BNET just published a highly amusing feature article package on Gen-Y, aka the so-called Millennials. I personally find such categorizations (Gen-X, Gen-Y, Boomers, etc) fairly bogus because the difference between the generations seems fairly microscopic to me, all things considered.
For example, every one of the “archetypes” in BNET’s hilarious Field Guide have their exact counterparts in previous generations. (Although, in the Boomer’s heyday, I understand that it was generally more effective to bribe a “man-child” with a joint rather than a six pack.) Certainly every generation has its share of “uberachievers” and tech-head “eccentrics.”
That being said, it’s interesting that market research suggests that Millennials are apparently either not interested in, or not being offered, many jobs in Sales. In the article “Generation Y by the Numbers” the popular jobs for both educated and semi-educated Millennials include only “Inside Sales Rep” and “Insurance Sales Agent.” The apparent paucity of sales jobs is odd, considering that most of the professional jobs created in today’s U.S. service-based economy are in Sales.
Maybe the “experts” are right, and Generation Y really does represent a peculiarly flighty and self-absorbed population. If so, they (the Gen-Yers not the experts) would be woefully ill equipped to succeed in Sales. But I suspect that the lack of sales jobs is simply an artifact of the way that the survey was designed. Either that, or listening to “Mr. Roboto” while still in the cradle has caused permanent brain damage.
In any case, I’m far more likely to believe what my brain trust (that’s you guys) observe in the real world, rather than analysts who have a financial interest in segmenting the population to sell books and reports.
So, what’s the scoop? Have you hired, interviewed or worked with anyone from Gen-Y? Are they all that different from the previous crop of younglings?
