Oh How College Has Changed - New MBA Program Demonstrates Generational Difference

When traditionalist women were of college age, they were not allowed to attend institutes of higher learning.  Some wanted to, but like having their own patents, credit cards, or the right to vote, it simply wasn't allowed.  Women fought long and hard and eventually were granted these rights.  Today the number of women attending college is greater than the number of men seeking higher education.

The Baby Boomer generation also has a small percentage of college graduates.  Most boomers, both male and female learned their skills on the job. 

They grew into their position.   Many received promotions to the management ranks as "home grown" senior ranking members in their industry. 

Perhaps that is why they are so committed to their children's education.

Generation X, the "latch key kids" knew what they wanted and an even greater number of them than the boomers  are college graduates.   

They are college educated employees highly skilled in technology and committed to their careers and their personal life. 

Many are married with children or are thinking of taking this step as they note that time is skipping along and it's time to buckle down.

Generation Y is one of the most well educated groups in the workforce.  They have a different take on college education and many entered the workforce with their MBAs and a Plan.  They expect to climb the corporate ladder rapidly.  Some enter the company with their business plan for the change they want to see in the organizaitons they join.  

If they are not promoted within two years they bail, quit, move back home.  Whatever it takes, they show their displeasure with the corporate decisions by skating away. 

I found it interesting when one of their college courses was a study of Drew Barrymore's life. 

Drew was in her twenties at the time.  Hardly enough life to study in my estimation.  Yes, they received college credits for this class.

Times change and there's always a new generation on the horizon with their own unique needs, and generational differences, that demand to be met. 

The digital generation barely speak to each other.  They have lost the crucial skill of face to face communication.  Their spelling and writing skills are in the toilet due to increased time talking with their thumbs.  Even when sitting or walking together other they use digital devices to communicate with each other. 


It is the age of Social Media. 

So it was no surprize to learn today that Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) has announced plans to offer a new MBA specialization in Social Media Marketing.

The new program will allow students to study Web 2.0 concepts like microblogging and podcasting, and adapt these new ideas to existing business plans.  The MBA in Social Media Marketing will be offered both online, and at seven campuses.   You can learn more about it  here.

This confirms that the ubiquitous social media is here to stay and today's generation is gearing up to take advantage of everything it has to offer. 

What do you think of this new MBA?  Would you like to have one, to teach one of the classes, or to hire one of the graduates?    Click below to leave your comments.

Using Video Resume is a Generational Difference in Personal Marketing

Whether you are a recruiter or a job hunter today's job market is a stressful one.  Job hunters are hard pressed to stand out in a sea of resumes so that they are the ones selected for an open position.

One recruiting manager informs me that his staff has gone from receiving 2000 resumes a day to 40,000 per day.  It is difficult to keep up with the high volume of people seeking employement and using the internet to post their resumes for open positions.  It is no wonder then that job hunters have found a novel way to find a job, the YouTube video. 

Witness HireMeHeadblade:



Eric Romer created a video resume, posted it to YouTube, and sent the link along with his resume to the hiring manager. 

He heard about a marketing manager job at razor company HeadBlade via Twitter and decided to set up a blog called “Hire Me, HeadBlade,” where he included a YouTube video of himself shaving his head with the company’s product.  “I got a response within 24 hours, and the founder/CEO flew me out to interview less than a week later,” said Romer.    He got the job.

Boomers do it too
Louie Bernstein, age 57 created a video resume as well.  He wrote the script and had his son play the role of the interviewer. 



While he has not yet had an interview, his video has been viewed 167 times. 

He also posted his resume to YouTube


Still somewhat traditional
One job candidate created a video that included why he wanted to work at the company.  The recruiter was impressed by the research and work the candidate had done in preparation of the interview. 

What this means for job seekers
In the age of Social Media setting yourself apart from the competition means you must be creative in ways that didn't exist before.    It also changes the game as the recruiter is no longer simply viewing your experience, knowledge, and credentials.  With video resumes they can see your age, weight, race,  and more. 

This can put some people at a disadvantage and knock them out of the running for a job opportunity right out of the gate.  Before the age of social media, recruiters examined a piece of paper and selected candidate based on skills and credentials.  Video resumes changes that.  

What do you think about video resumes?  Please share your comments here about this new change for job candidates.

Generational Differences in the Church Causes Conflict

An article about generational differences in the church caught my eye recently.  It seems that the young pastor's communication style is causing disconnect with the older members of the congregation.

The question posed was "Our church just hired a pastor who is young enough to be the child of many members.  His language about 'the emerging church', 'post modernism' and 'interfaith dialogue' distresses older members." 

