Coaching Millennials WHAT GENERATION Y NEEDS TO HEAR Mallie Rydzik, M.S.

Your Speaker: Mallie Rydzik  Millennial coach, consultant, author, and speaker  Graduated college from the University of Virginia in 2009  Joined millions of others in graduate school  Became disillusioned with academia following a mental health breakdown  Played job roulette before being drawn to coaching fellow Millennials

What is a Millennial?  Depending on whom you ask, Millennials were born between:     Raised by Baby Boomers during a time of relative economic prosperity  The “everyone gets a trophy” generation  Also known as Generation Y

The Circus Parable And our expectations for our children…and clients

Generational Data Data from Pew Research Center

Things Millennials Care About

Generational Data

Student Loan Debt Via ProjectOnStudentDebt.org

Millennials In The Work Force  In 2010, 37% of year olds were unemployed  “Research shows that young people who graduate from college in a bad economy typically suffer long-term consequences – with effects on their careers and earnings that linger as long as 15 years” (Pew Research Center)

Millennials In The Work Force

Millennial Entrepreneurs  Millennials are turning to entrepreneurship to solve their job crisis.  In a survey conducted by the online job site, Odesk, 58% of Millennials classified themselves as entrepreneurs.  The same Odesk survey found that Millennials consider entrepreneurship to be a mindset.  Millennials are bringing the entrepreneurial mindset into the traditional workplace…and they want to be heard.  Using technology and social media to establish their personal brands.

Generational Data

Millennials And Technology

Millennials and Technology

Actual Millennials EXAMPLES OF THIS CHANGE

The New Military Spouse  No longer forced into stay-at- home-spouse status.  Turning to entrepreneurial or remote work careers Hannah Becker Makenna Johnston

The Generational Spokesperson  Taking advantage of Millennials in the news  Inspiring and educating Chelsea Krost

The New Online Businesses  The popularity of income reports  High 5 to 6 figures/month John Lee Dumas

Overview of Generation Y  Getting married later, but not due to a lack of interest in marriage, children, or home ownership.  More educated than previous generations, but with higher student loan debt.  More under- or unemployed than previous generations, yet optimistic in future earning potential.  Turning to entrepreneurship (both online and offline) to create their own jobs.  Bringing entrepreneurship into the traditional workplace in the interest of innovating and making a difference.  Technology is inextricably part of youth (and older) culture.

Why The Bad Rap?  Being compared to their generational predecessors, whose economic, academic, and career realities were different.  Misunderstanding of the necessity of an online presence, which can appear narcissistic.  Higher (inflation adjusted) student loans with less stable career options

How Do We Coach Millennials?  Acknowledge the realities of creating a career in the current economy.  Stay up-to-date on technological trends and online business opportunities  Be prepared for more young people coming to you asking about starting their own businesses  Be hesitant when suggesting additional education  Don’t downplay their optimism or desire to “make a difference” or “follow their dreams,” but continue to direct them toward realistic goals  As with youth of any generation, avoid sounding too much like their parents!

Be A Coach They Trust

Discussion  In addition to your questions, I’d like to know about specific experiences you have had coaching people in their 20s and early 30s over the past few years.  Do these data align with what you’ve seen personally?  What are your thoughts on the data about your own generation that were presented here?  What other data do we need to effectively coach this generation?  What should we expect from the post-9/11 generation (Generation Z)?