloggers who offer a great wealth of knowledge through the lessons they are learning in their own lives that they share with us. Some of them are hilarious, some make you want to cry, and some just make you scream “YES! YOU GET IT! YOU ARE READING MY MIND!” The topics are wide and vast – from relocating to another country and coming back, to NSFW hilarity, plain and simple brilliant writing skills, or rock-solid career advice.

There are also eleventy million definitions of Gen-Y. If there is one thing we’re good at, it’s defining our generation.

My definition, how I see myself as a Gen-Y blogger/tweeter/person in general:

Eager to learn from the best and the brightest, insanely pumped up about life in general, prefers to work “with” people vs. “for” people (it’s a state of mind, not saying I don’t work “for” people. We all work “for” someone, technically), not afraid to ask questions, not afraid to share a point-of-view (because hey, even if I’m wrong, at least I’ll learn something as opposed to saying “I don’t know”) and hoping to share the little nuggets of wisdom that I learn along the way via this blog.

Besides the obvious definitions that state the age range of our generation, when you hear “Gen-Y” what do you think about? What words come to mind?

From Sydney: Unfiltered.

Today I received my confirmation email from Hugh (head of SXSW Interactive) that I will in fact be speaking at SXSW. Thanks to that email (and a great tip from Jim Storer, who I interviewed last year at SXSW), I present to you my SXSWi (Interactive) tips for rookies. This is going to probably turn into a series as I try to dig around in my brain for things I wish I knew before I got to Austin, so stay tuned.

1. Network your face off. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, SXSWi is like a playground full of all the cool kids. And by cool kids I mean all of the geeks that are now cool because geek is the new black. I met a boat load of awesome people last year – and you can too. With the amount of free liquor/beer that flows around at night in Austin, you have absolutely no excuse not to go up and talk to your social media/tech/blogging/career idol. If it’s a total fail, you can always blame it on being overserved at the Mashable party or claim to forget it all together.

2. Bring a power bar. You want to make friends at SXSW, yes? Bring a power bar. There are never enough outlets and EVERYONE is running out of juice, be it on their phones or their notebooks – so bringing a power bar is bound to make you at least 3 new friends, depending on how many can plug in and how many devices they’re juicing up.

3. Drink lots of water. Seriously. There is a lot to do at SXSW. Panels of all shapes and sizes and topics, and just as many parties to match. Staying hydrated is essential – and not just so your liver doesn’t hate you, but also so you don’t get sick. With thousands of people in the conference center, you’re bound to pick up germs. Staying hydrated will increase your chances of returning home without a cold tagging along for the ride.

4. Get crackin on the “People I HAVE TO MEET while I’m in Austin because God only knows when they’ll all be in one place again” list. Check out the Panelist & Attendees part of the SXSW program book. This is where I found out who was who and if it was important that I meet them. If you know you want to work with INSERT COMPANY HERE, check to see if anyone is at SXSW representing that company. This part can start NOW – as people continue to register, hop on Twitter and ask around. See who’s going to be there. Arrange ahead of time to have coffee/drinks/etc. That’s how I met one of my mentors – I coordinated ahead of time.

5. If you’re a student, do what I did, and ask EVERYONE you can “what is your one tip for someone about to graduate in INSERT YOUR PROGRAM HERE?” I did a quick video interview series with Aaron andJim while on site and their advice gave me a new perspective and a whole lotta drive after I returned home from Austin. Ask as many questions as you can – genuinely. When you’re in college, you have this awesome advantage of being a sponge (because that’s what you’re supposed to do in college, absorb everything) and you can meet a lot of people if you use that to your advantage.

6. Hang out in the Blogger Lounge (even if you don’t blog). I met some of the coolest people when I was in the blogger lounge. Plus there is a good vibe in there, everyone furiously writing recaps of their days, highlighting the best parties, how crappy the cell reception was (none of us could make calls or text), and summarizing great (or awful) panels. It’s a cool place to meet new people, and catch up with people that you may know from the blogosphere but haven’t met in person yet. And it’s where I won my flip cam. So I might be partial to the lounge.

7. Bring business cards. If you are unemployed, make some anyway that have your Twitter handle/blog/etc on them. This is one thing I didn’t have last year and I was furiously emailing people as soon as I met them so they wouldn’t forget who I was. SXSW is networking overload – be sure to keep track of business cards! SIDEBAR: I wonder how the Bump application will change this aspect of networking at SXSW. A lot of people at the conference will have iPhones – I’m thinking this may cut down on the exchange of business cards. BRILLIANT!

8. If you’re in a panel that doesn’t have a hashtag assigned to it, assign one. This was a big deal last year as some panels thought ahead to create a hashtag, others hadn’t really thought that part through. So if you’re a panelist – think of something catchy and short so you can see what people are saying about your panel. If you’re participating in the panel, not as a speaker, pipe up if there isn’t one assigned. Some of the best conversations in panels I went to last year were happening online while the panel was going. It was fun to watch the online conversation unfold as the conversation happened IRL in the conference rooms. And it’s super helpful in the event that you want to go to two panels that are occurring at the same time – you can still follow the conversation and get a gist for what is going on.

