Beyond Folders : generation gap, career advancement

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.