Smeal Alumni Interests: Millennials

Being in the higher education industry, but working with alumni in business, creates a need to be informed about their world. Thank you to all my connections for sharing valuable information on LinkedIn that helps me stay current. This post shares articles from The Smeal Network on millennials.

The business world is very interested millennials, especially now, as they are the largest generation in America. Companies are counting on their leadership as the baby boomers head into retirement. Also, baby boomers will be passing along wealth at an estimated total of $30 trillion to their millennial heirs.

If you are a millennial, out of all the articles in this post, please copy the title to the article that you feel "speaks to you the most" about your generation in the comment section below. Then, share the article with your network and have them do the same.

NOTE: You may also share a link to any recent article on the millennial generation that you have found interesting.

Let's see which article or topic is considered most relevant!

If you are a Smeal alumni, please join Smeal’s official group and post any important articles on topics you are concerned about. Remember, the LinkedIn group should say official in the title!

Millennials - What are millennials investing in more than any other generation?

How Chase Made the Perfect High for Credit Card Junkies shared by Curtis Adams (‘12 MAcc) Senior Tax Accountant at Aronson LLC: “The $450-a-year Sapphire Reserve card has points-and-miles-obsessed millennials fired up.”

We expect millennials to do great things. Maybe we shouldn’t. Shared by Angelo Annese (‘97 Accounting) Partner at EY: “Millennials are certainly diverse, and they tend to be socially liberal. But a new nationwide poll carried out by EY, a professional services company, and the Economic Innovation Group, a policy and advocacy group, suggests that the generation of Americans who are now between the age of 18 and 34 really are not that entrepreneurial — a finding that is troubling for the future of the U.S. economy.”

Why young people don't buy cars and apartments anymore shared by James Ayoub (‘16 Supply Chain) Supply Chain Analyst at graze.com: “Nowadays, the traditional measure of success — owning an apartment and/or a car — is out of date. An increasing number of young people around the world don’t want to buy them.”

Why Millennials May NEVER Succeed In Work shared by John Barnes (‘95 Accounting) Partner at Grant Thornton LLP: “If you are a millennial and find yourself job hopping it's worth thinking twice before leaving your employer.”

Why Millennials Care About Social Impact Investing shared by Daniel Bena (Webinar Presenter) Senior Director of Operations Development at PepsiCo: “According to a United States Treasury survey, millennials are investing in organizations that prioritize the greater good more than any previous generation.”

Why So Many Millennials Are Speaking up at Work shared by Eli Bohemond (‘10 Accounting) Career Development Advisor at Hult International Business School: “A 2009 study by the journal Qualitative Sociology, published in Sticking Points: How To Get 4 Generations Working Together In The 12 Areas They Come Apart, found that millennials had more freedom to disagree with their parents and were encouraged to express their feelings. In other words, authority is flexible for a millennial.”

There's An Interesting Split Between Older And Younger Millennials When It Comes To Their Careers shared by Robert Braun (MBA) System Vice President, Cancer Service Line (Oncology) at Barnabas Health: "I’ve managed older and younger high-achieving Millennials in tech and found there are differences beyond the fact that one group is simply older than the other."

Learn About the Four Millennials Behind All Things Go and the Fall Classic, shared by John Briante (’99 International Marketing) Director of Business Development at Mintz Group: “The Fall Classic is one of the most anticipated events in the southeast D.C. area. For over ten years, Will Suter, Adrian Maseda, Stephen Vallimarescu and Zack Friendly have been making a name for themselves on the internet with their music blog All Things Go.”

Harvard Business Review: Millennials Can’t Afford to Job Hop shared by Meghan Brown (‘16 Marketing) Technology Development Program Analyst at PNC: “Far fewer Millennials are a flight risk than you think, and the reason is stunningly simple: money.”

Gas-station stores upping their game, in part because of millennials shared by Jennifer Mazza Cagliuso (‘87 MIS) Advisory Board Member, College of Information Sciences & Technology at Penn State University: "Gas stations are undergoing major, “futuristic” alterations at high rates. This is largely in part to the growing number of millennial consumers and the need to accommodate them."

