The Truth About Youth

Here are some of the cold hard facts about today’s youth.

1. Most will not stay with your company for the rest of their lives. Maximize the time you have together and when you part ways, do so knowing you’ve enriched the life of another person on this planet.
2. With youth comes inexperience. They are not going to report to work the first day knowing the ins and outs of the job they just accepted. It’s your job to train them. Otherwise hire someone with experience. Of course this means you’ll have to pay more for experienced personnel.
3. They are 10 times smarter than we were at their age. In many cases, they represent the market you are selling to so listen carefully before discarding their suggestions. And remember, they have a lot they can teach each of us if only we’d allow them to do so.
4. They are a breath of fresh air. They may look different than the youth of our generation, but let’s remember that a lot of people thought we were “out there” and most of us didn’t turn out all that bad. Embrace the fact that they are independent thinkers.
5. They have feelings. They may appear to be confident, but their ego is still in development mode. Whatever you do or say will have a lasting impression on them for years to come. Think about that before you blurt something out that may not reflect well on you.
6. They didn’t plan on graduating college at a time where jobs were next to impossible to find. Don’t diss the fact that they’ve spent the past two years working at McDonalds. Hey, at least they were working.
7. They aren’t intentionally disrespecting you. Their parents were both working during the day and may not have taught them the importance of looking someone in the eye when speaking to them or why you they should hold the door open for the person behind them. Some simple coaching regarding matters like this can go a long way.
8. They are not mind readers. They cannot and will not anticipate your next move. That means you’ll have to be specific if you expect them to take a project over the finish line.
9. They are not lazy. They are efficient and don’t understand why they have to stay at work until the closing bell rings when their work was done hours ago.
10. They are observant. They are watching every move you make and are making decisions based on what they see, as opposed to what you may be telling them. If you want them to act like well-behaved adults, then be sure you do the same.

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