Why Can’t We All Just Can’t Get Along? The Growing Divide Between Gen Y and Boomers

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 on contemporary youth culture: Read more

Beat the Boredom: 5 Ways to Keep Intellectually Stimulated at a Mediocre Job

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.

1.  Start a blog — Anonymously

If you think you’re job sucks… let people (other than your boss) know. Whatever experience it is that you’re going through right now, be it a crappy internship that lured you in with a promise of networking with important figures (which you now realize must have been the copy and fax machines), or a mundane job that promised you great growth potential, odds are there are people out there who are stuck in the same dead-end boat or who are thinking about getting in it. Starting a blog that documents your experiences in the workplace and warns others about the fine print they may have missed is a great way to vent some stress and offer useful advice to others like you. And, hey, you might even stumble upon a new talent in the process.

2.  Become a Mentor

If you want to put some meaning back into your life but don’t have a lot of time to commit to any big projects, you should consider becoming a mentor. NYC currently has a great program, Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, in which you can volunteer to be a mentor for a child who needs a supportive adult in their life. After you attend the initial orientation session and training programs, the commitment is only four hours every other week. Helping a child in need is a great way to take your mind off the daily stresses of your job and more importantly, to help someone else along his or her life’s journey.

3.  Start A Club

If the only thing that brings you your much needed after-work solace is baking (and eating) 4 dozen oatmeal raisin cookies you’re in for a lot of weight gain unless, of course, you form a club. Whether it’s Baking Buddies United or Wizards of the Word (the Harry Potter Book Club), forming a club or a chapter of an already existing organization can be a great way to explore your interests with others who share similar passions. Additionally, having a book club or baking club meeting can be a great opportunity for social as well as professional networking (provided you do not require that everyone wear costumes).

4.  Discover Your Brain Age

If you have some money to spend on a Nintendo DS or can steal one from your little brother, you might want to try buying Brain Age. The self-professed brain-training game that exercises your pre-frontal cortex through quick calculations, reading aloud, and various memory games. According to Dr. Ryuta Kawashima ’s research, doing these types of exercises increase overall brain functionality and decrease your brain’s age (which is apparently often older than your actual age). Whether this is complete crap or a legit way to exercise your pre-frontal cortex, we can’t be sure. Either way, this game will keep you entertained for hours (making you feel as if you’re actually getting smarter)…or it’ll frustrate the hell out of you and force you to come to terms with the fact that your brain’s older than your grandma.

5.  Learn to Play an Instrument

Are your friends tired of watching you play your air guitar rendition of every song that comes on at the bar? Then, perhaps, it’s time to learn how to play an actual guitar (not one that hooks up to your x-box either). Don’t have the money to purchase a brand new guitar? No worries, sites like Amazon, Ebay, and Craigslist have tons of new and used instruments for very low prices. With all the instrument tutorials that are available online you won’t have to spend a dime for private lessons either (although if you’re planning on quitting your day job you should probably go for private lessons). And, if you’re still in college, many universities offer introductory piano, guitar, flute etc. classes free, or of little cost to the student.

So before you grab another paper clip to tag on to the paper clip mobile you’ve been working on since August, choose one of the aforementioned suggestions and prepare to embark on your new intellectually stimulating experience! At least, until you can find a new job.

5 Strategies for Managing Your Time (and Stress) at the Office

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. Read more

5 Ways to Boost Your Education for Free

If you’ve been spending most of the summer watching Michael Jackson videos and losing at online chess to a kid half your age, then you could probably afford to be doing something a little more productive. Now, while the reason for all this idleness may very well be because you’re lazy,bored, or just waited to the last minute to look for a job or internship, we would like to hope that the more likely reason is because engaging in any kind of productive/intellectual activity over the summer is super expensive.

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.

Free Classes at New York Public Libraries
In the midst of using our precious libraries to avoid paying for school textbooks, movies, and magazines, we tend to overlook one of its most beneficial resources–free classes.  It literally takes about 5 minutes to register online for any number of courses including (but not limited to) introductory and intermediate courses on Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word Processor, as well as resume writing. Learning how to effectively navigate your way through any one of these Microsoft programs can be an extremely valuable asset when searching for employment and is definitely something you can place under the Special Skills area of your resume. Even if you are already employed and don’t really need a resume booster, learning all the intricate functions of programs such as Excel and Word, will definitely increase your efficiency at work and impress your boss.

