Lisa’s Generation Relations Blog

Hi All!

What a busy week! I had no time to blog! And what a weird week! Pop culture sure had a does of sadness with the passing of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson. I grew up with all 3 of them so now I can relate to how my older cousins and family members felt when John Lennon and Elvis died. Geez…my best to all their other fans and their  families!

Okay…on a lighter note…back to some business news I wanted to share. The Leadership Coaching section of my website is now live! Woohoo! Aside from my seminars, keynotes, and workshops around Generation Relations, I also offer one-on-one Leadership Coaching for Gen Y and Gen X employees.

I’ve received professional coach training through the International Coach Academy (accredited by the International Coach Federation). Only 50% of coaches are certified so I felt pursuing certification and professional training was smart (on a lot of levels).

My goal as a Leadership Coach is to get Gen Y and Gen X employees where they want to go faster, and to guide them to become the best leaders they can be in the workforce. We have younger employees in their 20’s now managing older employees (with no real leadership training), and Gen X employees feeling “stuck in the middle” in the workforce and struggling to reach the next level of their careers. 

If you don’t know the answer to this question, you should visit my website to see how I can benefit you: What’s the difference between a management mindset and a leadership mindset? There’s millions of mediocre new and mid-level managers who have no idea…and their careers will suffer, or are suffering, because of it.

But “What is coaching?” Click here to find out.

I offer private, one-on-one coaching for employees who hire me on their own, and companies also hire me to coach specific Gen Y and Gen X employees. And, regardless of how I am hired, all sessions are confidential.

So, this all very exciting! I have active clients and inquiries are flooding in. Go to my website to learn more, read some testimonials, and consider contacting me to be your Leadership Coach!

Bye for now,

Lisa

Hi All!

On Friday I moderated a panel event, presented by FountainBlue.biz, and hosted by Cisco. The topic was “Working With Millennials”, and the event was attended by over 125 executives from different companies, plus many employees from Cisco also attended virtually through Cisco TV. Cool technology!

Linda Holroyd, founder of FountainBlue.biz, a professional networking organization that (among many things) presents the “When She Speaks Leadership Series” monthly networking event, granted me rights to share highlight notes she compiled during the panel discussion (and she sent it to all attendees after the event).

The Panel: Made-up of Millennials, Gen X, Gen Jones and Boomers:

1. Urvi Bhandari, Sales Manager, AT&T
2. Megan Campi, Customer Service Relationship Manager, Cisco
3. Kristen Dearing, Leader of Strategic Sales, Global Communications and Media, Sun Microsystems
4. Claudia Galvan, Lead, International Program Management Group, Microsoft
5. Shalini Govil-Pai, Lead PM, Google
6. Lori Smith, Director of HR, Cisco
7. Me, Lisa Orrell, Moderator

“Working With Millennials” Panel Discussion Highlights: (Provided by Linda Holroyd)

Millennials are in general energetic with a plethora of ideas and a direct, assertive style in communicating them, without necessarily following established business etiquette or without respecting chain-of-command expectations (speaking to top management over direct bosses for example). They are globally-minded and techno-philic, leveraging social media tools such as YouTube, FaceBook, texting and Twitter. They are used to multi-tasking (texting during meetings, committing to many work and life projects and juggling multiple priorities), to confidently speaking what’s on their mind (directly communicating their goals and objectives), and to being global in their interests and connections.

With all these strengths, a noted weakness is that many Millennials are more interested in generating ideas than in seeing them through to results and conclusions, often distracted by the next idea. There was also a conversation about the perceived sense of entitlement that many Millennials have, and how to better understand and work with Millennials who are perceived as having a sense of entitlement. There was general agreement that it is more a perception based on the confident, direct, salary- and role-centered communications and desire to move quickly and make a positive difference than an ACTUAL desire for privileges and rights and title, etc, without merit. Therefore, the suggestion from the panel is for Millennials to understand how they are coming across and folks of younger and older generations to understand the Millennials’ perspective and therefore be less likely to take offense to it.

