Many Gen Z workers are not
happy in their first jobs and very happy to tell you about it. Here are 3
things you can tell them.
EXPERT OPINION BY HOWARD TULLMAN, GENERAL MANAGING PARTNER, G2T3V
AND CHICAGO HIGH TECH INVESTORS @HOWARDTULLMAN1
NOV 26, 2024
Sometimes we learn or are reminded of
fundamental truths and facts of life in the most unexpected ways. That is, you
never really learn things the way you want to. Learning is a matter of timing
beyond your control, something that happens when you’re ready to receive it.
Something that you do for yourself – unlike education, which is allegedly
done to you.
And what’s absolutely obvious is that
you can learn and suddenly understand many things more clearly and in new ways.
Things you’ve always thought you understood and have taken entirely for
granted. The often-pedestrian nature of the circumstances in which you learn,
or the skill and station of the messenger, takes nothing away from the value
and the importance of the messages. But it does demonstrate that you can never
predict how or when you’ll learn something worthwhile, or who, one day, may
bring you your future.
I had a recent revelation (if that’s
not too grand a term) while half-heartedly watching an NFL football player
being interviewed at halftime. The reporter was intently interrogating him
about persistent rumors that he was about to be traded and asked if this
prospect had affected his preparation or his play. He basically brushed her off
and said that he had been concentrating entirely on the game and hadn’t spent
any time thinking about trades, moves or other rumors.
And then he stated his basic
philosophy so simply and succinctly that it was stunning. He said it was
important to “be where your feet are.”
This simple statement resonated so
strongly with me because I’ve had dozens of conversations with highly educated
younger people who are entering the workforce and in their first jobs. And they
are all unhappy. They complain that the work isn’t stimulating or challenging
and it’s too low-level for their talents and skills. The hours are too long,
their supervisors are too particular and demanding, and their salaries are too
low. The snacks also suck. And unlike so many of their friends, they’ve
been told that they need to spend a significant portion of each week in their
office rather than working from home.
Can you imagine?
That got me thinking about another
classic cliché: the grass is always greener on the other side. This could
easily be the primary motto and motivation for the MAGAts and Trumpist morons
if they had the slightest amount of introspection or self-awareness. And the
grass may of course be greener on the other side because it’s fertilized by
lies and bullshit. Whatever the case, complaints of this kind have certainly
become the go-to rationale, recurring complaint, and rallying cry of the
newbies who are discovering that things don’t always go their way as they enter
the real working world. This has led to a rash of costly and fruitless job hopping, which helps
no one. Sorting these people out of your recruitment programs in advance will
save you a lot of time, money and wasted training down the line.
If you haven’t been subjected to one
of these “life’s not fair and my job stinks” lectures by someone half your age,
just wait a short while. You’re going to need a fair amount of patience and a
little ammunition to respond if you care to spend the time. But even if you
don’t waste the time replying to Whiny Willy or Weepy Wendy, it’s also a really
good idea to share these ideas with your own kids.
Here are three important things that
I’d suggest you share with all of them once they run out of steam and breath.
(1) Another cliché: “Bloom where
you’re planted.”
Wanna move up or even out? Show me
what you can do to improve, shine, and grow in your present role and then it
makes sense to talk about taking on more challenges and responsibility. You
might add that maybe the grass is greener elsewhere because they take better
care of the grass. Richard Branson had a great piece of management advice about
this. He said, “train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well
enough so they don’t want to”.
(2) You don’t need the perfect job
right out of school.
And, as it happens, there are no
perfect jobs anyway. In the real world, you don’t get what you wish for, you
get what you work for. If you’re smart, ambitious, and lucky, even if you think
your present job is perfect, you should be working hard to outgrow it to help
make your ambition a reality. For the moment, just think of the current
situation as one where you’re fortunate enough to be getting paid to learn.
(3) Don’t expect a warm welcome.
Whatever your college career
counselors may have told you about the world beating a path to your door and
the enormous demand out there for your particular credentials, for 80% to
90% of upcoming college graduates, the job market is going to be substantially
harder and the competition for entry level positions fiercer than ever. One
reason is that many of those positions are being eliminated through automation
and the use of A.I. tools. Another is that the present occupants of many of
those slots are desperately hanging on to what they have rather than running
the risk of being unemployed. It’s frighteningly easy these days to overstep
your boundaries, wear out your welcome, and talk yourself out of a job. It may
not be heaven, but it’s home for now.
