How to Stand Out as a Millennial

The millennial generation is by far the most educated generation in history, yet we also top the charts when it comes to unemployment. Sadly, the days when  an undergraduate degree next to guaranteed employment are long gone and it is now necessary to possess a certain variable in order to stand out from the rest of the crowd.

I'm by no means an expert or scholar when it comes to offering advice to those hunting for employment. However, I have noticed a few traits that are worth refining and developing as a Millennial looking to catch the eye of potential employers...

Top 3 Skills/Traits to Thrive as a Millennial

1.) Flexibility 

Since it is next to impossible to land the job of your dreams right out of school, it is vital to make the most of the work you find. You may not find yourself doing exactly what you have dreamed of job wise, but work is work and we all have bills to pay. There is no such thing as a pointless job, unless you decide to make what you are doing meaningless. Every job you take on throughout the course of your career helps you prepare for your dream job later on down the road.

2.) Grit

Assuming that you're lucky enough to find a job right out of school, it is vital that you put your nose to the grindstone. Even though this is your first "real" job, your boss is going to watch you intently and look for any reason to correct your methods. Even though things will get a bit bumpy along the way, everything will fall into place with time if you go about your business with an invigorated sense of grit. No matter how exhausted and/or unhappy you are at first, you simply cannot give up or slow down. You have to attack each day and make the most of every experience you encounter...the pleasant and unpleasant alike.

3.) Open Mindedness 

Lastly, it is extremely beneficial to approach everything with an open mind and free of any preconceived notions. Though it may not seem true at the time, even the crummiest of jobs are beneficial to your overall experience base in some way, shape, or form. In short, make the most of what you have at any given moment. Who knows...you might develop your personal life mantra on a saying one of your first bosses said all the time and nobody ever knew what they meant by it.

Closing Thoughts
These are three key traits that separate those recent graduates who catch a break from those who do not. However, there a numerous other traits and characteristics that contribute to the overall "value" of a fresh graduate in the workforce. While it goes without saying that most everyone has a plethora of horror stories to share about their experiences as a recent graduate, every job, no matter how awful it may seem at the time, carries a great value that most tend to overlook.

The simple things that recent graduates pick up throughout the course of the jobs they take on between graduation and attaining their dream job are priceless for all intents and purposes. Take the current sales position I currently hold now, even though I'm more than a year out of school. While I may not have any direct experience in terms of nurturing my skills as an educator, I am more than confident that the array of small learning moments have gone well beyond anything I could have absorbed in a classroom, whether as a student or as an educator.

Millennials: Insubordinate & Lazy?

ThinDifference.com

Sure, we may question authority, appear lazy, and lack a consistent paycheck each month. However, I can assure you that we - the Millennial generation - possess next to limitless potential and raw ability, regardless of what previous generations have to say on the matter.

Over Educated and Under Valued

It goes without saying that Millennials are the rookies in the workforce today. At the other end of the spectrum are the Gen X'ers and Baby Boomers, who currently control the workplace and carry the most say in the new hire process. Now I'm in no way pointing fingers here, but why are 16.3% of Millennials unemployed (Generation Opportunity) when we are by far the most educated generation in recorded history?

The following figures don't make a whole lot of sense and are rather disheartening...

Source: http://shirt.woot.com

Millennials
Average Salary: $44k
63% have a Bachelors Degree

Generation X
Average Salary: $64k
48% have a Bachelors Degree

Baby Boomers
Average Salary: $70k
44% have a Bachelors Degree
(PayScale)

We have the Best Intentions

Contrary to popular belief, Millennials are among the most caring and responsible people in society today. 

• 81% of Millennials have donated money, goods, or services (Walden University and Harris Interactive)
• 45% believe a decent paying job is a “privilege” (Telefonica) 

Closing Thoughts

My generation - the Millennials - defines our existence through our desire to learn, our sense of accountability as global citizens, and our overall gritty personalities. Yet, it seems that we have become stuck and unable to advance in the world. Regardless of your generation affiliation, what do you think Millennials need to do in order to "make it" in the world today?

Discovering and understanding your lifelong passion(s)

First and foremost, Matthew McConaughey is a fellow brother of Delta Tau Delta, so it goes without saying that he's a pretty awesome guy. However, his overall awesomeness goes well beyond his status as a Delt and his roles in Dazed and Confused (1993) and The Wolf on Wall Street (2013).

In his conversation with the University of Texas football team, which turned into a quasi-preach part way through, McConaughey brings up a stellar question about our purpose in life, as well as how we perceive and understand what we value in both the short-term and long-term. The question that McConaughey asks the Longhorns football team is this:

Why we do what we do?

In his conversation with the University of Texas football team, which turned into a quasi-preach part way through, McConaughey brings up a stellar question about our purpose in life, as well as how we perceive and understand what we value in both the short-term and long-term. The question that McConaughey asks the Longhorns football team is this:

Why we do what we do?

I frequently ask myself this very question. Sometimes I ask it without even knowing that I'm asking it. Yes, it's become the opposite of metacognition...chew on that one for a bit! Regardless, this is a superb question to keep in mind because no matter what you do, or how you spend your time, it is vital that you not only do so with a purpose, but that you enjoy what you do with your life.

McConaughey makes 2 clear points during his chat with the Longhorns that really stuck with me:

1. In order to achieve your best work, you must push yourself beyond your comfort zone.
2. No matter what you find yourself doing in life, you have to go about your business simply because you want to, not because you want to please someone else.

I've come to understand through my brief post-graduate life that the last thing I want to find myself doing is something that I do not enjoy. More importantly, I strive to always do things that I genuinely enjoy and avoid tasks that are only appealing because my involvement may influence how others perceive me as a human being and young professional.

Like all good things, there is no magic pill that will help you find your passion in life. These sort of things take quite a bit of time, so do not fret or freak out if you stumble a few times. In fact, I'm in the midst of a soft stumble in life right now. Marc Hanna, McConaughey's character in "The Wolf on Wall Street", sums up my approach to discovering my passion in life: "It's his first day on Wall Street. Give him time." 

Lastly, don't forget to have a good time and make sure to hum before you go into any potentially nerve wracking situation!

The Advantage of the Underdog

The 1980 US Olympic team celebrates their triumph over the legendary
USSR national team in the semifinals of the medal round at Lake Placid.

It seems that nearly every contest today is either evenly matched or similar to the epic battle between David and Goliath whether it is in the classroom, on the athletic field, or at a conference table. Most spectators tend to cheer in favor of the modern day Goliath without question and fail to even acknowledge the possibility that the David archetype may have what it takes to emerge victorious when the dust settles. These superficial mismatches come in all sorts of shapes and sizes: a family deciding between a pure bred dog and a pure mutt, the 1980 US men’s Olympic hockey team squaring off with the Soviet Union at Lake Placid, or a typically reserved student challenging the comment of a standout student in class. These differing levels of ability and expectations often determine how observers perceive the situation at hand, and tend to dictate that the pure bred, USSR team, and the standout student ought to emerge triumphant.

However, the underdogs—the mutt, the US hockey team, and the reserved student—more often than not tend to have some sort of intangible trait that could potentially provide an advantage of some sort over the physically and tactically superior opponent. This intangible, and possibly non-traditional, trait, which I like to think of as an X-factor, is what gives marginalized parties an edge. The mutt knows the true meaning of love, the group of college hockey players traveled to Lake Placid as a band of brothers, and the quiet student observes and takes in what the rest of the class says and does. These three examples, along with Gladwell’s thoughts, offer more than enough support in favor of adopting the practice of pursuing objectives via non-traditional methods.