Some Advice From Panel:

The panel shared some sage and practical advice on how to recruit, retain and communicate with Millennials. The overall emphasis was on training managers to be more resourceful, more communicative, and more flexible in understanding what motivates Millennials, and in keeping them engaged in projects which interest them, and specific suggestions are listed below.

• Leverage the strengths and global interests of Millennials to direct them into leadership opportunities outside work, while also keeping them engaged at work.
• Challenge managers to make their projects appear more compelling and exciting to Millennials.
• Encourage managers to open communication channels between Millennials and senior management as an opportunity to share ideas, motivate Millennials and even provide reverse-mentoring opportunities.
• Initiate friendly competitions leveraging social media will help Millennials participate in strategic conversations ensuring that technologies and ideas address the needs of younger target audiences, for example.
• Help Millennials to develop patience while building successes and skills and personal brand as they strive to achieve their short-term and long-term career objectives.
• Provide continual feedback and communications to Millennials as they were raised in an age of instant communication and crave this level of feedback.
• Leverage global communication technology to better attract and retain Millennials.
• Take every opportunity to mentor and support high-potential Millennials, for they are our future leaders.
• Welcome and encourage play in the workplace, from scooters to XBoxes for example (as shared by Microsoft panel member), as part of the corporate culture.
• Engage Millennials in strategies to better communicate with other Millennials and everyone else, through social networking channels.

Leaders and organizations will find that following the practices noted above is not only going to better attract and retain Millennials, but it will positively impact workers and overall culture. Indeed, Millennials speak for other workers when they express displeasure or ideas for change, but they are more vocal and direct about expressing their ideas, and less tolerant if change doesn’t happen. Listening to the needs of Millennials and making the changes will positively impact working conditions for all.

The entire event, including Q & A with the audience, was recorded, and I should be receiving a copy soon. When I do, I’ll post the link to view!

Thanks to Linda for another great FountainBlue.biz “When She Speaks Leadership Series” event, special thanks to Cisco for providing a terrific venue and a wonderful lunch…and a BIG thank you to the panelists who took time out of their busy schedules to participate!

Bye for now,

Lisa

Hi All!

I have some cool news to share. I’ve been selected as an expert panelist for CollegeRecruiter.com’s “Ask The Expert” blog. I, along with other knowledgeable panelists, will answer job, career and workforce questions posted by Gen Y (college students, recent grads, and those already working in their career). And, we’ll also answer questions for employers who have questions about Gen Y.

Being selected as an expert panelist is a pretty big deal because CollegeRecruiter.com is THE leading job board for Gen Y. Their reach is HUGE and their company is highly respected by well-known employers and universities across the country.

Click here to read the press release about me being added to the panel!

The “Ask The Expert” blog is just one support service that CollegeRecruiter.com offers to people who register with their website.

Here’s more info about them:

Founded in 1996 by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com has become the leading job board for college students hunting for internships and recent graduates looking for entry level jobs and other career opportunities. CollegeRecruiter.com features hundreds of thousands of job openings and tens of thousands of pages of employment-related blogs, articles, podcasts, and videos. This website has also been featured by countless major media, including: CNN, BusinessWeek, ABC, Fortune, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal. And, for 2 years in a row, CollegeRecruiter.com received the prestigious Weddle’s User’s Choice Awards for best job boards, and was rated a “best” site by CareerXroads. 

So be sure to come visit their busy blog and submit a question! Our team of experts are there to help

Bye for now!

Lisa

Hi All,

I have blogged about The Fresh Air Fund before and I truly support the efforts of their non-profit organization. And due to a very generous group of donors, they are able to match dollar-for-dollar any donation you can make through June 30th! Example: This group of donors will match your donation of $25 (or whatever) with the same amount so The Fresh Air Fund will receive double the amount of your donation!

