Lynn Gray discusses how the current economy is impacting job opportunities for Gen Y, and shares specific strategies that can help Gen Y succeed.

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With several years of experience at Lehman Brothers and an extensive recruiting background, Lynn Gray offers advice for the Generation Y workforce. She explains how the current economy is impacting job opportunities. Recruiting is down 22% for entry level jobs and boomers are not retiring, thus limiting opportunities for Gen Y. However, she is optimistic because she believes Gen Y is resilient, practical, knowledgeable, and can be more creative in their job searching. She provides an example of how Lehman Brothers had to transfer 20 new hires from the real estate section that they were hired for, to a more general section. 19 of the 20 agreed to their offer and are using the transfer to build different skill sets until the real estate sector revives. Also, she discusses how Gen Y is the most diverse workforce generation the US has seen yet. They can communicate around the world easily and have traveled a great deal, and are therefore more open to international opportunities. Towards the end, she explains that this tight economy is a great opportunity for junior employees to step up and relieve some of that stress taken on by senior management. Her advice for Gen Y is to try different things, take on different tasks, expand their knowledge base and be ready to take the next step when the economy booms again.

Lynn Zuckerman Gray is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Campus Scout, LLC, which provides strategic campus-recruiting services for corporations. For more than eleven years, Lynn was with Lehman Brothers in New York, serving from 2002-2008 as Global Chief Administrative Officer of Lehman Brothers’ Global Real Estate Group. She also was an active member of Lehman Brothers’ Women’s Network serving on its Steering Committee and as the Network’s Cornell Recruiting Team Captain. Lynn is a graduate of Tufts University and the Cornell Law School and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Graduate Program in Real Estate of Cornell University where she chairs the Career Advisory Subcommittee and the MBA Program in Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin.

lynnzgray@gmail.com

lynnzgray@gocampusscout.com

www.gocampusscout.com

 

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Lara Ewing discusses the value of looking at situations from another person’s perspective. She talks about the invisible skills people do not realize that they have.

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Lara Ewing, author of The Art of Connecting, talks about the invisible skills that successful people don’t even realize they have. More specifically, these skills make you able to be incredibly adaptable, to learn from experience, and to accurately and rapidly shift your point of view inside your head. Stepping into someone’s shoes when there is a difference in opinion and taking a mental view of that person’s situation gives enormous information on how to communicate with that person and effectively resolve the differences. This ability happens instantly and unconsciously, and can be developed by practicing. The key is to try to understand where others are coming from, why they have a certain view, and why it opposes your own. Lara suggests that differences in opinions can result from a difference in backgrounds, experiences, or personalities. Also, she suggests that you try to see the situation from a third party’s point of view by detaching yourself and taking the emotion out of the situation. This skill could help a member of Generation Y communicate better with a Boomer. It can also be used to filter feedback and take the important pieces of a message and use them, rather than be just be hurt. Lara’s final message is that being able to adopt different perspectives is the most important skill in developing your career.

Anne Loehr discusses the challenges and opportunities that Generation Y faces in the workplace. She helps Gen Y and Boomers understand how the other side sees their actions, and what they can do to bridge cultural gaps.

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The top behaviors of Generation Y that annoy Boomers are casual dress, constant texting, and the need for feedback. Members of Gen Y should be sure to understand the expectations in these areas before interacting with Boomers. Gen Y and Boomers alike love to multitask, but the technology that Gen Y uses is very visible, making it seem like they aren’t paying attention. Gen Y needs to recognize that there is still a need for face-to-face contact. There are also differences in attitudes; Boomers think Gen Y feels entitled and Gen Y thinks Boomers prevent them from getting things done quickly. To bridge the gap, Anne suggests that Generation Y should learn the culture of the company and the attitude boss so they can know what style of language and key words to use. Generation Y and Boomers should try to understand each other through talking and discussing what each group needs.