The Millenials and the Media

I have job interviews this week... man I hate this shit - I need to hone my interviewing skills - back to the topic.... I was thinking of this television program a few weeks ago about the new generation of workers coming into the workplace.

Here's the quick recap of the video piece - companies need to coddle and reward the new breed of workers coming online because if companies don't, they will just quit because they're more interested in their own self interest. These new workers are used to being rewarded for everything they do, whether they were in first or last place - they all received a big reward.

Now they're more techno-savy than everyone else. This makes them special, and because their more sophisticated than previous college graduates, companies must cater to their personal whims.

What do I think of all this? It's more bull crap - these television programs run every few years. If any college graduate believes this...

I remember watching something similar about Generation X, now the media is focusing on Generation Y, sometimes called the Millenial generation. Yea, the new generation is called the Millenials. Sounds more like a cross breed of a hippie and a Start Trek fanboi.

What pissed me off was that the focus was on a narrow subset of workers - techie and people who graduated from prestigious universities. For the rest of us, it's a damn competitive market, with layoffs every week, new graduates and workers quitting, being fired and looking for new jobs.

The program even showed programmers with no shoes, playing games, etc. etc. What the... this isn't new. Felt like a re-run of generation X entering the workplace. Then we are shown how an online retailer retains customer service workers by giving them an option to take $2,000($?) and leave after training or continue with the job.

That's nice and all, but if I were doing a piece on disgruntled programmers concerned about outsourcing, I could find at least one company who's employees are pissed off and worried about their jobs. Then I'd zoom in on graduating programmers and talk about how worried about their future prospects. Oh look, the world doesn't look all to good now does it?

Let's talk about the new breed of workers. If you think having a Facebook account makes this person technically inclined. I fart at your world view. You sniveling media follower.

From my own experience, college graduates rarely made the grade - the preference was for people who had real world experience or who had advanced degrees - MBA or PhD. Maybe it's different working at a small to medium size firm compared to the large corporation's who have more resources to bend with each new management fad out there.

A birthday party is nice, a letter of congratulation is nice, but how the hell does that work in my favor? Do I want a pat on the back? Do I want recognition?

I want a raise, I want a promotion, and I will get those by working like a hell raiser. I'm projecting my own ideas... but I'm a bloody grown-up who doesn't need mass approval for the things I do. If new employees can't understand that this is work, you fire the... They always can move back home to mom and dad.

Once you enter the work force, you're no longer a kid needing to be coddled by your daddy and mommie. Waaaaaaa - don't be a baby. Don't fall for the media hype.

Their is always someone else ready to take over the job - 10, 20, 100 more people ready interview to take that paying position and start moving ahead with their career.

Let's face it, take away the programmers and engineers working at tech companies, and those lucky few who work at start-ups, and what do you have?

A workplace that's highly competitive, where relationships, competency, experience and hard work are the norm. A lot of these work places are fun within limits, if you're going to wear sandals in most office environments, you're F#%D dude.

Man I feel better after writing that. It's been simmering in the back of my head for a few weeks now. Rant over - I need a lift.

Thanks man!

Mine are bigger!

Cops have my back.

Once you enter the working world, this is what you become, get used to it.

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