Comments on: The Millenials http://www.markbaileyco.com/blog/practicemgmt/the-millenials/ Turning the profession on its head. Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:29:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Shane Eloe http://www.markbaileyco.com/blog/practicemgmt/the-millenials/comment-page-1/#comment-186 Shane Eloe Sun, 09 Mar 2008 11:54:24 +0000 http://www.markbaileyco.com/blog/2008/02/26/the-millenials/#comment-186 If I read that article right, capitalism is bad and we should all be stuck in one job for the rest of our lives. While this may have been acceptable 50 years ago, as people started families much younger and job security was paramount over career growth and opportunity, this is not the case anymore. These old folks need to stop crying for yesterday and figure out how to make it to tomorrow. If staff is so willing to jump ship, maybe you're heading to the wrong port. If I read that article right, capitalism is bad and we should all be stuck in one job for the rest of our lives. While this may have been acceptable 50 years ago, as people started families much younger and job security was paramount over career growth and opportunity, this is not the case anymore.

These old folks need to stop crying for yesterday and figure out how to make it to tomorrow. If staff is so willing to jump ship, maybe you’re heading to the wrong port.

]]> By: Brian Carlson http://www.markbaileyco.com/blog/practicemgmt/the-millenials/comment-page-1/#comment-170 Brian Carlson Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:25:52 +0000 http://www.markbaileyco.com/blog/2008/02/26/the-millenials/#comment-170 I agree with what Lea has to say. gen Y, the Millenials, whatever you want to call those twenty-five and under in the workforce have had it good and will continue to have opportunities thrown at them, especially in accounting and finance. Is that their fault??? NO! So, no, I'm not calling Lea a spoiled Brat, but there is definitely some truth to Millenials being willing to jump ship when things get rough. They can because their skills are in high demand. What every Millennial needs to consider, however, is that if you jump ship too often, all of a sudden you are labeled a "job jumper" and that is a label that no one wants, Millennial, Gen X, or Baby Boomer. What firms need to focus on, both the Big 4 and smaller firms, are the opportunities they provide their employees for growth as a professionals as well as the opportunities their employees have to advance. In my work as an executive recruiter I find the most common reasons that people leave jobs are lack of challenge, lack of skill development, and lack of advancement opportunity. Very rarely does someone leave a job for money, and I find this to be the case whether it be someone from the Baby Boomer generation, Generation X, or Generation Y. I agree with what Lea has to say. gen Y, the Millenials, whatever you want to call those twenty-five and under in the workforce have had it good and will continue to have opportunities thrown at them, especially in accounting and finance. Is that their fault??? NO! So, no, I’m not calling Lea a spoiled Brat, but there is definitely some truth to Millenials being willing to jump ship when things get rough. They can because their skills are in high demand. What every Millennial needs to consider, however, is that if you jump ship too often, all of a sudden you are labeled a “job jumper” and that is a label that no one wants, Millennial, Gen X, or Baby Boomer. What firms need to focus on, both the Big 4 and smaller firms, are the opportunities they provide their employees for growth as a professionals as well as the opportunities their employees have to advance. In my work as an executive recruiter I find the most common reasons that people leave jobs are lack of challenge, lack of skill development, and lack of advancement opportunity. Very rarely does someone leave a job for money, and I find this to be the case whether it be someone from the Baby Boomer generation, Generation X, or Generation Y.

]]> By: Lea http://www.markbaileyco.com/blog/practicemgmt/the-millenials/comment-page-1/#comment-130 Lea Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:03:26 +0000 http://www.markbaileyco.com/blog/2008/02/26/the-millenials/#comment-130 Wow. WOW. I believe I was just called a spoiled brat in that article and it’s left me momentarily speechless. Fortunately, my stereotypical lack of attention span and “short-term thinking” doesn’t enable me to remain speechless for long. The article is obviously catering to the tantrums of a specific (older) audience, but I think the blame is being misdirected. There is a reason Mark is so successful in recruiting and retaining young talent: he just “gets” it. While the difficulty in this “talent” shortage is being blamed on negative, stereotypical generational “differences,” the reality is economic circumstance weighted heavily in any new accounting grad’s favor. Perhaps “the grass must be greener attitude” of young professionals exists because the grass really is greener somewhere else. It is partially a product of the economic environment, and not just one of a generational gap. In order to draw a reliable conclusion on the work habits of this new generation you have to isolate some of the variables, which is going to require a dramatic shift in the current demand for professionals versus supply. While CFOs and Accounting firms are complaining about the “lack of fortitude” demonstrated by their young employees, who “just throw their hands up” at any sign of a challenge, that is essentially what the employers are doing. Rather than change their own attitudes and the culture of their companies to effectively compete in the labor market, they are just “throwing their hands up” and playing a blame game. The article also mentions the lengths the larger firms are going to recruit college graduates. There’s a term for all this wining, dining, and rolling out the red carpet: false advertising. No wonder their employees are so disappointed when they actually start working. Mark mentions that the Big Four rely on their turnover as part of their business model. The sad part is this “Big Four” experience can turn people off to public accounting all together. Before smaller and medium sized firms attempt to recruit from these firms though, they better make sure they really are different. Donut Wednesdays don't count. Wow. WOW. I believe I was just called a spoiled brat in that article and it’s left me momentarily speechless. Fortunately, my stereotypical lack of attention span and “short-term thinking” doesn’t enable me to remain speechless for long. The article is obviously catering to the tantrums of a specific (older) audience, but I think the blame is being misdirected.
There is a reason Mark is so successful in recruiting and retaining young talent: he just “gets” it. While the difficulty in this “talent” shortage is being blamed on negative, stereotypical generational “differences,” the reality is economic circumstance weighted heavily in any new accounting grad’s favor. Perhaps “the grass must be greener attitude” of young professionals exists because the grass really is greener somewhere else. It is partially a product of the economic environment, and not just one of a generational gap. In order to draw a reliable conclusion on the work habits of this new generation you have to isolate some of the variables, which is going to require a dramatic shift in the current demand for professionals versus supply.
While CFOs and Accounting firms are complaining about the “lack of fortitude” demonstrated by their young employees, who “just throw their hands up” at any sign of a challenge, that is essentially what the employers are doing. Rather than change their own attitudes and the culture of their companies to effectively compete in the labor market, they are just “throwing their hands up” and playing a blame game.
The article also mentions the lengths the larger firms are going to recruit college graduates. There’s a term for all this wining, dining, and rolling out the red carpet: false advertising. No wonder their employees are so disappointed when they actually start working. Mark mentions that the Big Four rely on their turnover as part of their business model. The sad part is this “Big Four” experience can turn people off to public accounting all together. Before smaller and medium sized firms attempt to recruit from these firms though, they better make sure they really are different. Donut Wednesdays don’t count.

]]> By: Susan Kishner http://www.markbaileyco.com/blog/practicemgmt/the-millenials/comment-page-1/#comment-124 Susan Kishner Wed, 27 Feb 2008 05:39:05 +0000 http://www.markbaileyco.com/blog/2008/02/26/the-millenials/#comment-124 I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you. Susan Kishner I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you.

Susan Kishner

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