5 Things You Should Know Before Judging Millennials

The terms Gen Y and Millennials pop up constantly lately. And the media seems to treat them as one and the same thing. But can we really consider everyone born between 1980 and 2000 one culturally homogenous group of people?

I’d like to plead for a distinction within that generation. There is a big difference in us babies born in the 1980s, 1990s, and god forbid - the 2000s. Sometimes, it even seems that we are worlds apart.

Let me give you some context to get a better grasp of Millennials. We'll start with these 5 solid factors:

• The Power of the Media
• Cultural Factors
• Technology
• Life Aspiration
• Redefining the Job Market

P.S.: Are you a Gen Y or a Gen Z? Take this super scientific test to find out.

The Power of the Media

Who calls the shots when it comes to describing generations? After digging around, I was able to locate a definition by Yale Sociology Prof. Ron Eyerman that sees a generation as:

A cohort of persons passing through time who come to share a common habitus, hexis and culture, a function of which is to provide them with a collective memory that serves to integrate the cohort over a finite period of time.

So far, so good. But who decides on the common culture and the finite period of time? Sociologists tend to refrain from defining generations, except for one that they pretty much all agree on: baby boomers. Their timeframe extends from the end of WWII to the mid-1960s. After that, it gets quite muddy. Supposedly, generation X came along, loosely followed by generation Y (also referred to as Millennials).

Here’s where it gets downright confusing. There is no clear, agreed upon definition outlined by experts. So guess what - the media took over that task. Try googling Millennial and Gen Y: you’re bound to find a mass of articles bashing everyone born after 1980. This topic seems to gain consistent traction with readers. Why? Probably because things are constantly changing. And when things change, people like to point fingers.

Here’s a highlight of delicious media pieces focusing on Millennials:

• I’m a millennial and my generation sucks by Johnny Oleksinski for the New York Post
• Millennials And 'Their Destruction of Civilization' by Brian O’Malley for Forbes
• Millennials: the me me me generation by Joel Stein for Time
• The unsexy Truth about Millennials: they’re poor by Samantha Allen for The daily Beast

And the list goes on (they’re a treat to read by the way. But they won’t really shed more light on the huge differences within that generational group).

Characteristics of 80s and 90s Babies

I can’t agree with everything about Millennials out there, but I will say this:

• Yes, most people I know who were born after 1980 lead a very different lifestyle than their parents. BUT: so did their parents compared to their parents.
• Looking at teens and twens today I can also clearly see a big difference in the way they shape their lifestyle than I did at that stage of life (or than I do now as a matter of fact).

Attempting to keep the media and society from labeling generational groups is futile. People love labels. So I’ll join in by proposing a slight differentiation.

Gen Y: People born between roughly 1980 and the mid-1990s. Here’s a few things that can set them apart:

• Iconic technology: SMS, Internet, Email, AOL, chat forums, Nintendo
• Music: Eminem, Puff Daddy, Nirvana, Britney Spears
• TV & Movies: Titanic, Friends, South Park
• Social Markers: September 11, Columbine, Tschernobyl

Gen Z: People born from the mid-1990s (near the turn of the century). Here’s a few things that can set them apart:

• Iconic technology: Apple products, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Wii
• Music: Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Kanye West
• TV & Movies: Avatar, 3D movies, Twilight
• Social Markers: Arab spring, Wiki Leaks

To me one crucial element differentiates Gen Z from every other generation: their unconscious adoption of technology while growing up.

The Role of Technology

I think we can all agree that the internet is awesome. It provides you with literally anything you want: education, entertainment, pizza, or even a hot date.

Most Gen Y grew up right around the dawn of the internet. We remember AOL, dial-up internet, and by the way we felt honored to be entrusted with a Nokia on our weekend sleepover. Nothing was taken for granted.

Fast forward to Gen Z, whose cell phones are pretty much an elongation of their arms. It is completely natural for 12 year olds to have the latest iphone and elementary school kids can navigate the ipad better than you can. 

This diverging context of technology consciousness - one as an amenity, the other as a god-given right - also fuels different social behaviors.

Exhibit A: I feel bad when I’m having coffee with someone and my phone goes off. I do not want to be rude and interrupt our conversation by looking at my phone. To me, it’s a matter of manners.

