bailann

This is going to be a little “tough love” and a little “what I wish I had done” type of post. I work with college students in my full-time job as an advisor at KU. I started three years ago; just months from my own college graduation. I was excited to have a job and still be in Lawrence. I loved my alma mater and was excited to work with students. For awhile, it still felt I was at school. Well, I WAS at my SCHOOL but I was no longer a student. I was transitioning to someone who had a full-time job with full-time responsibilities. Eventually, the differences between “me” and current college students were more distinct. 

According to the Pew Research Center, the Millenial Generation were born “after 1980 – the first generation to come of age in the new millennium.” As they have entered adulthood, they are being described as “confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and open to change”. Lovely descriptions for a generation entering adulthood, especially with the current economic condition. But this generation has also been considered “trophy kids” in which they were rewarded for participation and not hard work. This generation’s parents are referred to as “helicopters” and are involved in everything in their child’s life up through college graduation and a job search.  Here is where I’ll make my first point of advice:

1. Students, if you are over 18 years old, I don’t care who is paying for your college education, I want to talk to YOU. YOU are the one earning this college education and you won’t get much farther in life if you can’t be responsible for what it entails to earn the diploma with your name on it. 

Here, I’ll also make a note to parents. Don’t try to “fix” your child’s mistake. If they can’t earn a C average in their major, don’t try to convince the school to award the degree anyway. Some of this Millennial generation need to learn consequences and if that means summer school, so be it.  Now to address the dreaded and horrifying job hunt:

2. Students, YOU are searching for a job. YOU must prove you are hard-working, smart, capable and responsible. Letting your parents drop off resumes (that they may or may not have written for you) DOES NOT prove that you are  hard-working, smart, capable or responsible. Your resume WILL end up in the recycle bin.

I was lucky to get a very secure job right before the economy took a toll on jobs. It’s hard out there for people of all generations looking for a job. It seems that the biggest impact on the Millenial generation: ”37% of 18- to 29-year-olds are unemployed or out of the workforce” according to Pew. “Research shows that young people who graduate from college in a bad economy typically suffer long-term consequences — with effects on their careers and earnings that linger as long as 15 years.”

The greatest thing I did for my career aspirations while a KU undergraduate student was to get involved and seek opportunity. I was drilled with the importance of internships (I held two). I found my home on campus and developed skills outside the classroom (helllooo event planning and people management). I cared about the people I worked with and the supervisors I could learn from (I had stellar references I KNOW landed me a job it did not seem I had the experience for). Building relationships is where I’ll make my next point. This one comes from my friend, Caroline.

3. Treat even a part-time, student job as you would a full-time job. If you are not aware of common courtesy leaving your job for another position, know this: it is courtesy to give two-weeks-notice. Your new job will expect a bit of time before you start (unless you’re a big-time, hot, new start-up company but that is a whole other story of ethics for another day) and you WILL need  a bit of time (even if you work just a few hours a week) to transition out of the job you are leaving. 

Did I always make the right decisions in school or as a young adult in the workforce? No, especially financially (my credit card and student loan payments are example enough).  

So you may still not have the job of your dreams (I don’t - I don’t even know what the job of my dreams is yet). So unless you plan to settle (and being from the Millenial Generation, I know you won’t) WORK more than 40 hours a week. Not necessarily at your full-time job but work at continuing to LEARN and TRY and CHANGE and DEVELOP. I’m not a classroom learner, my brief stint in grad school demonstrates that, but I know I’m an explore and discover kind of person. And there were still summers and breaks I think about now that I totally wasted because I was waiting for something to happen. Learn and do what you like and you may one day be paid to do it, too. It’s your life. They’re YOUR mistakes and YOUR successes. YOU get to decide and are responsible for what you do with it. What are you waiting for?