Tag Archives: millennial

In recent discussions about generational differences, Millennials dominated the conversation.

However, experts such as Nancy Ahlrichs of FlashPoint say another generation is emerging. Called “Generation Z,” people born between 1990 and 1999 are beginning to enter the workplace. The introduction of Gen Z makes five generations in today’s workforce: Veterans (70 and older), Boomers (Ages 51-69), Generation X (Ages 39-50), Millennials (Ages 26-38) and Generation Z (Ages 16-25).

Ahlrichs says as with Millennials, employers should consider the characteristics and expectations of Gen Z in order to foster high productivity and retain top talent.

Gen Z prefers a teaching-style of leadership rather than following orders without explanation. The preferred communication channels for Gen Z are face-to-face; tweets and texts; Instagram, Vine, Snapchat; and no phone calls/meetings. Interestingly, Gen Z typically does not use Facebook because that’s the social media site used by their parents and grandparents. Gen Z requires feedback on …

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Would you believe when I started my internship, I had never used Twitter before? Four months and thousands of tweets later, social media is one of my main responsibilities with Indiana INTERNnet. Learning by doing is a wonderful thing.

At the Millennial Impact conference in Indianapolis (#MCON13) on July 18th, I sat at breakfast with none other than Jenna Golden, a leader in Twitter’s Washington, D.C. office, along with Jessica Mason (YouTube) and Danielle Deabler (NPR). I would have never imagined I would dive into social media so deep, so fast.

Throughout the entire conference, speaker after speaker emphasized the importance of allowing Millennials input and control on projects specific to social involvement and movement. This definitely resonates with my experience at Indiana INTERNnet.

Don’t worry. I took away some valuable tips from this conference other than choosing the right table at breakfast:

Find your calling | What …

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From “what are you going to do when you grow up” to “what are you going to do after graduation” to even “what’s next for you,” life seems to be one never ending string of career questions. These questions assume that one is continually equipping one’s self with the tools needed to proceed onto the next career milestone. Up until my graduation from college in May 2011, I thought I was ready to take on “the real world” – to do whatever I was going to do when I grew up. However, like many of my generation, I faced a reality that I was not expecting: the student employment gap.

A labor shortage is a stark realization as the Baby Boomer workforce retires, heating up the competition for emerging talent. However, a striking contrast exists bewteen what employers require and what college students bring to the table. As reported …

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