About once a week, I come across an article talking about the generational shift in the workplace. Another new generation of workers is entering the workplace, and the first of the Baby Boomers are retiring. Stuck in the middle is Gen X, the adorably cynical generation of latchkey kids. X’ are today’s middle and front line managers (and most importantly, hiring managers).
From what I can gather, the recruiting world thinks the new generation is a collection of simpering, whiny brats, clinging to Mommy and Daddy, and howling at the slightest criticism. I’ve heard anecdotes about hiring managers refusing to hire a Millennial, Gen Y, or (as my mother affectionately calls them) The Me Generation, because they are too busy or don’t want to take the time to instruct and coddle the newcomers. They’re offended by the high maintenance new employee, and the kids’ inability to take lumps and suck it up.
This riles me, as it’s incredibly discriminatory. Eschewing entire classes of graduates purely because of a perceived cross-generational attribute is stereotyping. In addition to that, a few companies (for example, Office Depot, Enterprise Rent-a-Car and the U.S. Army) have special information for parents whose offspring are applying for jobs with the company. The Army has a website devoted to the subject, while Office Depot and Enterprise mail information about the company to parents of new employees (with employee permission, of course). I can understand the armed forces reaching out to parents to bring in recruits, but public companies? I think these offers for information are fueling the “helicopter parents” hype, and further sensationalism.
I giggle at the phrase “helicopter parents”, a happily bandied about term, of which there has been little actual research. The most I’ve been able to find on the subject have been informal polls. These parents are everywhere at once: baking pies for the PTA bake sale, chaperoning field trips, writing their children’s college entrance essays, calling professors to harass them about their children’s performance, calling their (adult) children’s bosses to get the low-down on performance, and still finding time to hold their own jobs and lives. I’m not saying the phenomenon doesn’t exist, but that there is little reason to fear that your next hire will come with Mom and Dad in tow.
My parents certainly weren’t that overbearing, and if any of my friends had parents so involved, they’d be mortified to admit it. I assume that these children of helicopter parents never learn to set appropriate boundaries, but their chances to do so would have been limited. When your every move is scripted, and your day planned by a person who sees you as an extension of their self-worth, it’s nigh impossible to learn those skills. Does that mean the instruction falls to the next organization they affiliate with? Or should this be taught in colleges? I can see it now: the 8am class of “Standing on Your Own Two Feet, and Other Life Skills” has three students attending, and the other 20 simply have Dad call Professor Mercer to argue a better grade.
I could be the beginning of Gen Y (1981 – 2000), or in the middle of the MTV Generation (1975-1985), or Cold Generation Y (1980 – 1985), or the very tail end of Generation X (1962 – 1982), or an XY cusper. Terminology surrounding generational studies is fluid as mercury. It’s impossible to attach a list of potential attributes to every member a group born over a 20-year span.
So, how does this all fold back to recruiting? It would be a recruiter’s job to flesh out exactly what a hiring manager is looking for; in addition, many hiring managers look to their recruiter for guidance and education. When a recruiter and a hiring manager have a trusted partnership, the hiring manger gets the best possible people for their job, even if they are young, and require different direction than the hiring manager received. One of the strong talents with Novotus is that our recruiters take time to educate the hiring manager. It’s above and beyond a stack of resumes, and into a realm of honest communication, and the sharing of our knowledge base.
The other option is to not hire anyone below age 30 for the next fifteen years, but then you’d be missing out on all the great talent and creativity of youth. American companies thrive on innovation, and ambitious graduates have it in spades.
It’s also a great way to earn a visit from your friendly EEOC auditor.
Tags: Army, Cold Generation Y, Enterprise, Gen Me, Gen X, Gen Y, helicopter parents, hiring Gen Y, Millennials, MTV Generation, novotus, Office Depot, recruiting Gen Me, recruiting Gen X, recruiting Gen Y, relationship building, XY cusper
