I jumped for joy when I saw this post last night. It is a classic for its generation. Here's why:

1. It's a college student writing to give people workplace advice, which is a great example of how authority is completely different today than it was before the Internet. The information generation knows that knowledge is there for anyone to take and if you take the time, you can be an expert without anyone giving you permission.

2. It's a super-achiever post. Not only is a college student blogging to lay a foundation for her post-college career (very smart!) but she has mastered the kind of format that does well on the blogosphere in terms of traffic. This generation is so smart and hard-working in terms of figuring out what they want and getting it, and this post encapsulates those traits.

3. The be polite advice is newsworthy. No other generation would give this advice during their most rebellious period of life. This is a conservative, don't-rock-the-boat generation, and it's amazing that older people who deal with generation y are not more appreciative of their incredibly good manners.

I love this post because while it's good, solid advice to gen y, it's also a perfect primer for older people trying to figure out Gen y.

Penelope

Great stuff. I particularly like number 1. A lot of us are looking to get somewhere fast and we have a high opinion of our abilities. While there are a lot of ways to shoot up quickly instead of slowly working the way up the ladder like you had to in the past, you can never dismiss experience. We still need to show we've been around. If we have the right mindset, every single job we take will be useful in the evolution of our character and value.

Great post! I think that millennials are poised to become exceptional networkers because they came of age during the explosion of social networking tools and they are already savvy to the benefits of staying top of mind with friends.

Online social networks lend themselves to creating authentic and transparent relationships and these traits are crucial for successful business networking relationships as well. Once millennials realize the potential to leverage their social networks for professional purposes, they will be well on their way to forging meaningful relationships with decision makers in their target companies and landing their next great gig.

Marilyn, I had the same reaction as Penelope and leaped for joy when I read your articulate, insightful post. I'm a baby boomer and one of the things I'm constantly reinforcing to all generations is your point of being polite and not using people and dumping them. These two points alone will carry you far in life -personally and professionally. You are an impressive young talent headed for stardom!

Karen

Very good insight on this post. It really seems like you have a very mature view on how to treat people. I like your point about the "use them and lose them"; It is important for people to think of you as a colleague and not as someone who is just trying to get something. Also, make sure you use these same rules when building your network. Build and retain your relationships, keep up with them, and you will be able to help them just as much as they help you.