As I think of more tips I’ll write more posts, and if you have SXSW tips for the rookies out there, feel free to add those below!

What is one thing you wish you knew before you went to SXSW for the first time?

We’re already getting great response to our panel just based on the submission!

• Sounds like a wonderful idea. A panel with some great Gen Y voices that will answer all the important questions Best of luck guys! – Megan Ogulnick
• This is exactly the kind of stuff I’m looking forward to when I make my maiden voyage south, and southwest, to Austin. Good luck! – Danny Cox
• Best wishes to you all, sounds like a great panel! – Ed Cabellon
• Elysa is a confident and clear speaker with excellent insight. I would go just for her. I’m sure the panel will be eye-opening. – Neil Lemons
• Looks like a good group, and of course, always one of my favorite topics! – Tiffany Monhollon
• This would be awesome! A meeting of the gen-y minds, I think some great things would come out of this. Count me in! – Brian Robertson
• Looking forward to seeing the panel. Good luck guys! – Monica O’Brien
• I recognize a few of the panelists as personalities from the Brazen Careerist site, which bodes well for them as qualified spokespeople for Gen Y.
  Being on the cusp of age between Gen X and Gen Y, I have spent a great deal of time helping each side to understand the other, and I have fought many battles myself when placed in the position of having direct reports and superiors from different generations. I have actually presented some videos of Penelope Trunk to help build an understanding of these cultural gaps in the workplace.
  If you need some perspectives of someone who has been in the trenches with Gen-Xers in the workplace, I will happily throw my hat in the ring. – Mike Diliberto
• Not usually big on talk/commentary on “Gen Y” (being one myself) but this sounds very realistic and down to earth and potentially a great discussion. – Kelly Rusk

So where did we come up with this crazy topic, of “with” vs. “for”? Well, allow us to elaborate.

Sydney’s version:

It wasn’t until I went to SXSW that I realized the power one word can hold. I was talking to Ben Smithee of Spych Research (Ben, I’m totally loving then new website btw) when I said “Ooh, there’s a guy here from a company I’d like to work for!”

Ben said, “you mean with?”

Puzzled, I just had a blank look on my face.

“You mean, you want to work with them, not for them.”

Ben then enlightened me on the power of with vs. for. From that moment on, in any interview situation, in any random networking connection, in any follow-up email, I would say “and I look forward to working with you soon”. It makes sense, in conversation, to say with. But when talking about companies that could potentially hire you, it’s easy to say “ooh, I’d love to work for them!”

With vs. For is also a mindset. Just imagine how different the dynamics of a workplace can be if you’re working “with” people or working “for” people. Working with, you’re learning, engaging, you’re expressing your imaginative ideas at brainstorms and listening to those of others, you’re adding your value to a team. Working for, you’re likely running errands, being passed off tasks that your superior is “above” or are timid in expressing your ideas, because, after all, you are working for ______, not yourself.

Scratch that. I think it’s all about the tonality of the atmosphere. You can run errands with a smile if the atmosphere is supportive of that. Maybe that’s something we should all think about. Whether you’re the errand-assigner or the errand-runner, think about how it’s asked. If you say “hey, I know you’re swamped, but could you run down to _____ and pick up ____ for (insert project that you’re working on here)?” the runner recognizes that this errand is an important part of the team’s overall goal and will see the importance of the task at hand. If you shoot over an email that is condescending, then there is this tension, the “part of a team” mentality is gone, and now it feels like you’re working for that person, not with.

I think, too, that a lot of the with vs. for mindset is part of the industry you’re in. Working with makes sense to me because I’m more of a creative (though that side of my talents hasn’t really been tapped into yet, which is another thought in itself) than a number-cruncher or statistic-creator. So I think in a creative environment, it only makes sense to say “with”.

Fortunately, in my little world that I’m living in now, it’s a whole-lotta working “with”, not “for”. So that’s great.

What do you think about with vs. for? Does it matter? Say it out loud. Does one sound better than the other? Does it depend on your environment? Are there industries that are more “with” or more “for”? What are they?

The panel submission that started it all!

Why Gen Y Wants to Work “With” You, Not “For” You

Description:

Put aside the negative stereotypes of entitled, rebellious 20-somethings and take a minute to dig deeper and see what makes us tick. At almost 80 million strong, the Gen Y workforce is shaping the cubicle nation and the way brands are forced to engage consumers. It’s more than a desire to wear t-shirts and jeans to work; it’s a new mindset. As we digital natives migrate into a workplace full of Boomers and Gen Xers, worlds collide. Truly learn the concept of “with” vs. “for” straight from the minds of 5 diverse and successful Gen Yers!

Questions Answered:

1. What is the concept of With vs. For?
2. What is the Gen Y mindset in regard to the workplace?
3. What is the concept of With vs. For?
4. Who does Gen Y want to work with?
5. What attracts Gen Y to entrepreneurship?
6. How does Gen Y use Social Media?
7. What types of online communities are Gen Y’ers attracted to?
8. Does Gen Y really feel “entitled” ?
9. What can Gen X and Boomers learn from Gen Y other than technology?
10. What should you be aware of going forward with regard to Gen Y?