Stereotypes about the youngest workers now entering the workforce are not always flattering. Gen Y has been called self-absorbed, coddled, entitled, and even diagnosed as suffering from an epidemic of narcissism. After hearing all this, why would anyone want to hire a twenty-something? Gen Y is not without its faults, but thankfully we also offer valuable traits that can benefit any organization. If you get the sense that someone you work with is a little skeptical about this, point them in the direction of this recent post from Fast Company blogger Lindsey Pollak, where she rattles off five reasons she loves her Gen Y assistant:
- She brings up things that never occur to me. By digging into her experiences and hearing those of her friends and peers, I widen my view of what’s important to her generation. For my business and many other businesses today, Gen Y is either our entire customer base or a large and ever-growing percentage of it. Gathering Gen Y input is not only a good idea; it’s become essential.
- She’s just tech-ier. Gen Y has a natural facility with technology that even many of us active in the digital space cannot beat. I didn’t even know what I was missing in time-saving tech shortcuts until I watched my assistant.
- She understands personal branding. Gen Y understands the importance of personal branding, because they’ve been branding themselves since their middle school AIM profiles. Whether you’re a writer, speaker, entrepreneur or just working on your professional image, it’s important to have someone who intimately understands personal publicity on your team.
- She’s not really into the 9 to 5. She’s more of a 24/7 kind of girl. If I email my assistant at 11 p.m., she responds. If I unintentionally interrupt her dinner, she isn’t caught off guard. She’s attached to her iPhone, and as her employer, I reap the benefits.
- Her energy is phenomenal. When I do find myself running on empty, my young and savvy assistant swoops in with a burst of positive energy that jolts me back on track. Her eagerness and excitement are quite contagious, and I’m loving it.
Check out Pollak’s post for her complete run-downs of the advantages of employing Gen Y.
(Image of love sculpture by jmscottIMD, CC 2.0)
