Rule No. 1 For Dealing With Millennials In The Workplace

Most of what you’ve heard about millennials is wrong. Well, only sort of wrong. Wrong in the same way that adult men are 5’10” tall. That is certainly the average height, but it’s not me, nor is it most of my friends. Because averages are always kind of wrong, advice about millennials is kind of wrong.

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Are they more interested than other generations in purpose and doing good? Sure, on average. Opportunity to learn on the job? Yes, some of them. Autonomy combined with feedback, plenty of them. But not all.

There are about 75 million people in the millennial generation. Can you imagine 75 million people with identical hopes and aspirations? Identical fears, anxieties, and worries? Identical desire for human companionship versus time alone? Identical balance of greed versus concern for others?

Rule No. 1 for working with millennials is simple: treat everyone as an individual. Learn the person’s goals. Figure out how best to use the person’s abilities. Coach for career development that reflects the millennial’s individual uniqueness.

One size will not fit all millennials, just as it never did Baby Boomers or Gen X. In fact, the best advice for managing millennials also works pretty well for other generations.

Broad generalizations are useful, a little. Positioning a job opening to be attractive to millennials can help recruiting. I have advised companies trying to recruit younger workers not to advertise for a “hard-charging salesman.” Instead, go looking for some to “help our customers make complex and important decisions.” This probably would have helped 20 years ago if anyone had stopped to think about it.

The last thing to remember about millennials is that they are getting older. The median millennial is now 27 years old. That’s hugely older than 23. Anything you figured out back in 2013 about dealing with 23-year-olds won’t work with this year’s 27-year-olds.