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!

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.