Is Gen Y too needy?

There’s no doubt that Gen Y is driven by affirmation. It isn’t enough that in school we get comments and grades on all of our papers, but teachers had to find extra ways to make us stand out. When I was in third grade my class did a monthly recognition award – and everyone got an award – not just the superstars. I think one year I got an award for ‘Best Question Asker’ – not exactly reward worthy.

So what does Gen Y do when the affirmation stops? When you get into a career in the midst of a recession with a tough manager who doesn’t fawn and beam at every project you do as if it were a Pulitzer Prize winning novel? When you don’t get a paper back that says ‘A’ on the top with positive comments and constructive criticism outlining the margin, encouraging you to work even harder. When, no matter how hard you think you’re working, because of this economy, there’s just no sign of a promotion anywhere out there.

This isn’t my first post about this subject. I think the reason I’m re-visiting this topic is because I’m approaching my one-year anniversary in my current position – I’ve always been an overachiever, and in my head, one year is the standard amount of time one should work a position before receiving some sort of promotion (so naturally I thought it would take me far less time!). I don’t want to blame it on the recession, but these days who doesn’t blame everything on the recession?

So what is the typical amount of time one works a first job before they are promoted? Do you think the economy has affected that time frame? Do you Gen Y-ers think lack of affirmation affects your motivation or caliber of work? Please share your feedback!

Professional vs Personable

In all of the actions we take in life, we’re representing who we are – from a status update on Twitter to the way you dress and speak, we’re constantly being judged. I was recently networking with some PR PRos over drinks where the question came up: “Who do you think is the most different outside of work?”

It should be pretty easy to keep a professional demeanor up during the workday, but these days social media and the friend/co-worker overlap is making it a little harder to distinguish the two. I know some people who have even gone so far as to create two online identities: one for work and one for friends. Others are more transparent, keeping it clear that their online identity has both personal and professional content.

It’s an ongoing ethical HR nightmare: should recruiters look at your Facebook, MySpace, etc. to make pre-hire judgments/ use as a background check?

In my experience, I felt like my blog was supposed to be more professional while I could just be myself on Facebook. Until I realized I don’t have dual personalities: I have one. Am I going to create a professional alias for myself online so people can’t see the real me? Probably not. Am I going to blog about my personal relationships for the world to see? Probably not. Not to disregard anyone who does – there really is no right or wrong answer.

I guess to me it’s all about balance: don’t hide who you are from the world but don’t post embarrassing photos of yourself online either (I’ll be the first to admit I’m guilty of both). The same goes for at work: one of the first things my boss critiqued me on was maintaining a professional appearance in my email messages. I mean, it’s not like I was writing anything inappropriate, it’s just that my boss is from an older generation and is big on separating your work relationships from your personal ones. In my opinion, the world is changing and it’s OK to be personable with your clients – your emails don’t need to be written without personality (which is kind of how I feel like some of mine ended up when edited by the ‘professional’). Just don’t get too personal.

Promotions in a time of layoffs?

In school, you’re always moving forward. Every year you complete another grade level, and every year you are progressing. And that’s just the way it works, for the most part. One year = one step forward.

In the professional world, it’s a little different. Determining factors for whether or not someone gets a raise or a promotion can vary from industry, economic, company to personal. Maybe you get a promotion because the PR industry is booming and new business is expected to increase (though these days, it seems to be the opposite). Or maybe there is turnover at your workplace so by default, you’re promoted. How often does personal work ethic have a say?

In this economic climate, those who are employed say the same thing – “I’m just happy to have a job right now.” And of course we all should be – but how is this economy affecting the opportunity for career growth for young professionals in the PR/Advertising/Marketing industry?

I’ve been in my current position as Account Coordinator for about 8 months now. I’ve learned a lot, but I’m approaching that time where I’m ready for more. How is it possible, though, when you know your company is losing money, to ask for the next step up? Should you sacrifice your personal goals and settle for a position that you are no longer challenged in? What’s the balance between personal career growth and the growth of your company these days?

If anyone has had a success story of promotion in this economic climate, I’d love to hear ideas.

Resolutions to keep

I walked into the gym earlier this week and cursed the beginning of a new year: completely packed. Luckily, I reminded myself, the unusually large crowds should fade by February or so, and I’ll have my favorite treadmill back in my possession.

It never fails: we start out our resolutions with gusto and slowly they begin to fade. We have to make something a habit before we keep up with it.

That’s how I’m taking my approach to blogging: New Year’s Resolution #1. I’m not doing anything too crazy, or killing myself because I can’t get the words to come out just right. I’m just writing, and posting, and trying to do so on a regular basis, and eventually I hope to be in tip-top blogging shape.

Just to give myself a little accountability, some of my other resolutions include:

Listening to my alarm: I have the bad habit of being best friends with the snooze button. Unfortunately, it’s turning into an abusive relationship and adding unneeded stress in the mornings. Like any addiction, my goal is to slowly wane myself off of it this year.

Focusing on my career: Whether this means going the extra mile at my current workplace to get noticed or figuring out where I want to be a year from now (is that in this industry, a different one?) I need to start focusing on the progression of my career and where I’m heading the next few  years, as well as keeping up with industry trends. The only way I’ll be able to make this a habit is by implementing some tactics to accomplish this (ie. regularly researching trends, self-reflection on a regular basis, etc.)

Working out: I know this is cliche, but I started in January of last year after I had a few too many pizzas and bottles of wine in Italy (yes I mean whole pizzas). I  was able to make going to the gym a habit by going every day after work. Even on days I’m not sure I’ll go, I still have my gym bag packed and with me. I have successfully made my gym-going a habit, and I plan to stick with it this year.

Having a good idea of what tactics need to become habitual to achieve your goals is the first step to long-term success, in my opinion. The second step is being driven enough to implement your tactics regularly.