Todd Cherches invited me on Hired Guns as a guest blogger.
"Let’s flip the traditional
hierarchy on its head and discuss the increasingly common occurrence of
how (and why) Baby Boomers and Gen Xers need to think, and act, a
little bit differently when it is a Millennial who is in charge.
In the old days, positions in the organizational hierarchy were based
mainly on seniority and experience, but as we all know, it’s a whole
new world out there wherein age and years of experience no longer matter
when it comes to who reports to whom.
Last year, I was quoted in this Forbes article entitled
When A Millennial Is The Boss,
but before Boomers and Gen Xers can even get to the point where you
have a younger boss, you need to make it through the interviewing
process. And you need to realize that a lot has changed since you first
started out.
So with that goal in mind, here are five things that generational expert
Brad Szollose and I agree that Boomers and Gen Xers need to think about when being interviewed by a Millennial:
1. Your years’ experience is not necessarily
something to brag about
It goes without saying that the longer you work, the more knowledge
and experience you accrue. In the past, longevity was a huge advantage.
Age + time + experience = status, salary, and, ultimately, the corner
office. Knowledge was power and knowledge-hording was a common and
effective strategy to protect your career and make yourself
indispensable. Getting ahead was a long journey that required time,
experience, playing the corporate game, building a track record of
success…and patience.
But today, as we know, that paradigm no longer holds up. When a brand
new, game-changing technology comes along (e.g., Twitter), it doesn’t
matter whether you have 25 years of work experience or none, everyone
and everything goes back to zero. In fact, having more experience rather
than less may actually be a disadvantage when it comes to unlearning
old habits and adopting ever-changing new ones.
Before 1984, it was not until you graduated from college and entered
the workforce that you were first introduced to, and got your hands on,
the latest technologies. Baby Boomers and even some Gen Xers remember
that moment when they saw and actually touched a computer for the very
first time. You were in your late 20s or 30-something, right? In fact,
you might even have taken a typing class (yes, a typing class!) at some
point to learn how to use the latest IBM Selectric typewriter.
Millennials – who grew up in a digital world with a keyboard in their
cribs, a microchip in their toys, and a personal computer in their homes
– can barely imagine this.
So, what we’re saying is that Millennials grew up with a very
different mindset, and set of expectations, than did Boomers. The fact
that you have 25-30 years’ of experience is typically not seen by a
Millennial hiring manager as an awesome strength, but as a potential
weakness. While you are telling war stories about the day you made the
difficult transition from DOS to Windows (yes, Todd confesses that he
was forced to make that traumatic change at his job in 1998 while
kicking and screaming), the Millennial is thinking,
“I wonder if this
guy even knows what The Cloud is?” And while you think you are
impressing your Millennial interviewer with your 5-page resume in
8-point font, he or she is wondering why you don’t have a LinkedIn
profile or a Twitter account.
In short, being up on the latest technologies and being able to speak
the new language of business is now the minimum, entry-level
requirement for you to get into the game. It’s about quality of relevant
experience, not quantity of years spent working. So rather than
emphasizing your length of experience, Boomers and Gen Xers would be
better off demonstrating your up-to-date capabilities, your willingness
to adapt, and your ability to produce results in today’s fast-paced,
ever-changing business environment. Your key competitive advantage might
be the wisdom you bring to the table, but keep in mind the saying that “
Wisdom is where knowledge and experience meet.”
2. Your loyalty to a previous company
can actually backfire on you
A close friend of mine was at the same company for almost a quarter
of a century; then he was laid off on the ubiquitous Friday afternoon at
3:00. This wasn’t sudden; he had warning signs for years that his time
was coming to an end. Yet he didn’t bother to prepare for the
inevitable. Every couple of months his department shrank one person at a
time, while his own workload increased. Eventually he was the entire
department.
While commendable, the first thing the company-assigned headhunter
inquired about while reviewing his resume was, “Why were you at the
company – and in that role – for so long? Weren’t you confident in your
ability to move onward and upward?” When he responded about loyalty to
his employer, the headhunter shook her head and burst out laughing.
While you were proving your dedication and loyalty for the past 25
years by staying put, the Millennial interviewer is wondering why you
weren’t more ambitious or willing to take some risks. Or deeper still,
he or she may be more concerned about whether or not you have the
flexibility to adapt to a new, fast-paced work environment. As Darwin
famously said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives,
nor the most intelligent, but the one that is most adaptable to change.”
So how adaptable to change are you?
No longer perceived negatively as job-hopping, having four different
positions at four different companies within a decade is actually
considered a good thing in this day and age. It means you are ambitious,
adventurous, unwilling to settle for the status quo, and believe in
your potential to take risks and to grow. So while loyalty is an
admirable quality, don’t let it backfire on you by creating a perception
of complacency.