Here’s some basic info about The Fresh Air Fund:

THE FRESH AIR FUND, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Nearly 10,000 New York City children enjoy free Fresh Air Fund programs annually. In 2008, close to 5,000 children visited volunteer host families in suburbs and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada. 3,000 children also attended five Fresh Air camps on a 2,300-acre site in Fishkill, New York. The Fund’s year-round camping program serves an additional 2,000 young people each year.

They are also still in need of more hosting families for the kids who will attend camp this summer, so check out this info and see if you can help! And PLEASE NOTE that 65% of children who are hosted by a family are re-invited by that family to stay with them again.

These are terrific, GRATEFUL, kids who could really use your support, so even if you can donate $10 to the organization, it would help! And, remember, until June 30th your donation will actually mean DOUBLE whatever you send.

Bye for now,
Lisa 

Hi All!

There is a terrific new online service that matches Gen Y college grads with employment opportunities. This new service, ComeRecommended.com, was developed and founded by go-getter Millennial, Heather R. Huhman. And not only is this talented, savvy young woman the founder, but she also writes a popular column for entry-level job seekers on Examiner.com.

I believe in what she’s doing with this new service so much that I’m supporting her efforts by being a business sponsor. And, no, I don’t get any money for doing this, so before you believe I have ulterior motives for promoting ComeRecommended, I don’t.

Anyway, if you are a recent college grad looking for a job, or an employer seeking entry-level employees, I suggest you check out the website.

And here’s more info about all of this from a recent Q & A session with Heather:

Q: What is Come Recommended?

A: Come Recommended is an exclusive online community connecting the best internship and entry-level job candidates with the best employers. Unlike other exclusive recruiting networks, Come Recommended requires both candidates and employers to provide at least three recommendations to gain access to the community.

Q: Who can join Come Recommended?

A: There are two user categories—candidates and employers. Candidates must be over 18-years-old and can include current high school or college students or individuals who graduated from college up to one year before the current year. For example, right now, young professionals who graduated in 2008 will be accepted into the system. Come January 1, 2010, those who graduated in 2008 will no longer have access.

On the employer side, Come Recommended welcomes human resources professionals, staffing firms, recruiters, headhunters and anyone else charged with hiring interns and entry-level professionals.

Q: Who will benefit most from the site?

A: Both individuals seeking and those needing to fill internships and entry-level jobs will benefit extensively from using Come Recommended.

Q: Does it cost anything?

A: All of Come Recommended’s “core” features—those included in the original launch—are free to candidates and employers. Students and recent college graduates don’t have a lot of disposable income. And, with the current economic climate, organizations are changing their hiring strategies to be more streamlined and cost-effective. Come Recommended helps them achieve these new goals. Even when the economy bounces back – and it will, with time – Come Recommended’s “core” features will remain completely free. However, to help us keep our features free or low-cost, we encourage users to purchase services and products from the candidate and employer Resource Centers and click on the site’s banner ads.

Q: How does Come Recommended work?

A: First, candidates and employers register and build detailed profiles. Before being accepted into the community, all users must first be recommended by at least three individuals. For candidates, this can include current or previous employers, industry professionals, professors/teachers and other non-family members. For employers, this can include current or previous interns or entry-level professionals. References need not be registered users of Come Recommended.

After building a profile, users are able to send recommendation requests via e-mail using the site’s technology. The e-mail received by their references includes a link to a simple online form. For candidates, this form includes the most typical questions hiring managers ask during the reference check process. For employers, the form asks questions a candidate might ask a current intern or entry-level employee about the organization. All answers are automatically transmitted back to the requesting user’s profile.

Once a user has three recommendations, and these recommendations have been confirmed to follow the rules I just outlined, they are accepted into the community and can access Come Recommended’s numerous features.

Q: How do you verify that the recommendations on your site come from legitimate sources?

