Career Development for Gen Y: A Two-Way Street (Video)

Very direct and concise video message with personal examples. I liked how you use video blogging this time instead of a normal essay to spice up the flavor a bit, which is what I'm going to do in one of my upcoming blog entries. Your voice seemed to echo quite loudly in the place/room where you recorded the video though.

Great thoughts Jenny (I watched this over on the panel's website but glad you posted it here as well. It's funny – while interviewing for jobs in the past, this always came up – “Where do you see yourself in 5 years” – when you respond with something along the lines of “moving up within this company, establishing myself as an extremely valuable member of the team, etc.” it's almost scoffed at – not because you aren't telling the truth – but because our Generation has become known for job-hopping and reluctant to settle.

This may or may not be the case for you, but I know that if I found a company that I truly loved, I wouldn't want to leave, I wouldn't want to job hop, and I WOULD want to become an indispensable member of the team.

You hit the nail on the head when you said that you HAVE to be proactive. You may talk about career development and your desire to grow within a company and you may very well be scoffed at – so it's up to you to make it happen, to prove your desire, and to truly become indispensable (you know this much better than I).

Great thoughts – well said – have an awesome week Jenny!

Very cool. I was actually just thinking about this concept yesterday. I often try to visualize the ideal company (if I was in charge). And yesterday I had the thought that companies don't really address the true plans of their employees. Everyone says, “What's your 5-year plan?” and every employee reluctantly promises, “I'd love to be here, up a level” when in reality, most hope to be out on their own, or somewhere else. I think this is a component that is missing from too many companies. Let's be realistic. Are you planning to stay here for two years and get experience? That's fine, let's make the most of that plan.

Very true, we want to work “with” someone, not for them. Bringing something to the table. Engaging in extra projects that may give us a grasp on a different part of the company and spice up our experience and resume a bit. Everything made complete sense! Short, quick, and to the point. Great tips!

Good thoughts, Jenny! I agree with you.

With my current job – my boss has become so instrumental in my career development path. Since I have shown invested interest in general career growth he includes me on projects, accounts and even business trips even if it may not be relevant to my exact position. I think this is a great aspect of being part of a startup. He will talk about career in a general sense as we learn about our own business and how it affects outside of the business. We also have one-on-one's once a week. This is where we talk about the career growth, problems, fun, questions, challenges and even just how is YOUR life. I couldn't recommend this more and it's a great thing for managers and employers

Hi Jenny, I really enjoyed this post. Thanks for presenting both sides of the situation, too – that effective managers should also engage their employees in a scheduled conversation.

For me, getting and receiving feedback are critical – but I think it can be difficult for recent graduates and 20somethings in their first “real” jobs. I currently work for a wonderful startup, http://www.myiGrad.com, where we have a dynamite senior staff that sounds like the experience Grace Boyle is describing above. We're actually going to roll out a number of articles on the subject of what we want, expect, and how to handle that first job – and the first manager – on the website under “Career.” This is a great, provocative piece to get our gears turning, and I will share it with my coworkers!

As an individual, some things I want for career development are:

1 -Working without micro-management. My current team leader does a great job and letting *me* do the task that I was assigned but being open and available for questions.
2 – More responsibility. I think Gen Y-ers including myself want a chance to prove themselves earlier on. I crave for my bosses to have mastered delegation and are willing to spend the extra time it may take to let me do the job.
3 – Feedback. It really helps when my team leader tells me when I do something right or something wrong.
4 – Praise. Compliments from my boss, whether they be direct or indirect, are very motivating to me. Probably the best form of praise I've gotten is indirect, where my boss will tell other people how great my work is, or when my teammate gives credit to me where it is due.
5 – Support for Training. I feel conferences and workshops really help you become aware of what is new in the industry and learn more about things you may not learn otherwise in your office. Without training, employees (no matter what generation) get tunnel vision in their career. Gen Y may not be aware of the plethora of training that exists or if they do, they feel too intimidated to ask for funding for travel. I think companies that require you to travel to a conference once or twice a year definitely have it right.

Thanks Stanley! Glad you liked the video. And yes – there was an echo – it's
harder than you might think to find a good recording spot with the right
lighting and sound! I need to get myself a recording studio or something
Have fun recording yours!

Matt – thanks for sharing your thoughts (even though you'd already seen the
video!). SUCH a good point that the “where do you see yourself in five
years” is a hard question to answer authentically – especially in
interviews. When I was managing people at Google, I encouraged them to tell
me what they were thinking/planning for he long-term outside of the company.
It helped us both get creative about ways to find semi-related
tasks/projects while they were still here. Then everybody wins!

Now that you are freelancing -you have no choice BUT to be proactive about
your own growth and development. Just learning every day on the job is
development enough, I'm sure! Have a great week, Matt

Jenny – very true – I just wrote a similar reply to Matt – the more people
can have open, honest conversations about where they want to be, the more
managers and their teams can hone in on everyone's unique strengths and
interests. Also, a lot of times I think people limit career development
conversations to how someone will get promoted – when really it's about so
much more. That employee might be perfectly happy to take on a new project
or spend time shadowing another team. On that note, employees should also
look for ways to add value to their resume without always chasing a
promotion (which can be elusive).

Quisha – thanks so much for stopping by, and for the great comment! Glad you
liked the video and found the tips helpful

Thanks Grace! That is AWESOME that your boss has been so involved and
interested in helping you grow and move forward at Lijit. That is seriously
priceless! I'm always surprised that more managers don't take the time to do
that – in the end, it helps employees grow, be happier and stay longer at
the company. Then you can turn around and help the newer employees in the
same way. And I'm so glad you brought up 1-on-1s! We do those weekly too -
and now I can't imagine ever NOT having them. It's such a great way to
connect, give updates, talk through issues and plan for the future.

Hi Lindsey – thanks for stopping by! iGrad.com sounds like a great website
and a great company – very cool that you are going to be rolling out some
articles on topics related to Career and first jobs. I think it's an area
that many people struggle with.

Pam – GREAT list, and one that I think many Gen Y'ers share with you. I
think everything you said is critical to helping us be satisfied in our
roles. I especially think more responsibility, direct feedback (praise and
areas for development) and support for training are key. Thank you so much
for sharing that and stopping by – I feel like I should print it and hand it
out to all the managers I know!