The result is unhappy constituents in the church.  The communication style and words used by the young pastor is causing sparks to fly and a disconnect between the generations.    Older members have trouble understanding what he means by "the emerging church" and the terms he uses makes them turn away from his sermons.

Michael Clingenpeel, pastor of River Road Church believes that the young pastor is responsible for the words he uses to encourage change.

I believe this is a continuation of the ubiquitous generational conflict we all face.  Regardless of the industry, people of different generations have trouble communicating with each other.  It is not simply a matter of verbiage.  It is a matter of mindset.  Yes, people don't like change, but the truth is change is inevitable.

In this instance, the responsibility lies both with the young pastor and his congregation.  This is an opportunity to open a dialogue whereby everyone can candidly hold a discussion about their faith.

If the young pastor relents to the older members of the congregation, he might lose the support of the younger generation.  They are the future of the church and we need them in order for there to be a congregation going forward.

I say, follow the action of the Pope. On January 23, 2010 Pope Benedict XVI gave a new commandment to priests struggling to get their message across: Go forth and blog.

As a matter of fact the Pople has several blogs and many are right here on blogger.  A  really good blog by the pope allows the visitor to choose the languge that works for them.

Just google pope: blog and you might be surprised at the quantity of blogs out there.

My point is, the pope has jumped on the social media bandwagon because he realizes that generational differences mean that you must communicate with your constituents the way they expect it.  He communicates with his flock using the medium that works for them.

Here is another good pope website.  He is on Facebook as well.  You go with change and meet the people. 

I dare say the young pastor should do the same.  Help the congregation to realize the value of varied styles of communication and work with them break down the barriers he currently faces.

Moving from Generation ME to Generation WE

It's the end of the decade and it's been an interesting one. We went from the "Me Generation" as the baby Boomers called themselves to "Generation ME" as the Gen Ys call themselves.

Generation ME focused on what happens outside of themselves. Everything begins and ends with "ME" - My videos, my Flickr, YouTube which is all about ME, MySpace, and numerous other online means of showing off how wonderful I am.

Admittedly, there were some positive aspects of creating videos for fun, but meaness, bullying and showing off was off the charts this decade. The decaide was filled with incidents where the good samaritans were scarce. If they helped at all, they did so *after* they took a video of the incident.

Book titles bore out the focus on one's self. Books like "Not Everyone Gets a Trophy" and "The Narcissism Epidemic" chronicled the mindset of the new generation and looked for ways to connect with the mindset of the young generation.

Even when alone, some took videos of themselves in various states of undress while debasing themselves. It seemed as though no one knew the word or the emotion called SHAME.  The hottest new means of becoming famous was a sex tape, done alone or with others.

Parents joined "REALITY SHOWS" to demonstrate how dysfunctional their families were. This type of 'entertainment' was so popular that one "D-List" couple crashed a White House Party so that they could get on a reality show. Another family pulled a stunt that included implying that their young son was trapped in a balloon that had taken off.   After thousands of dollars were spend and hundreds of emergency personnel tried to save the boy, we learned that it was a publicity stunt.

So let's close the decade on a positive note. We learned a lot about networking, connecting, finding and reconnecting and that there's more to life than just ME.

What's to come in this new decade? 
 
Lets commit to making 2010 the beginning of a new decade called the "WE Decade." Let's use the connections we made with Social Media to help each other enter the decade of wonderful possibilities where we come together to create a better decade than the one we just ended.
 
Let's commit to learning more about each other and communicate better.   Like anything else, the decade will be what we made of it.  We can use it to synergize our differences, use the best from each generation and forge a union of the minds.

Tiger's Trouble and Generation X Social Existence - Top 7 List

You would have to live on Mars to miss the media frenzy around the Tiger Woods debacle.  For weeks now it's as though nothing else is happening on the Planet.  Every day, almost every hour, somewhere in the world, magazines, television, radio shows, blogs and tweets have featured negative news about the golfer in a non-stop image bash.

It's to be expected when golf's version of Mother Theresa, a perfect person with a perfect image, disappoints us.  We Americans love to build people up and put them on a pedestal.   Our second favorite thing to do is knock them off that pedestal. 

Since our third favorite thing is to build them back up again.  This is Tiger's savior.  We will forgive him eventually, build him up again and return to a new way to worship him.

