Beyond Folders : generation gap

Looking Ahead: Navigating a Career Path as a Young Woman

Community Manager — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 20:58:00 GMT

There is a reason why hindsight is 20/20: looking back is a heckuva lot easier than guessing what's up ahead. Smart women beginning their careers can take the guesswork out of what lies down the road by learning from the women who went before them.

Been-there, done-that insight from talented women further along the career path can help up-and-comers shorten the learning curve and avoid common pitfalls.

While no two women will ever tread exactly the same path, savvy women everywhere can glean fabulous advice from our round-up from across the web.

Facebook Advice: We've blogged in the past about the smart, succinct advice for young women from Facebook powerhouse Sheryl Sandberg. It's worth another look here; Sandberg suggests that working women must take three steps to advance in their careers:

Sit at the table. Take your rightful place among the players, negotiate your salary and own your power. More than 50 percent of men negotiate salaries while less than 10 percent of women do so.
Make sure your partner is a real partner. Women wind up shouldering a majority of the child rearing duties and house chores, even when they work. A true 50-50 split is needed.
Don't leave before you leave. Women often stop gunning for promotions and projects when they contemplate having a family. Sandberg says women shouldn't "lean back" but should rather keep full steam ahead and not undermine their careers even before the take a break for family.

Ten Women, Numerous Tips: Women's Day magazine interviews ten dynamic women with careers ranging from CEO of a skincare company, to foreign relations expert to dentist, for their take on the best way to achieve a work-life balance, how to make opportunities out of setbacks, and more.

Smart Cookie: The unofficial first lady of New York State, celebrity chef Sandra Lee, heads a multimillion dollar business she created from scratch. Lee dishes up smart financial advice for working women including: know your market worth, negotiate your own contracts and ask for the salary and raises you deserve. Lee also reveals that she negotiates all her own contracts rather than using an agent.

Feedback Vs. Perfection: Author Hannah Seligson, who wrote the book "New Girl on the Job: Advice From the Trenches," uses this NYT article to distill her advice to women starting off in the corporate word. In a nutshell, Seligman advises women to jettison perfectionist tendencies and instead court feedback to learn how to become a more valuable employee. Seligman also encourages women to view a job as a two-part process: first, do the actual work, second, talk about what you've done, preferably in bottom-line terms.

What would be your advice to your younger self if you were just starting out in the work world? What is the number one thing young women should think about as they navigate their career? Share your thoughts here and on the Pendaflex Facebook page.

Same Office, Different Generation: What Younger Employees Can Teach

Community Manager — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 20:43:00 GMT

Whoever said "You can't teach an old dog new tricks," obviously never conceived of a world where a generation of workers raised in the pre-Internet era would make daily use of smart phones, software, apps, etc. A more accurate maxim might be, "It's never too late to learn something new."

Given that new tricks are the tools of the trade in the business world, a commitment to lifelong learning is a smart career strategy. Who better to teach older employees what's new and next than the newest generation of workers?

Young millennials can teach older employees valuable lessons including:

New Technology: Younger employees are incredibly tech savvy. Older employees can keep abreast of the latest trends in technology by checking in with their knowledgeable young colleagues. Ask frequently about apps and social media; the landscape changes daily.

Diversity: The newer generation is more diverse in background and ethnicity resulting in a more multicultural, diverse worldview. Social norms change from generation to generation and spending time with younger colleagues will help older workers stay current not only on cultural trends but on changes in social mores.

Risk Taking: Younger people are traditionally more entrepreneurial and less bound by convention. The "sky's the limit" worldview often fades with time, so recharge your "anything is possible" mojo by spending time with forward thinking millennials.

Flexibility: Younger workers tend to be more malleable, willing to acquire new skills and open to different paths in their career. In today's tough economy, it is crucial for older workers to adapt as easily and nimbly as their younger counterparts.

Cost Effective: The unhappy truth that older workers must often confront is that younger employees are often willing to work hard for less money. While it is illegal to fire someone because of their age, as companies look to save costs, they often look to buy out or retire older workers. And when a company looks to hire for a vacant role, a younger hire is generally preferred to an older one. Smart older workers will look carefully at their younger competition and continually work to make the case that a seasoned employee is a cost-effective hire, one that can contribute to the bottom line.

What is the best lesson a younger employee ever taught you? Share your thoughts here and at the Pendaflex Facebook page.

Same Office, Different Generation: What Younger Employees Should Know

Community Manager — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:41:00 GMT

For young employees transitioning from dorm room to desk job, one of the biggest challenges can be interacting in a multigenerational setting. After all, during the school years, people are generally in lockstep with their age group. Workplaces, with a community of mixed ages, are a different story.