A: We will do this in several ways. First, recommendation requests can only be sent to “paid” e-mail domains—not free accounts such as Gmail or Hotmail. Second, because references must provide their phone numbers, Come Recommended staff will perform random checks to assure accuracy. Finally, if a user suspects a reference might not be legitimate, he or she is encouraged to contact us immediately, and we will follow-up. If, indeed, the recommendation has been falsified, the user will be permanently banned from Come Recommended.

Q: Are the forums moderated?

A: No, they are not. However, candidates and employers are encouraged to report abusive behavior by sending an e-mail to reports@comerecommended.com.

Q: Are there other Web sites like Come Recommended?

A: While there are many sites with a similar goal, Come Recommended distinguishes itself mainly through its exclusive nature. The recommendation process serves as a way for employers and candidates to gain immediate, objective feedback on each other. Most other Web sites lack any type of screening process for their users. This is very problematic for career-based sites because they become cluttered with false or misleading job ads and the résumés of unqualified candidates.

Q: With what other organizations do you have relationships? How do those relationships benefit Come Recommended users?

A: A full list of the organizations with which we have a relationship can be found on the Current Sponsors page. Prior to launching Come Recommended, we formed relationships with organizations we know provide valuable services, products and advice for our users. These organizations include:

• Campus Calm, which empowers students and recent graduates around the world to breathe, become stress-resistant and create their own paths to purpose, prosperity and happiness.
• CAREEREALISM.com, a leading career news and perspective site for young professionals ages 18 to 40 that was named a ‘must-read’ by Careerbuilder.com and BusinessWeek.com.
• Glassdoor.com, a career and workplace community where anyone can find and anonymously share real-time company reviews and ratings, salary details and interview reviews and questions regarding specific jobs for specific employers — for free.
• Intern Bridge, the nation’s largest college recruiting research firm responsible for discovering best practices by surveying over 50,000 students annually, and providing information through workshops, seminars and a series of publications.
• InternshipRatings.com, a resource for students to rate, research and compare internships in various industries across the United States.
• Keppie Careers, which encourages, enlightens and empowers job seekers for success.
• The Orrell Group, lead by popular speaker, author and consultant Lisa Orrell, which improves generational dynamics and team building in the workforce and coaches Gen Y employees entering leadership roles at work.

Q: How does Come Recommended make money? Do you plan to seek investors or raise capital from advertising and other fees in the future?

A: Initially, Come Recommended will be solely supported by advertising, sponsorships, paid seminars/courses, career coaching services, cover letter and résumé review services, paid speaking engagements and other strategic business relationships.

Additionally, users will be actively polled during the first six months regarding future feature requests. After that time, they will still have the ability to submit requests and ideas via a dedicated e-mail address. Come Recommended will consider every request and plans to begin implementing new features starting May 2010, or sooner if possible. Additionally, Come Recommended will evaluate new features on a case-by-case basis to determine whether and how much to charge users for each.

As far as seeking investors in the future, we have not ruled out that possibility.

Q: Who can advertise on Come Recommended? Can employers advertise jobs?

A: There are several different types of advertising, as outlined on the Advertising & Sponsorship Packages page. Come Recommended reserves the right to reject any advertising that we determine, in our sole judgment, is not in keeping with our mission. For example, Come Recommended will not accept advertising for the sale or provision of goods or services relating to tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs, pornography or other such matters that would, in our opinion, be inappropriate for our users, some of whom may be under the age of eighteen.

And yes, employers may advertise jobs through either targeted e-mails to candidates or banner/square advertisements on the site itself.

Q: Do you plan to extend this service beyond intern and entry-level jobs in the future?

A: Perhaps, but only time will tell. I’ve always felt those just launching their careers have a tougher time finding and landing jobs because these skills are among the few things not taught in school. While this may sound like Come Recommended is very one-sided in favor of candidates, employers actually have just as much to gain from candidates educated about what it takes to qualify and apply for their open positions.

So, there’s all the scoop! One more way you can possibly find a job or find a great candidate!

Bye for now,

Lisa

Hi All!

