Millenials, Gen Y, Echo Boomers: do job interviews leave you feeling frustrated, especially when "adults" make all sorts of assumptions about you because of your age? Reply to their objections with all the good points about being younger. Faster learner; less expensive; fresh ideas, etc. Mark Swartz, MBA, M.Ed. Monster.ca Career Coach

1. Employee Interview
& Job- Prep
Seeker For
Tip Younger
Brandon Miller
Monster Contributing Writer Job Seekers

2. 1.
THE PERCEPTIONS
THAT MILLENIALS
HAVE TO DEAL WITH

3. 1. THE PERCEPTIONS THAT MILLENIALS
HAVE TO DEAL WITH
Like nearly all generations before us, we Echo Boomers
(aka Gen Y) tend not to be understood by our elders. That’s
why knowing how to sell yourself is vital. And since you’re
often going to find yourself carrying the stereotypes of an
entire generation on your shoulders, you need to know
how to highlight Generation Y’s good qualities and
downplay the bad ones.
So get ready impatient slackers (false perception ) to
handle the objections head on.

4. 2.
THE UPSIDE
OF BEING
A MILLENIAL

5. 2.1 WE ARE TECHNOLOGICALLY GIFTED
“I don’t ever remember not having a computer or Internet,” says Jason,
a 28-year-old Systems Administrator at a not-for-profit. “And I don’t
think Millennials are lazy. I think we just use technology to make our
jobs easier.”
Even things that we sometimes find simple and amateurish (think
PowerPoint or Excel) may confuse older generations and make a
Millennial stand out in the crowd. “I’m seen as an innovator, as one
who can do things that couldn’t have been done previously,” says
Jason. “The average age in my department is 50. They barely know
how to attach a file to an e-mail.”

6. 2.2 WE ARE SOCIAL MEDIA WIZARDS
They call us “The Internet Generation,” and for good reason. I spend
most of my day online and have pages on at least five social media
sites. Between Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn AND BeKnown, I can reach
about a thousand of my closest “friends” in just a few clicks.
Millennials are paving the way in social networking and most
companies realize the value in having young, hip employees on the
payroll. And sure, my mom’s on Facebook too, but she’s definitely not
using it to tweet, send online event invitations, or create fan pages for
her company.

7. 2.3 WE PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS
“I’m filling in the gap when the managers aren’t covering
teams, coming in on the weekends, running contests,” says
Valerie, 25, a Team Lead Assistant at a large credit card company. “We
have a great bank-wide goal. But as individuals we all have our own
goals, too.”
A huge bonus of being a Nexter is that we have had the most group-
oriented and inclusive upbringings. Millennials have been shaped by
busy childhoods full of swimming lessons, dance classes, sports teams
and attention to social causes. Our teamwork experience makes us all
the more desirable as employees. “We definitely value each other,”
says Valerie. “And we get really close to the people we are working
with.”

8. 2.4 WE CAN SURVIVE ON LOWER WAGES (FOR NOW)
One of the biggest criticisms of Generation Y is that we leach off of
our parents too much. And it’s true; we have probably spent more
time under our parents’ wings than previous cohorts. But that isn’t
necessarily a bad thing.
Having parents who will tolerate our presence for a few extra years
means that we’re able to take those entry-level jobs that might not
pay enough to cover both rent and student loans. It might not be
ideal, but at least it takes off some of the pressure.

9. 3.
5 QUICK TIPS
ABOUT YOUR
JOB INTERVIEWS

10. 3. 5 QUICK TIPS ABOUT YOUR JOB INTERVIEWS
1. Dress like a grown-up. If you don’t take yourself seriously, why
should the interviewer?
2. Be prepared to start at entry-level. You can build yourself up over
time (just like we all do).
3. Have reasonable salary expectations, especially when the
economy isn’t humming away on all cylinders.
4. Sell whatever experience and knowledge you already have.
5. Promote the fact that you’re a fast learner.

11. more on this topic:
Interview Prep For Younger Job Seekers
more career advice:
http://career-advice.monster.ca
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