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Workforce, July, 2002

A Job-Search Recipe

Once again, Shari Caudron's writing sparks my imagination. Her "There Ain't No Box" recipe ("Creativity 101," On The Contrary, March 2002) can be applied to many situations, but as a career counselor, I see its direct application to the job search. Thanks again for an inspirational and relevant article.

Sue Gannon

Pleasant Hill, Cal California

suegannon@yahoo.com

Gen Y Says "Bring It On"

Joanne Sujansky's recent article, "The Critical Care and Feeding of Generation Y," (The Buzz, May 2002) was right on. I graduated from a Top 20 university in 2000 and was recruited into an underdeveloped management training program at a Fortune 100 company during my senior year. During my 20-month tenure with this particular company I repeatedly heard senior management lament the fact that 50 percent of staff was eligible for retirement within the next five years and that young employees like myself were the key to the future of the enterprise. Sujansky noted that my generation has "...a lot of raw energy, unbridled enthusiasm, and the skills and experience of those much older." When I asked my managers if I could cross-train in other departments I was told that I was distracted and need to "settle down." When I had clearly mastered the skills of my job and volunteered to train new employees I was told that I wasn't focused. I asked for more challenging work without mention of promotion or raise and was told to be patient. After almost two years of unchallenging, meaningless work, and with no evidence of opportunity to move up, I quit. During my exit interview, when the employment representative asked me why I was leaving, I told her it was because there was such a low expectation of what I could do for the company.

If a "coaching" style of management seems high maintenance, I can assure you it's worth it. It will enable my generation to do more, produce more, and earn more for the company. Employing archaic management techniques and outdated employee development models not only promises that your management team will be understaffed, it will ensure the continued success of Monster.com.

Bring it on!

Matt Grace

Administrative Director

Rocketown Youth Services

Nashville, Tennessee

Time to Get Engaged

Todd Raphael's article, "Happiness May Be Overrated" (Think Twice, May 2002) is something of a straw man. Employee happiness is not synonymous with employee satisfaction and no well-informed employer pursues the measurement of employee happiness with a goal to improve the measures.

On the other hand, measuring the level that employees have the necessary tools, training, and motivation to meet the legitimate needs of their customer base, are engaged in their work, and believe their skills are being used to accomplish the employer's business plan needs to be measured in the form of employee satisfaction metrics.

Call it something else if it makes you more comfortable, but it needs to be measured in a way that can lend itself to action items.

Mike Peacher

National Vice President, National Treasury Employees Union

Dolton, Illinois