Smart millennials can take advantage of the diversity of experiences in a work setting by learning valuable lessons from older employees. Older employees can offer:

Experience: Older workers know the ropes. Smart newcomers can shorten their learning curve by both emulating older workers and tapping into their deeper reservoir of information about company policies, politics and industry information.

Perspective: Seasoned workers have a big picture perspective that younger workers lack. They have experienced cycles at work and in life and can provide a valuable road map for younger counterparts.

Interpersonal Skills: The previous generation developed interpersonal skills without the benefit of social networks and newer technologies. While almost all workers now make use of newer technologies, the previous generation also recognizes the value of face-to-face interactions and polite conventions such as thank you notes and in-person phone calls. Younger millennials would do well to acquire the same breadth of interpersonal skills.

Independence: Older workers generally were raised with an emphasis on self-reliance. Workers in their 40s and beyond often demonstrate greater independence and require less hand-holding than a generation raised by helicopter parents to expect constant attention and feedback. Younger workers should try to emulate the independent style of older workers.

Work Ethic: Experienced workers, who have steadily and progressively risen through the ranks, generally have a strong work ethic and are conscientious employees. They understand that an excellent work product, loyalty and hard work are necessary to get ahead. Savvy millennials will take a page from this lesson: diligence and hard work are necessary to achieve success.

What is the best lesson an older employee ever taught you? Share your thoughts here and at the Pendaflex Facebook page.

Ageism: Is It Hurting Your Career?

Community Manager — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 18:45:00 GMT

In a tight job market, every advantage counts. For some aging employees, plastic surgery, Botox and hair dye is seen as a necessary step to remain a viable job candidate according to a spate of recent articles.

While ageism, like its brethren -isms, sexism, racism, no doubt rears its ugly head in certain work environments, it should not be viewed as an insurmountable obstacle: sharp, savvy job seekers can always market themselves, no matter their age.

We'll leave the issue of whether or not to combat those grays to you and your hairdresser. We prefer to stick to the basics, work basics. Ideas to take the focus off your age and onto your abilities include:

Recent Results First: Resumes get brief attention so be sure to highlight recent accomplishments up top. Don't overwhelm the resume with every single job over a decades-long career. Consider a functional resume that emphasizes your well-honed areas of expertise and shows your work experience is current.

On Trend: Dispell notions that old means dated. Be sure to be current on technology and trends; you and your prospective boss may have generational differences in music but you should have the same current technology skills. Staying fresh is imperative.

Up Your Energy: Demonstrate your energy and vitality with attention to detail. Make sure your handshake and body language convey energy, not fatigue. Avoid dated looks, hairstyles and eye-glasses; consider wearing bright colors that communicate vitality. Don't go overboard by wearing inappropriately young styles. The look should say seasoned and stylish, not desperate.

Work that Network: An advantage to a long-running career should be a well-established network. By continuing to actively network, and to mentor younger colleagues, you will keep your sensibility fresh, generate job leads and remain up-to-date in your industry.

Do you see ageism at play in your industry? How do you combat ageism? Share your thoughts here and at the Pendaflex Facebook page.

by Candie Harris

The Graying Workforce

Community Manager — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 12:43:00 GMT

Rumor has it Mick Jagger is starting a new band. Why not? He's only 67.

Mick's not alone in working well past what was once considered retirement age. Gray is the new color of the American workforce according to the Department of Labor which estimates the number of workers 55 and over will jump 36.5 percent from 2006 to 2016.

Where will all these folks be working? According to a recent Harvard Business Review article, certain sectors look rosy for aging boomers.

They include:

Health care (nursing, home health care, medical assistants)
Education (teachers, teacher assistants and child care workers)
Nonprofits and government (business operations specialists; general and operations managers; receptionists and information clerks)
Social services: (clergy and social and human service assistants)

U.S. News & World Report also recently looked at the issue of the aging workforce, finding that a quarter of Fortune 500 employees are 50 and older. Certain industries such as the airlines and insurance sector have more over 50 employees than other sectors such as hospitality and food.

A myriad of factors are contributing to the graying workforce: people are living longer and healthier lives, the financial turmoil of recent years has impacted retirement savings and technological advances are allowing older workers greater employment longevity.

Will retirement eventually, well, retire?

We want to hear your thoughts on retirement and the graying workforce. Has your retirement goal shifted to a later date? What keeps you in the workforce? Share your thoughts here and at the Pendaflex Facebook page.