It is difficult to be perfect.  Many try, few are able to.  Ghandi and Mother Theresa come to mind as examples of success.  But they are from a differnet time.  Today's version of the American Dream has changed from when Boomers were Tiger's age.  In today's world the path to the American Dream looks like this:

1. Create a Sex Tape -  have someone leak it to the internet and/or the press
2. Do the TV Program rounds - Take a tour of all media outlets to protect your good name while showing snippets of the video (as allowed)
3. Get a "Reality" show - Sign with an agency and get yourself a "reality" show where you debase yourself for the pleasure of the public
4. Paparazzi Chase - Be chased by the paparazzi taking your pictures and asking 'is it true that...' questions
5. Get drunk at a club - Do this specifically for the sensational value
6. Complain - Why is this happening to me?  I just want to live my life in peace, etc.
7. Ligitimacy - Now that you're famous, clean up your act, and get a ligitimate job as an actor, singer, rap artist, or dancer

Tiger didn't take this route.  He is the Athlete of the Decade.  Yes he deserves this title no doubt about it.  However, all of us, including Mr. Woods bought into his "Perfect" image.  Sorry folks, no one is perfect.  It's impossible to maintain.  We're all just human beings trying to live our lives and be happy.

In today's social media world it simply isn't possible to do anything and get away with it.  Everyone has a cell phone, tiny video camera, and YouTube account.   They await any single mis-step and rather than help, they use it for their own celebrity.  From YouTube views, to selling it for $$$, most of the younger generation would rather their 15 minutes of fame than to help anyone.  Wait, they will help you *after* their 15 minutes of fame.

Tiger's mistresses are cleaning up using this new model of the American Dream.  They broadcast in the news that one of them has a Maxim layout.  What they fail to mention is that she is NOT being paid.  This is a testament to the fact that they would even do it for free if there is exposure in it.  Apparently negative exposure is better than no exposure.

What I find difficult to understand is the lack of shame these women have.  Infidelity is nothing new, but Boomers and Traditionalist women were ashamed of this type of behavior.  This younger generation revels in it.  They can't wait to share how disgusting they are.  Our new Miss California proved that by debasing herself and video taping it. 

Don't get me wrong, I do not condone Tiger's actions.  What he did is 'off the hook' as Gen X, Y and Millenials would say.  As a wife myself I find it heartbreaking for both him and his wife.   But I think he has been hounded enough.  He did not kill anyone, he had multiple sexual indiscresions.   Awful yes, is a crucifixion necessary no.  Enough already.  Let's move on to other topics.

Yo, Hello The Google Guys Are Gen Xers - So 'Whatever' at work OK

Gen X is starting to feel the squeeze.  They're stuck between the Boomers and Gen Y and lately, it seems that companies are passing them over for the younger generation.

Book:  Understanding and working effectively with

5 Generations in the workplace

Gen X is starting to whine because a recent survey done this year for Deloitte Consulting LLP, found that nearly two-thirds of executives at large companies are most concerned about losing Gen Y employees, while less than half of them have similar concerns about losing Gen Xers.

According to a recent article on  MSNBC Generation X is increasingly 'whatever' at work.  Their disappointment with their companies grow, especially in light of the fact that they were just beginning to buy into how the system works.  They were finally ready to adapt to the process and integrate their work/life balance needs with the corporate needs.   Just then, Gen Y joined in huge numbers and now seem more poised to reap the harvest that Gen X planned for themselves.

It's sad, I know.   But now, Gen X, you know how the Baby Boomers felt when you entered the workforce and pushed them out of their jobs.   To you, Boomers are old.  In fact I once had an attendee at one of my seminars say, out loud, in a group of other attendees, "I wish they would just get the hell out of the way already.  How am I supposed to get my promotion, if they won't leave?"  She was a Gen Xer and she was committed and passionate about her job.  She was also frustrated at not getting ahead in her career according to her schedule. 

So what if, now Gen Y feels the same way about Gen X? 

What if Gen Y, the most highly educated group the country has ever known, is ready for Gen X to 'get the hell out of the way?"  

Remember that Gen Y is the group with 'helicopter' parents who told them they deserve the corner office and don't have to start at the bottom.   They enter the workforce expecting to call the CEO by first name on day one and to start at the top.  Well there's only one way that can happen and that's if Gen X get's passed over when the Boomers retire. 

Oh yeah, with the economy in the toilet, Boomers are opting to retire later.  So I guess the next group we can expect to complain is the Gen Yers, when they  are passed over for the Millenials, who have already entered the workforce.

The Greatest Generation of Texters and Networkers

During my seminars, I often recommend that those who text should get one in before we start. I realize they are unable to help themselves. It's an addiction and they will do it anyway. Sometimes during my Generational Diversity programs attendees are incredulous that Gen Y and Gen M won't attend meetings or respond to email.

I explain that they are texters and to communicate with them one must also text. A perfect example is bourne out by this article about a 17 year old who was texting while being reprimanded for texting.

So what do you think?  How will the workforce be changed when these people join it a year from now?  Will they be able to put down the devices long enough to get work done?  Will they participate in meetings or text under the table the whole time? 

It's true they are more networked than ever, but face to face is another issue.  Just look at the picture above and consider how networked they are.

Read the full article here