It seems as though we can categorize the people of the world into two categories. Ones who embrace technology and ones who shun it, either out of fear or out of confusion. Most of the time the people who embrace technology are the younger generations because they've grown up with it almost their whole lives. It tends to be older people who want to keep things "traditional" and who don't want to incorporate any of the new advancements in their work.
For young people, like myself, this can be a problem, especially in hiring. The people on hiring committees could be old-fashioned. If so, you have to be on your best behavior and do things "their way." Have your resume printed out and make sure there are no mistakes. Make sure you consistently use eye contact and say all the things they want to hear. I'm not saying that these things are bad. Not at all. The younger generation, maybe because of technology, just has a different approach to all of it.
Yes, you should still be presentable and professional. But, you also need to be innovative and engaging. Because in the upcoming world there is not just one skill set that will get you through one job for the rest of your life. In fact, most people will have 2, 3 or even 4 careers. This is much different than the generation previous. With all of the new technology and advancements coming so fast, new positions are needed and others need to be modified.
There seems to be a disconnect between employers and students entering the workforce. In my New Literacy class today we discussed this briefly. Employers have this notion that students can instantly use every technological program that ever existed, because we grew up with computers. When students get to the interview and employers realize we have never heard of their engineering5000 program, they aren't happy.
What they don't realize is that we can learn. Growing up with computers will help the younger generation be able to pick up on this technology faster. The people already working for them were most likely in the office learning the new program when it came out. New people don't have that experience and need to be taught.
When going into an interview, millennials and other younger generations need to highlight their creativity and ability to adapt to new technologies. This generation is so good with change. In the past people shied away from change. This generation didn't have a choice. Every year for their whole lives some new technology came out that changed the way something happened. And they adapted. And that's what they're good at.
It's not that the older generations are wrong about the way to do things. They've been doing them that way for their whole lives and the world hasn't ended. Change was never a must for them and they liked their routines. But, maybe it's time for new perspectives, and for new minds to make a splash.
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results."-Albert Einstein.
I'll just leave you with that quote to think about. How does it apply to the two generations of people? (hint: it applies to the older generation ;)
