Grand pappy complains about what a reckless hippie your father was, your father complains about what a disrespectful ingrate you are. And you, well you are just trying to get them both to shut up so you can get back tending your animals on Farmville. Old people complain about young people and that’s the way it’s been forever, right? Well, it certainly isn’t a relatively new phenomenon. Why, then, does it seem to be the case that the generational gap between Gen Y and the Baby Boomers has grown exponentially? A simple answer would be the onset of technological advances. A more complete answer involves the following four critiques contemporary youth culture:

Work sucks. And it sucks even more when the job you’re working is a boring, mind-numbing, string of monotonous processes which you have to suffer through until your boss decides to let you go for a 30 minute lunch break. And while some of us are courageous enough to say good bye to our mundane occupations and look for something better, most of us are not, or simply cannot afford to be. So for those of us who have wasted countless hours staring out the window and daydreaming of better days, or looking at the clock so many times it seems as if it’s barely moving, here’s a couple of things you can do to put some meaning back into your life or at the least some increased brain activity.

As young professionals and/or recent college graduates, most of us are used to handing projects in a few seconds before they’re due, if not a few seconds — or days — after. And while waking up at 4a.m. to start a paper that’s due at 10 a.m. has gotten many of us through college (myself included), waiting for the last minute to complete a job-related task is a sure fire way to end up working overtime (off the clock) or even worse, unemployed. So, if you fell asleep during those time management workshops in college or are just unsure of how to apply those techniques to a workplace environment, here are five strategies you can use to maximize your efficiency at work, sans paper tray organizers and sticky notes.

So for those of you whose lack of monetary funds is indeed stunting your professional and intellectual growth, we’ve found 5 free resources you can use to improve your education and acquire new skills.

Ever wish you had a way of seeing what your career might be like in 20 years? Yeah, me too. However, since the DeLorean was our best effort at time travel and because most us are not willing to pay $40 an hour to have someone read our future from a foggy crystal ball, your best bet might be going with a medium of foretelling that’s a little more realistic. [More...]

While a having a career mentor may not seem like the most fantastical way of getting a glimpse of your future career, it’s certainly something that all young professional should deeply consider having for the many benefits and insights that a mentor can provide. The following five reasons will explain how you can gain insight, get helpful criticisms, build your professional network and make yourself an invaluable asset to any company — all by taking on a mentor.

When recent college grads first envisioned themselves graduating from college, they probably imagined tossing textbooks to the side and starting their new lives as decently paid working professionals. Few imagined they would be dealing with of a lack of available jobs and a nation in recession. As a result of the current financial crisis, however, many recent graduates are opting out of the job market for the time being, and deciding to go back to school.

Has the recession got your wallet in a bind? Are you looking for a way to sell off some of your old goods(or hand made items) in order to generate some supplementary income? Then it’s high time that you open up your own store, an online store, that is. All you need to do is choose the right e-commerce platform to get started. That’s where we come in. Check out our list of these four e-commerce platforms and why they may (or may not) be the perfect match for your e-commerce biz.

If you are a young professional with a Facebook or Myspace, a member of a professional networking organization, or just happened to sign up for email updates from your favorite Career website, chances are your inbox has been flooded with numerous invitations to professional networking parties and events. Most of these events promise you the chance to meet successful professionals and form meaningful networks.

It’s 3pm on a Friday afternoon, and just when you think you can’t submit any more resumes or write anymore cover letters, the phone rings. It’s the company you’ve been waiting to hear from for weeks. They want to schedule an interview for Monday at 10am; you happily agree. You now have approximately two days to prepare for your big day. However, before you leave home on Monday morning you might want to take a few minutes to consider the things that you absolutely, under no circumstances, should ever do during an interview.

Looking for a new way to show your interviewer or potential employer that you’re a cut above the rest? Thinking about sending in a video resume to prove your point? Before you press “RECORD” you might want to hear what recruiters and employers really think about the onset of video resumes and how effective they are at landing you that dream job. While there are many different opinions regarding the use of video resumes, (especially after
many job posting websites such as CareerBuilder have removed these applications from their sites, stating it was because the market was not yet ready for them) most recruiters seem to agree that there are a few issues one should consider before setting up the camcorder.