Well, I am now back from my fabulous one week vacation to Panama City Beach, FL. Although the weather wasn’t as nice as it had been on our family trip there last year, it was still  great. And if you’re not familiar with this area of Florida, but looking for a great place to vacation there, I recommend contacting my in-laws. They own 4 beach front condos and the property is amazing. Click here for more info!

On my vacation, I finally got time to read the best selling book, The Secret. Yes, this was all the rage about 2 years ago, but I got around to reading it when I was meant to. So if you haven’t read it yet, please do! The author, Rhonda Byrne, also produced the movie version, and I’ll be watching that this weekend. And based on the popularity of her book and the movie, she has been featured on Oprah, and by just about every major media you can imagine.

The whole concept is based on the insights of famous philosophers, great thinkers, artists and scientists (ranging from this era back to centuries ago) who have adapted a way of thinking all around the concept of the law of attraction. Basically, your thoughts, positive or negative, are what create your reality and destiny.

Now, I know things like the “law of attraction” and “creative visualization” really aren’t anything new…but that’s the point of the book. However, the way these types of things were discussed in the book resonated with me. I even took notes as I read it! And I don’t do that with too many books.

I could go on and on, but it’s much easier if you pick up the book and take from it what makes sense for you. Many successful people, from all generations, in sports, business, etc., follow the concepts of The Secret for manifesting what they want out of life, so why not give it a shot? If you found even ONE little pearl of wisdom from it that helped you in some way (in career, finances, relationships, family, health, etc.), it was worth it.

Right now, I’m going to take action towards manifesting an organized house by unpacking my vacation luggage and doing some laundry. But then I’m going to sit down and focus on my list of what I want in different aspects of my life, and put it out to the Universe!

Bye for now,

Lisa

 

Hi All!

Well, I’m heading to Florida tomorrow for a one week vacation. No plans to look at a computer while I’m away so my blog will be quiet until I travel home on May 25th.

Time for some sun, fun and surf!

Bye for now and enjoy your week!

Lisa

Hi All!

The following guest post is courtesy of Caroline Ceniza-Levine, co-founder of SixFigureStart, a career coaching firm that specializes in working with Gen Y young professionals. Formerly in corporate HR and retained search, Caroline most recently headed campus recruiting for Time Inc and has also recruited for Accenture, Citibank, Disney ABC, and others.

Her article is entitled “Focus On the Upside!”:

Two strikeout leaders in baseball are Reggie Jackson and Babe Ruth. Neither player is remembered as a strikeout leader. Still, people hear stories of great success coming only after great struggle, and this is not enough to encourage them to go after their dreams. The potential downside of failure often greatly outweighs the potential upside from success.

Here are some tips to focus on the upside, especially in an anxious market that may reinforce your habit of playing it safe:

Confront the downside. What are the specific consequences of failure to meet this goal? How much money will you lose? How much time will you have invested? How much notoriety will this bring? Really visualize for yourself the worst possible downside, and make specific plans on how to mitigate the consequences.

Confront the upside. What are the tangible effects of success at this goal? Express it in pictures that you hang on your wall. Write it down in a journal that you read regularly. Tell friends what it means to you. Keep your upside in your sight, your mind, and your words, and it will seem more reachable. Replace one fear with another. At some point, we need to just take our shot. You may never get over your fear of failure, but you could replace it with a greater fear of never knowing.

Think about what it would mean for you to never know what happened if you tried. The prospect of living with a what-if is not very appealing. Focus on the regret, remorse, disappointment, shame, sadness, etc. of not even trying, and you may find these feelings worse than any downside from failure.

Reggie Jackson wouldn’t be a Hall of Famer, baseball icon, and candy bar, without also being a strikeout leader. Putting himself in the game meant downside, but also great upside. If you never take your shot, nothing will change. Is the life you have now exactly the way that you want it to be? If not, take aim. As Wayne Gretzky, hockey sports icon, noted “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

Article provided through Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Bye for now and thank you, Caroline, for the guest post!