Do Millennials Need Life Insurance? shared by Shawn Cavalieri (‘16 Finance) Financial Consultant at AXA Advisors, LLC: “If you’re wondering why life insurance is so important (even for millennials), here are a few things to keep in mind”

Articles shared by J. Michael Checchio (‘75 Finance) Wealth Management Advisor at H D Vest Investment Services

--Here’s Why Millennials May Be in for a Really Rude Awakening: “Even though millennials came of age during the Great Recession — with many of them scrambling to get jobs and pay off student loans in a punishing economy — a large number believe a financial crisis will never happen again.”

--Research: Millennials Can’t Afford to Job Hop: “Forty percent of Millennials with a financial safety net say they plan to leave their jobs within a year. But these financially privileged folks represent fewer than one in ten Millennials, CTI surveyed born between 1982 and 1994 who are working full-time in white-collar professions in the U.S.”

3 Reasons Millennials Think They're More Qualified Than Their Bosses shared by Diana Fitting (‘82 Management) Court Appointed Child Advocate at CASA/Youth Advocates, Inc and Consultant at A Fitting Solution: “Millennials are getting fired for their differing attitudes towards work--and it's creating a lot of heated discussions. The result? A large group of Millennials who feel they could do their bosses' jobs.”

Front-Line Employee Relationships Still Matter For Millennials shared by Bob Frank (Marketing) Sales Director of Strategic Accounts at Interactions LLC: “According to research from Eventbrite, nearly one in four millennials are more likely to pay money for an experience than a product. For brands in today’s market, this changes the game entirely.”

The Millennial Economy shared by Anoop George (‘04 Finance) Senior Manager at EY - Advisory Services: “EY and EIG conducted a new national public opinion survey of 1,200 Millennials to gauge their views on a variety of issues related to the economy at all levels—personal, local, and national—and the challenges they face almost seven years into the recovery from the Great Recession.”

TiVo: Millennials Are Major Video Consumers, But Extremely Impatient shared by Angel Grant (‘07 Marketing) Senior Manager of Digital Marketing at LG Electronics: “But while millennials are prime targets for content companies, they’re also extremely impatient: 54% told TiVo that they’ve given up on a show they enjoy because it became too difficult to access the content.”

The Real Problem With Millennials: They're Workaholics shared by Conner Henry (’16 Marketing) PEO District Manager, HR/BPO at ADP: “Thanks to technology and an 'always on' culture, the lines between vacation time and working remotely are getting blurrier.”

Articles shared by Abigail Johnson (‘14 Marketing) Marketing and Business Development Coordinator at Bergman Engineering, LLC

--Target Goes After Millennials With Small, Focused Stores: “The chain is opening several smaller stores in urban areas and college towns from New York City to State College, Pa., as it battles declining traffic and sales at its nearly 1,800-strong fleet of largely suburban stores.”

--4 Habits Every Millennial Should Bring To Work

1. Communicate Value to People

2. Seek the good of your company

3. Think before you speak

4. Curiosity is key

Why Your Millennial Sellers Aren't Closing shared by Sarah Jolly (‘15 Marketing) Territory Manager at Nestle Purina North America: "Modern technology is making it more difficult for millennials to close business deals because they are not used to speaking to each other face-to-face."

TMJ Episode 1: Chidi & The New Community Project shared by Jeremy Katz (‘15 Supply Chain) Business Banking Relationship Manager at PNC: "This is a video from ‘That Millennial Jawn’ featuring their first episode with Chidi and his new The Community Project."  

Add Millennials to your client base by changing it up shared by Colleen Krimm (‘11 Supply Chain Management) Manager at Accenture: “Did you know 66 percent of children fire their parents’ financial advisor after receiving an inheritance? Millennials, whether inheriting money or earning their own nest egg, are a new breed of client for most wealth managers.”

Millennials - Older than you Think shared by Andrew Marley (’06 Management) Attorney at Stern & Eisenberg PC: “A recent NPR news story reported interesting financial statistics with Millennials. Some was on student debt, others on rate of change in employment, but the biggest statistic happened to be on the percentages of all babies had last year – 90%.”