If you have been in the same company or in the same role for a while,
you probably want to try to turn that perceived negative into a
positive by reframing your background in a way that the interviewer
might appreciate and admire. You stayed because you were challenged
every day and worked directly on some of the most dynamic projects of
your career…so you actually developed and advanced while within that
role. You loved working with your boss and being a core part of the
team.
You had many chances to leave, and chose to stay, but NOW you are
ready and excited to take this next step in your career journey. The key
thing is that you don’t want to be seen as a dinosaur, which you are
not.
3. Brush up on your technology
and social media savvy
If you think that “email” is the latest and greatest communication
technology ever invented (and it was, in its time), you may be surprised
(even shocked) by what else is going on out there. Just for one
example, this recent, thought-provoking article from INC. explores and
explains
“Why Email Will Be Obsolete By 2020.”
Whether that is true or not, it is definitely a possibility worth
pondering so as to avoid being caught completely off guard if/when it
does happen.
Think social media is a fad? That Facebook is just for posting family
photos, and that Twitter is just for keeping up with the Kardashians?
Well, think again. Businesses are using social media in ways that many
never envisioned. And is there an app that could come along and forever
alter your industry and how you do what you do? Think Uber and Airbnb.
Do you feel that the business world is becoming too social and too
casual for your comfort level? Do you think that addressing your CEO by
his/her first name rather than Mr. ___ is a sign of disrespect, or that
friending your boss is inappropriate? Do you object to the fact that
“friending” is even a word? Well, Millennials don’t have an issue with
any of these things. So you probably shouldn’t either.
When a Millennial manager in one of Todd’s recent leadership
workshops commented that he “felt weird interviewing someone who could
have been my mother,” that really reinforced once again how the natural
order of things has been flipped on its head. So when being interviewed
by someone in their 20s or 30s, hard as it may be, we Boomers need to
leave our egos at the door, and get rid of some of our outdated
preconceptions of “the boss as parent figure.” We need to consider, and
communicate with, Millennials as equals, and to know enough about the
job, the company, the industry, and the new world of business to speak
their language.
If you don’t already, make it a point to understand the business
applications of LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Eliminate any doubt
and put their Millennial mind at ease by demonstrating that you know
what a hashtag is and what the @ sign means. And if you don’t already,
then go ahead and look it up. We’ll wait.
One more note: Millennials hate inefficiency and ineffectiveness, and
have no patience for bureaucracy or outmoded technologies. If you
remember this and work on staying a step ahead of the curve, you will be
able to eliminate any doubt and show that you fit in.
4. Become an Influencer!
When was the last time you saw an amazing, industry-specific article
that was spot on? Chances are you found it on Linkedin or Twitter. Did
you pass it on to a prospect or a colleague, expecting nothing in
return, except good will? Well guess what? THAT is just one way to use
social media for business. And chances are, you find these consistent
gems all the time from the same five people in your network. So why
can’t YOU be the leader in your own group?
Todd and I are constantly supporting each other’s work by passing the
latest articles on to each other from Forbes, Fast Company, The New
York Times, etc. I have set up a Google alert that specifically looks
for articles with key words in the title like: “Millennial,” “Companies
in Trouble,” “Holocracy,” “Workforce Culture,” etc.
So start re-posting articles you like. Write a few yourself on
LinkedIn, and tweet them out on Twitter. Start blogging about your
industry, and don’t hesitate to jump into discussions on LinkedIn
groups. Express your opinions, share resources. Provide solutions that
are innovative or counter-intuitive. Seek to help others, with no
expectation of return, and you may just find that what goes around comes
around.
THAT is how you become a thought leader, an “influencer,” and start
being seen as an “SME” (“Subject Matter Expert”) in your field. Know
that when you leave the interview (or, perhaps even before you get
there), count on the interviewer googling you to see what comes up. What
do you want them to find? Blogging, posting, and re-posting articles
you find relevant will allow you to control your digital footprint and
will impress anyone who is interviewing you – especially a Millennial.
After the interview, sending the interviewer a thank you email with a
link to a blog post you wrote is a great way to boost your credibility,
demonstrate your knowledge, skills, and value, and reinforce the notion
that you are up on things and the right person for the job.
5. Dress for success…whatever that means
Many years ago when this whole generational divide issue was new, I
presented in front of a group of financial services professionals:
financial planners, insurance agents, underwriters, etc., and I
purposely didn’t wear a tie. Oh I had on an amazing Hugo Boss suit, with
a silk handkerchief and a Calvin Klein shirt with cuff links…you know,
the works. Twenty minutes into my presentation I looked over at the
owner and knew that something was seriously wrong.