Exhibit B: Teens having a soda together. Most - if not all of them - are staring at their phones. They have another perception of manners in this context (why they’re hanging out together in the first place is a mystery to me - perhaps someone can explain?).

Our relationship with technology impacts a lot of things in our lives. The media slams millennials for obsessing over selfies and their online image. New York Post author Johnny Oleksinski also addresses this behavior:

When you meet them, they’re never quite as witty, attractive or entrepreneurial as they seem on Facebook.

And I have to agree that I feel embarrassed for this generation’s lack of authenticity in the real world. But do take a look around: notice all the other generations mimicking that exact behavior?

So, before you go on a rant about Gen Z’s digital habits - take a good hard look at yourself (without using the front camera of your phone).

Gen Y: The Optimistic Bunch

Lots of Gen Y associated a job with a calling when they thought about their future. That’s mostly thanks to their parents who worked hard to enable their kids to follow their passion. So Gen Y went off to study a rainbow of subjects, from journalism to science majors. They went on semesters abroad, worked side jobs to help pay the bills, and got their degree just around the time the economy crashed.

So when this optimistic bunch finally entered the job market, some of them fell. Hard. No one seemed to care about their diverse degrees, work experience, or their willingness to learn. At the turn of the century, those Gen Y lucky enough to snag a decent job were often those with a background in business administration, engineering, or computer science.

Lots of Gen Y completely changed careers, molded themselves into something different, and accepted very low starting salaries at times. But Gen Y is resilient and humble - they work hard and continuously learn to adapt. Watch out for that burn-out though!

Gen Z: The Wunderkind Generation

Meanwhile, Gen Z are also lucky to have parents that let them chose their own path. But as little as a decade can make such a big difference when it comes to parenting. Gen Z experienced the beginning of modern day helicopter parenting. These parents think their babies are the bestest and brightest kids out there. Without knowing it, their overparenting and delusional expectations propel Gen Z into a stressful, uniform college experience.

Gen Z was able to observe Gen Y follow their hearts and consequently struggle upon entering the market. So if the job market rewards degrees in business, computer sciences and so on - they’re going to chose that path. Meanwhile, humanities majors are quietly disappearing. To stay competitive, Gen Z must also finish their degrees in record time, have excellent grades, squeeze in a prestigious internship and a semester abroad. There is no time to get a side job, so parents foot the bill. After all, they are investing in the next Bill Gates.

For Gen Z, it’s comforting to follow the beaten path. Work experience and responsibilities is something they’ll deal with later, when they get a job. And when they do find a job, they notice it’s not all it’s hyped to be. What happened to this so-called work-life balance and the great salary they were taught to deserve? 

Redefining the Job Market

Together Gen Y and Gen Z are the largest workforce ever, surpassing baby boomers. This means Millennials should very much care about the direction their careers are taking since they are shaping the job market for years to come.

This leads me to ask two questions:

1. How can Gen Y and Z master the job hunt to find purposeful work?
2. How can recruiting learn to nurture, attract and retain uniquely qualified candidates?

Here’s one thing Gen Y and Gen Z have in common: their job hunt approach is still heavily influenced by the previous generation (their parents). That’s partly because companies are sending mixed signals: they want to attract the best candidates but stick to an outdated recruiting philosophy. But it’s also because Millennials were never taught how to master the 21st century job hunt in the first place!

The Takeaway

• Millennials are too big of a group stretching over too big of a period to generalize behavior. Especially along the two ends of the spectrum. I suggest using the terms Gen Y and Gen Z.
• Technology consciousness plays a major role in differentiating both generations.
• Both generations are struggling to fulfill their life aspiration in the stagnated reality of the job market.
• HR thinking, strategies and processes need to be re-evaluated and adapted to the largest generation to ever create a workforce.

Dear Millennials, you’ve updated almost everything in your life to the 21st century. It’s about time you brought your job hunt up to speed, right?

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Christine is a Communication Strategist, Gen Y and TCK. Being rootless gives her a sense of freedom, but if asked she'll either say she's French, German or American. A notoriously curious person, she likes to question things and write about them. Hopeless optimist, hustler with a sunny disposition, and klutz at times - she's eager to hear your story.