Millennial Job Hopping at Epidemic Level -New Book Explains How to Keep Them Engaged, and Make Them Successful shared by Nikolina Mrkalj (‘16 Marketing) District Manager at ADP: "A Gallup poll released earlier this year states that the percentage of millennials who are open to changing jobs is at an all-time high of 60%.  The study finds that millennials are the least-engaged generation in the workplace, with only 1 in 3 identifying themselves as “engaged” with their organization."

Why Millennials Should Rethink Their Job Search—And Give Sales a Try shared by Brad Nelson (’03 Finance) Managing Director at Northwestern Mutual: “It’s time for millennials to rethink how they approach selecting their first post-college job. In particular, they may want to critically question some of the clichés that their parents or peers may still be espousing.”

Millennials Think They Can’t Save $1 Million. They’re Wrong. shared by Justin Patchcoski (‘08 Economics) Investment Adviser Representative, Financial Services Representative at MassMutual Financial Group: “Despite an impressive head start, millennials overwhelmingly say they will not be able to put away as much as $1 million in their lifetime, new research shows. Yet with three or four decades to save, that mark should actually be fairly easy to hit.”

The 5 US Cities Where Millennials Are Eager to Work shared by Rick Palaia (Finance) Senior Enterprise Relationship Manager at LinkedIn Australia:

1. Austin, Texas
2. Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
3. Detroit, Michigan
4. Cleveland/Akron, Ohio
5. Charlotte, North Carolina

Why Millennials Say No To Partnership In Your CPA or Law Firm: 8 Ways To Keep Them Deeply Engaged/Retained Anyway shared by Praveen Ravi (‘15 Accounting) Banker at Wells Fargo: “Millennials are in fact highly motivated and have excellent work ethics - just not applied and focused in the same way as more senior Partners.”

8 Investing Mistakes You'll Probably Make In Your 20s And 30s shared by Amanda Redden (‘13 Finance) Business Analytics & Strategy Consultant at IBM:

1. Not Asking Questions
2. Not investing at all
3. Not acknowledging investment options outside your 401(k).
4. Treating an investment account like a bank account
5. Getting overly distracted by short-term fluctuations, and not understanding long-term investments.
6. Not being consistent with your contributions
7. Making decisions based on friends’ recommendations, instead of personalizing your investment strategy.
8. Not knowing what to do when your earnings (and earning potential) climbs.

For Millennials, Is Job-Hopping Inevitable? shared by Kelsey Warren (‘11 Communications) Business Solutions Manager: “Job-hopping among millennials (born between 1980 and 1996) is problematic because these workers currently make up 38% of the U.S. workforce; some estimate that they will make up as much as 75% of it by 2025.”

Trending on Pulse:

--Millennials, Here’s Why Face Time At Work Is Still Important: “In a study that set out to explore how millennials work and how their practices might come to shape the future of labor, 41% of millennials indicated they prefer using electronic communication methods — instant messages, texts, company intranet, etc. — over face-to-face meetings and even telephone calls.”

--Millennial Entrepreneurs Are Successful Because of 1 Thing (and it’s Not Their Age): “But a recent psychology finding has good news for all of us: when it comes to professional success, age is nothing but a number.”

--Why Millennials Are Freaking Out Over a Credit Card With a $450 Annual Fee: "JPMorgan has just issued a new line of credit cards, and they are going viral among millennials despite hefty annual fees. The catch?: bargains and “perks.”

--Millennials need to ditch their parents’ outdated career ladders and embrace job-hopping: “Millennials don’t want to move “up” on a career ladder. Overall, we are less concerned with traditional metrics of success, like savings and home ownership, and more concerned with creating lives defined by meaning, community, and shared value.”

--Millennial Women Who Take Career Breaks Risk Retirement-Savings Shortfalls: “Millennial women who plan to take career breaks face sharp shortfalls in retirement savings unless they save at significantly higher rates during their years in the workforce.”