So I confronted him:
“Sal, what is the matter?” He exploded,
“You didn’t wear a tie!!!” “I
did that on purpose,” I said. He physically slumped down in his chair.
“You did that on purpose?” He was clearly confused.
Many Baby Boomers and even many Gen Xers, wouldn’t even think of
going on a job interview without a suit and tie. And yet, to many
Millennials (depending, of course, on the culture of the industry and
company), wearing this traditional business uniform – even if it’s a
$2,000 Brooks Brother’s suit – might end up backfiring on you,
eliminating you from contention. Why? One is the perception that you
might (literally) be too “buttoned-up,” old-fashioned, and out of touch,
and another concern is your ability to read signals and adapt to a
culture where being comfortable and casual is more important than
dressing like a politician.
The reality is – Boomers and Gen Xers — whether you accept it or not,
the world has changed. That doesn’t mean you wear flip-flops, shorts,
and your 1978 Ramones concert t-shirt to an interview, but what it does
mean is this: Millennials are the generation raised to believe you are
to be judged on your work and knowledge, NOT on what you wear. They
don’t have the formality and restrictive rules in their heads that we
grew up with.
So while some companies and industries (e.g., banking, law firms)
might still expect traditional business attire (especially for an
interview), other, more cutting-edge companies and industries have less
formal expectations wherein wearing jeans, a button-down shirt (and,
perhaps a blazer) might be considered perfectly acceptable. And it’s
fine walking in carrying a $50 nylon backpack rather than a $500 leather
briefcase. Yes, it may feel to you like it’s too casual, but as we
discussed in our last post, that’s the world Millennials grew up in…and
the way they like it and want it. To Millennials, it’s not about putting
on a business suit and playing the role of a businessperson; it’s about
bringing your true self to work, being authentic, building
relationships, and making a difference. And you don’t need to wear a tie
in order to do that.
So dress sharp. Dress well. And wear something that fits YOU, and
makes you stand out in a dynamic, personalized, businesslike way. I
always wear a silk handkerchief in my breast pocket, no matter if I have
on a suit or a sport coat with jeans and cowboy boots. Make a statement
that says you are hip and cool. But be authentic and don’t try too
hard. That yellow Wall Street power tie you got in 1986 will actually
make you look less, rather than more, powerful in the eye of the
Millennial who is more interested in what comes out of your mouth than
what you have on.
Dale Carnegie wrote that people judge you by four things: What you
say; How you say it; How you look; and How you act. Unlike a lot of
other, more external, factors, these four things are all within your
control. So if you remember who your audience is, and what you are
trying to achieve (i.e., getting hired) you can – while still staying
true and authentic to yourself – make the modifications you need to
succeed in this brave new world of work.
This was part three of our four-part series on generational issues in
the workplace. Our next and final post in this series will focus on the
often-overlooked group known as “Generation X.” While most of the
conversations going on out there tend to focus on Baby Boomers and
Millennials, Gen Xers are often thinking, “Hey…what about us!”…leading
to the question: Is Generation X the “Jan Brady” of the generations?
For more on this hot topic, check out Brad’s
“Liquid Leadership” blog for numerous articles on how to bridge the generational divide."
____________________________________________________________________
Todd Cherches | Bio
____________________________________________________________________
Todd Cherches is the co-founder and CEO of
BigBlueGumball,
an NYC-based management and leadership consulting, training,
and
executive coaching firm.
With their motto
“We make training
entertaining” as their foundation, Todd and his brother Steve are on a
mission to make the world a better place by
ridding the planet of bad
bosses — and painful PowerPoint — through their cutting-edge, visual
thinking-based approach. Follow
@toddcherches.
____________________________________________________________________
THANK YOU Todd for having me....
Brad Szollose
Global Management Consultant
Cross Generational Leadership Development & Workforce Performance Strategies
Executive Coach
Brad Szollose (pronounced zolis), is a globally recognized Management Consultant and the foremost authority on Millennials and Cross-Generational Leadership Development
Strategies.
TEDX Speaker, Web pioneer and the author of the award-winning, bestseller
Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia, Brad is a former C-level executive of a publicly traded company that he
cofounded that went from entrepreneurial start-up to IPO in three
years; the first Dot Com Agency to go public on NASDAQ. His
company K2 Design, experienced 425% hyper-growth, due in part to a
unique management style that won his company the
Arthur Andersen NY Enterprise Award for Best Practices in Fostering Innovation.
Brad's programs have transformed a new generation of business leaders, helping them maximize their corporate culture,
expectations, productivity, and sales growth in The Information Age.
Pick Up Brad's new book...
Journeys to Success: The Millennial Edition.
#1 Bestseller on Amazon in Hot New Releases!!!
“