Lisa

Hi All!

I adore Ryan Healy. He’s a bright young guy and a Millennial Blogger who I follow. And when I say “Millennial Blogger” I mean he’s a member of the Millennial (Gen Y) Generation who blogs about Millennial topics…not some old fart (like me) who writes about them!

He’s the co-founder of the Brazen Careerist; a service that matches companies with young job candidates, and he runs the blog, Employee Evolution, a career blog for Millennial professionals.

On Employee Evolution he posts all kinds of great insights pertaining to everything “Millennial”. Recently he wrote a post entitled: Why Isn’t Mainstream Gen Y Buying Into the New Web?

Here’s an excerpt from it:

Generation Y practically invented social media. Friendster was the original, but when Facebook came on the college scene in 2004, everything changed. College students took their offline friends and aggregated them in one place online. Guys browsed through their college networks to find cute girls they had seen at the library, and everyone posted photos from last night’s drunken party or Saturday afternoon’s football game.

Facebook was like being at a college frat party with all the people from your school, but online.

Well, things changed. Facebook opened up, Second Life created a virtual world for everyone to live in, LinkedIn connected all the older white-collar professionals, Twitter jumped on the scene and let all the narcissists scream, “Look at me,” and Facebook followed the trend with their new redesign.

But Generation Y is not inventing the new web. Older people are. The new web is all about hyper-connectivity, real-time updates, and living your life online. And mainstream twenty-somethings aren’t buying into it.

Twitter
According to Comscore, the majority of Twitter users worldwide are 35 or older. Young adults 18-24 only make up 10.6% of the Twitter population in the US and are less likely than the average user to tweet. 45-54 year olds are actually 36 percent more likely than average to visit Twitter.

The traditional social media early adopters are 18 -24 and Twitter is the new social media darling. Why isn’t Gen Y biting?

I can’t cut & paste his entire post here (that wouldn’t be nice), so CLICK HERE to read the whole thing. It’s filled with great stats and insights. Plus, he received 15+ comments from people who also shared good feedback and ideas about his perspectives on this.

And, big thanks to Ryan for providing some great content for my NEW BOOK that will be out this fall. I can’t tell you the title or what it’s about right now…it’s top secret

Bye for now,

Lisa

Hi All,

The Today Show did an interesting segment today about how Gen X and Generation Jones parents are now tackling parenting and managing the household much differently than the generations before them.

This topic was also discussed in an article in USA Today, and discussed how this trend is causing moms angst as they come to grips with having to “let go” and share power at home.

In the article it states:

Equality is gaining ground at homes across the USA, but the move toward parity leaves some mothers in a quandary; they’re ready to share the workload with their partners, but to do that, they’ll also have to come to terms with the loss of hierarchy at home.

“Women who want to create this sometimes don’t appreciate the level at which they must let go,” says Amy Vachon of Watertown, Mass. She and her husband, Marc, have become the standard-bearers for a philosophy called “equally shared parenting.”

“It’s not so much the stereotypical ‘Let my husband dress the kids in things that don’t match’ that’s the surface, easy stuff. It’s more the deep-down letting go being just fine when your child runs to your husband instead of you when she falls down on the playground,” she says. “My first reaction is, ‘I hope the other mothers didn’t notice because maybe they would judge me.’ “

In The Today Show segment they also discussed the new Salary.com survey that reveals “how much” a Mom is worth if she was to be paid for all her time managing the kids and running the house hold. Click here to see the TV segment! It breaks down the cost for stay-at-home moms and working moms.

Along the lines of this, there’s a great new book out called Getting to 50/50: How Working Couples Can Have it All By Sharing It All, by Sharon Meers and Joanna Strober (Sharon was on The Today Show a while back).

All of this is certainly different from the days of Leave It To Beaver, and is a reflection of the evolution that occurs with all generations. If you’re married, and also have kids, I’m sure this is something you can all relate to!

Times they are a changing!

Bye for now,

Lisa