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Last year I had the privilege of working as part of Graduate development scheme within our company. We’ve been recruiting Millenials for the past two years, with varied success and whole lot of learning on behalf of the company and our millennial intake. While I loved every minute of it, I must admit that being in a room with a bunch of revved up Gen Y’ers is a bit scary (I’m a Gen Y…I really shouldn’t be scared) - the level of enthusiasm, ambition and energy is a heady mixture. I couldn’t help thinking to myself that Gen Y ambition is a bit like the running of the Bulls in Pamplona - a powerful force but with the potential for disaster.
You don’t need to look far to see there is a lot of Gen Y’ers whose ambition is resulting in huge success. And while that provides hope for all us Gen Y’s in the workplace, there has also been a whole bunch written about how Gen Y is being viewed in the workplace as the diva generation that wants everything. Now. The effect of this ambition can be to alienate our superiors, and can actually be counter productive to getting us to where we want to be.
Ambition needs to be controlled and channelled properly. A friend of mine almost made himself redundant because he couldn’t control his ambition at work. Within a few months of working for his company he realised he really wanted to work in the sales department. So he proceeded to tell his manager and everyone around him he wanted to work in sales. The logic being that if his superiors knew and saw he was enthusiastic, they would make a path for him into sales. Sounds like a good idea, right?
Well think of it from his manager’s perspective - he’s got someone working for him that wants to move department at the first opportunity he gets. So naturally, when some good projects come around why give the work to someone you know is going to leave? Sure no one expects you to work in the same place forever, but being blatantly obvious that you’re going to leave just doesn’t help. So meanwhile, my friend was trying hard to get into sales by hanging around with sales department when he should have been doing his actual job. The sales department loved it - they got someone doing work for them and they didn’t have to pay. They praised his work and gave him the impression that a job in sales would be waiting for him just around the corner. His boss realised he’d checked out of his current role and so never gave him any good or important work. But he never got the sales job. And he got a terrible performance review on his actual job. And after a year, he found himself almost out of a job entirely.
There is an obvious message in here - ambition is good but must be controlled or it can be destructive. I’m not saying sit back and don’t chase opportunities. Millennial ambition is great and it will cause us to change and shape the workplace of tomorrow for the better! However, below is some really basic advice to prevent that ambition becoming your undoing. If you’ve any more advice or stories please drop in the comments…
Be patient
How many of your friends do you know that loved their first job cause it was the perfect job for them? How many people do you know in general that can do something right the very first time? Careers are no different. Point being that starting out most Gen Y’s will end up in a job that is not right for them, that they consider beneath them or that they just hate. Just be patient and pick your next opportunity wisely. See what you can get from your current role - you can actually learn a lot from “bad” job. Don’t just mentally check out of your role and damage your reputation!
Make goals, not demands
Taking the example above, if my friend had controlled his ambition and channelled his energy into creating some goals for working in sales in tandem with some goals for his current role, he wouldn’t have ended up in the predicament of not having either role. If you want to get somewhere, you’ve got to lay down a plan. You can’t get from A to C by ignoring B. Put goals in place to harness and direct your ambition in a productive way.
Get a mentor
There is not a Gen Y blog out there that hasn’t mentioned getting a mentor at some stage. And here I’ll mention it again. Why? Well it’s because it’s crucial to have an ally, someone you can learn from and someone that can help guide you and your thirst for success with a steady hand. I could go on and on about mentorship but really it’s simple. Get one.
Volunteer wisely
Volunteering for projects at work is great. Volunteering for so many projects at work that you can’t finish them to a high standard or balance them with existing work is bad. Very bad. So choose your work wisely - ask yourself some really simple and straightforward questions about whether you can take on the work, whether you will get something out of it and how it fits with your goals.
Ask for help if you need it
One thing I’ve noticed about my really ambitious friends is that they don’t know when to ask for help. If you need it, ask for it. Simple really!
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Grad School Zone
UVA (Darden) MBA Admissions Deadlines for 2010-2011
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The University of Virginia's Darden School of Business recently published its application deadlines for the coming admissions season. Here they are, followed by our comments in italics:
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