Onboarding New Hires

Community Manager — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:40:00 GMT

You've found the perfect candidate for that vacant position. Now what? Successfully onboarding new hires is as crucial as selecting the right candidate.

Hit the ground running with our round-up of advice from across the web.

Start Early

Onboarding begins before the offer letter even goes out according to the HBR post Get Immediate Value From Your New Hires. Hiring managers need to spell out company culture and the org chart during the hiring process. The greater the transparency during the interview process, the swifter the transition once aboard. Also, managers can shorten the learning curve by explaining the nuances of the "shadow" org chart such as what interpersonal dynamics are at play and who the key stakeholders are in each department or project.

Take Time to Make Time

Forget the sink or swim method and carve out time to help give a new hire their sea legs says The 10 Commandments of Employee Onboarding. Other tips include scheduling plenty of time during the early days and weeks to help new hires navigate their roles and following up with 90-day check-ins.

Details, Details

Be sure not to neglect the details while mapping out the "big picture" for new hires. The little things speak volumes and having all paperwork, email and phones at the ready ensures your new hire feels welcome. For an onboarding checklist, read How to Build an Onboarding Plan for a New Hire.

How does your company onboard new hires? Share your thoughts here and at the Pendaflex Facebook page.

Communicating Across Workplace Generation Gaps

Community Manager — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:09:00 GMT

As we discussed in a prior post, four very different generations of workers occupy the typical workplace. According to studies, it is not a particularly easy co-existence.

Last year, Pew Research Center reported that almost eight in 10 people polled perceived a major divide between the point of view of younger people and older people today. The Pew Center's study echoes Randstad USA's 2008 World of Work survey finding that the four generations at work rarely interact with one another. Given these hurdles, facilitating productive workplace communication can be a big challenge for managers and team leaders.

But, the challenge can be met.

As a recent Psychology Today article on the generational divide suggests, it is important to recognize that, unlike their more traditional older coworkers, young workers of Generation Y shun authoritarian communication. Raised on a steady diet of positive feedback and recognition, they also need regular input from their bosses. Expanding on this point, a New York Times piece on inter-generational communication sets out that, to better connect with Gen Y workers, managers and leaders should consider:

Adopting a communication style that is less curt, callous and confrontational and more respectful, conciliatory and indirect
Making requests that identify tangible business goals instead of issuing blanket orders
Supplementing annual performance reviews with more frequent progress reports and informal updates

Another key step is to encourage and empower all employees to use a full range of communication tools. Through workplace learning opportunities, even workers with technophobia can engage with others through e-mail, blogging, text messaging, instant messaging and social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Similarly, simulated interactions and role-playing can help workers who find it hard to converse face-to-face or in a written communication of more than 140 characters.

Productive cross-generational communication also flows when managers and team leaders take steps to bring the generations onto common ground. If blended into functional work teams, for example, older and younger workers can share knowledge and collaborate on devising business strategies, developing new products and handling service issues. This kind of close collaboration cultivates understanding, trust and respect.

Have you experienced cross-generational communication failures and successes at work? If so, please share your experiences with us here and on the Beyond Folders Community's Facebook and Twitter pages.

by Candie Harris

A Primer on Working Across Generation Gaps

Community Manager — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:04:00 GMT

Where do you hear the sounds of fountain pens scratching on paper while smartphones buzz with incoming text messages?

In the average workplace.

There are currently four generations at work today :

Traditional workers (born before 1946) value loyalty and discipline and respect hierarchy and authority
Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964), being goal-driven, competitive and work-centric, now occupy positions of power in the corporate world
Generation X (born 1965-1980) is 55 million strong in North America and is a skeptical, pragmatic and self-reliant cohort that values independence, respects diversity and desires work-life balance
Generation Y (born 1981-1999) numbers 80 million in North America and is filled with digitally-fluent optimists who embrace social responsibility, celebrate individuality and difference, rework the rules and thrive on collaboration and kinship

I have found that engaging workers and facilitating productivity with this vibrant generational mix can be a challenge. Here is a primer of links to articles and posts on working across the generation gaps that I have found helpful.

Bridging the Workplace Generation Gap: It Starts With a Text (New York Times)
Failure to communicate: Survey reveals big generation gap in the workplace (Financial Week)
Why are you not like me? The Generational Gap In The Workplace (Psychology Today)
The Technology Generation Gap at Work is Oh So Wide (Read Write Web)
What Generation Z will be like at work (Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist)
'Great Recession' hits Millennials hardest (The Christian Science Monitor)

We will revisit this important topic in future posts. In the meantime, as always, feel free to point us to any resources that you find relevant and helpful.

by Candie Harris