There are several millennials in our family, and three of them are just beginning to taste the taste of working life. I study them every day and marvel at how different their early experiences are from mine. Sometimes I think it's because they are different from me. Sometimes I think the world has changed. I don't know what the right answer is-but at least I can see which answers are wrong at a glance.
Last week, I received an email with the theme of "Attracting Millennials" from the Dean of the School of Professional Studies of Columbia University. He has been thinking about why so many brightest young people in their twenties give up their dream jobs, and put forward a three-pronged strategy to help the company keep them. It's like this: promote your interests and invest in human resources through learning incentives.
Last week, I received an email from the dean of the School of Professional Studies of Columbia University, with the theme of "Attracting Millennials". He has been thinking about a question recently: Why do so many talented young people in their twenties quit their glamorous jobs? He came up with a three-pronged strategy to help enterprises keep them. The strategy is as follows: Promote your welfare through learning motivation and invest in human resources (HR).
I stared at these trivial points and wondered if this person had ever met a millennial generation. That night, I asked my focus group at the dinner table if they agreed that the solution to the public awakening was more human resources and training. A lot of ridicule followed.
I look at these dots and wonder if this person has dealt with millennials. That night, I asked the "focus group" sitting around the dining table whether they agreed with the view that the answer to mass disillusionment was more human resources and training. Followed by ridicule.
So, I asked them how companies should keep their graduates. They grabbed their devices and talked about their acquaintance on social networks-has anyone got a good job and now they are considering quitting, please contact?
Then I asked, what should enterprises do to retain graduates? They quickly grabbed their mobile phones and asked their expanding connections on social networks-who got a decent graduate job but is now considering quitting?
Next is an interesting evening, listening to the experiences of people who have no illusions about Unilever, Goldman Sachs, Lloyd's, a magic circle law firm, a large public relations company, Sainsbury's and several well-known management consulting companies.
The following is an interesting evening, listening to these young people talk about their disillusionment with Unilever, Goldman Sachs, Lloyd's, Magic Circle Law Firm, large public relations company, Sainsbury's and two management consulting companies.
A graduate told me that she had just spent four months making a set of 250 slides, but no one would read them. Another said that juniors in her law firm were expected to go out and buy sandwiches for seniors as if they were gay at Eton College. An English major at Oxford University said that her boss insisted on checking every email she wrote before it was sent, which made her doubt her ability to write sentences.
A graduate told me that she just spent four months making a 250-page PPT slide, and no one would read it at all. Another graduate said that junior lawyers in her law firm had to run errands to buy sandwiches for senior lawyers, just like the bullied children at Eton College. A young woman who graduated from Oxford University with a first-class honorary degree said that her boss insisted on checking every email she wrote before sending it, which made her question her ability to write sentences.
Almost everyone complains that the task given to them is stupid.
Almost everyone complains about the stupid task they received.
Later, I remembered that they mentioned working hours. It's not fun to work all night and then be scolded for not shaving.
Then, they remembered another problem: working hours. It's not funny to be scolded for working all night without shaving.
What's going on here? Are they spoiled whiners? Or are these jobs really unbearable? I think there is one thing about both: they are facing the biggest gap between expectations and reality in the history of the professional world-it is not their fault.
What the hell happened? Are they spoiled whiners? Or are these jobs really boring? I think there are two reasons: the gap between their expectations and reality is unprecedented in the workplace world-it's not their fault.
Most of these graduates are repeatedly told by future employers that they are extraordinary and their work is amazing. Bain's website is typical: "We need smart and innovative thinkers who are eager for incredible things. The learning curve is steep. But this job is exciting. And your career potential is unlimited. "
Most graduates hear prospective employers emphasize over and over again that they are outstanding and how great their work is. The content on Bain's website is a typical example: "We need thinkers who are smart, innovative and eager to try incredible things. The learning curve is steep. But this job is exciting. You have unlimited career potential. "
When I was their age, no one ever told me that I was great or that the future was infinite, so I was not particularly disappointed when I found out that I was not and was not.
When I was their age, no one told me that I was excellent, and no one told me that I had an infinite future, so I was not particularly disappointed when I found that I was not so excellent and my future was not so bright.
In contrast, millennials are being set by their employers as inevitable depravity. At first, everything went well-the promise of flying miles and the universal significance of all this. But a few months later, they felt bored and found that they were not facing exciting work. They are filling out spreadsheets with no obvious purpose.
In contrast, millennials have been pushed to a doomed platform by their employers from the very beginning. At first, everything seemed wonderful-the opportunity to travel and win flying miles. In short, this is a fascinating job. But a few months later, they felt bored and found that they were not faced with exciting jobs, but filled out meaningless spreadsheets day after day.
Junior jobs are always boring, but I suspect they are worse than before. In my time, there were no slides, no spreadsheets, no public relations, no human resources, and no layers of non-work to do. Even in my earliest job, when I was given boring tasks, I realized that someone had to do it. These graduates feel like part of the machine: because everyone knows that they may not stay, no one will make special efforts to get to know them.
Junior jobs are always boring, but I suspect that the situation today is worse than in the past. In my time, there were no PPT, no spreadsheets, no public relations, no HR, and no layers of non-work things to do. Even in the early days when I received boring tasks, I knew that someone had to do the work. Nowadays, these graduates feel like parts of a machine: because everyone knows that they probably won't stay, no one makes any special efforts to get to know them.
What is more dangerous is the gap between the nonsense of the enterprise and the enterprise itself.
However, what is more dangerous is the gap between corporate nonsense and corporate reality.
A young graduate who works in a management consulting company told me that every day his superiors repeatedly instilled in him that the company always acted in the best interests of its customers. But every week he sees the same people trying to sell more expensive services that customers don't need.
A young graduate working in a management consulting company told me that his boss would instill in him the idea that the company would always put the interests of customers first. But every week he sees these people trying to sell expensive extra services that customers don't need.
When a coin falls like this, there are only two possible outcomes. Either you resign-this millennial has just deposited his bonus in the bank and is going to do so-or you silence your doubts and get sucked into the machine.
There are only two possible consequences when young people wake up. Either you resign-this young man just got a bonus and is ready to resign-or you put away your doubts and are willing to put yourself into the running machine.
This is what employers should pay attention to. They should try to distract the new graduates from their biggest dissatisfaction. The answer is not training or more human resources, but better management. They must stop telling them that they have got the best job in the world. Instead, they should give them something interesting to do, or at least explain why it is really important to fill out a specific spreadsheet.
This is what employers should pay attention to. They should try to attract these young people when the fresh graduates are most frustrated. The answer is not training and human resources, but better daily management. They must stop telling young people that they have got the best job in the world. Instead, they should give them some interesting tasks, or at least explain the significance of filling out these spreadsheets.