Free College Lectures
Did you always dream of attending MIT? Princeton? Yale? Well, thanks to the Internet, you can (kind of). You see, although they may not be able to give you a formal degree or a room on campus, these institutions and many others have posted many of their lectures and homework assignments online for the world to see. For instance, MIT Open Coursewares, a revolutionary program started in 2002 to make educational knowledge available to the public free of charge, includes free courses, lecture notes, and exams for nearly all of the institution’s course content! So whether you are looking to take some classes you may have missed in college or enhance your knowledge of a particular academic discipline, this is something you definitely need to check out.

Graduates with Benefits
Whether you’re retired, unemployed or just need a good excuse to relive the old college days you may want to consider auditing a class. Many colleges now offer former students and/or affiliates of the college to audit classes for free. If you are in the loop with your college’s alumnae network you probably know all this already, and if you’re not make sure you join it as soon as possible. The benefits of attending any particular college many times extend well beyond the moment you are handed your degree, so just make sure you’re in the know about how to take advantage of all the freebies. As a side note, many colleges also offer alumnae access to fitness and gym facilities (for free or at discount) just in case you wanted a physical education as well.

Online Courses at Hewlet Packard
Well, this is certainly news to me– HP has online classes, and they are free! The most interesting part of this whole bit is that they actually give you a certificate of completion for each course you finish. The HP Learning Center’s free online courses which range in topics from email and web browsing to Dreamweaver, Adobe Photoshop and Digital Photography, come complete with lessons, assignments, tests, quizzes and a message board forum, so you are able to interact with other individuals (as well as the instructor) taking the class. This is definitely a great resource for those looking to improve skills related to home offices, IT, digital photography and graphic design.

Yoga, Tai Chi, AND Capoeira
Okay, so signing up for a few exercise classes may not necessarily improve your education or increase your special skills, but it can definitely make you a more attractive job candidate. Taking advantage of New York City’s free fitness programs in Socrates Sculpture Park, taking place on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the summer and into the early fall, can be a great way to get back in shape and boost your confidence for that next interview. There are also free classes in the AM and PM in Bryant Park, which you can find out more about here.  Additionally with such a variety of free classes being taught (tai chi, yoga, capoeira, and pilates) you are bound to meet a lot of diverse people, which can be a great opportunity for networking. To find out more about how you can improve your health and your confidence (for free) visit http://socratessculpturepark.org/programs/fitness.php.

So whether you’re at home watching MIT lectures on nuclear science and engineering or at Socrates Park allowing your mind and body to become one, there are plenty of things you can do this summer to acquire a valuable new skill set. And, the best part is they are all free.

5 Ways a Career Mentor Can Make You a More Valuable Asset

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. Read more

Real New Yorkers: When a Bachelor’s Just isn’t Enough

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. Read more

E-Commerce Options for Creative Side-Gigging

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. Read more

Are Paid Networking Events Worth the Cost?

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. Read more

The Top 5 Interview No-No’s

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. Read more

Video Resumes: The Future of Job Searches?

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.

1.  Make Sure You Know Who’s Watching

One of the principle problems with video resumes is that the identity of the person watching these videos (and whether or not this is the same person who you want to be seeing the video) is often unknown.  According to Jon Mufson, owner of the executive search firm Mufson Associates, Inc. , “once you put your resume out there, especially on job boards, you have little control over where it is being viewed; now, it’s the same with the video resume.” In fact, even if you send your video resume directly to the company, Mufson notes, “you have to consider corporate online tracking and the fact that your video resume may not even be opened up, due to fears of computer viruses.”

Garth A. DeBevoise, Account Director at The Gerard Alexander Consulting Group, also notes the problems that occur when video resumes get into too many hands. “Sometimes a recruiter or job posting site with no conscience  will receive a video resume and send it out to every person they can think of. They are all seeing this same video, and they think ‘this guy is desperate for a job.’” This, in turn, makes employers much less likely to want to hire this person.

2.  Know Your Intended Audience

Although many recruiters foresee numerous issues with the use of video resumes, such as over-marketing, under marketing, and the opportunity to screen out undesirables on the basis of gender, race, or physical attractiveness, there are many positives as well, assuming you know enough about your potential employer and/or his or her company. DeBevoise notes that “depending on the position you’re applying for, using a video resume can be a great way to get your foot in the door, some companies are just more buttoned up than others. For example, if you’re looking for a position with a younger ‘hip’ company, a video resume may be the perfect way to give them that ‘wow’ factor.” Similarly, Andrea Sobo, V.P. of Mufson Associates, Inc. , notes that “a video resume can be a good idea if you are applying to a position on the more creative side”. Additionally, Sobo states that for those looking for positions in fields such as creative marketing it’s important to include “PDF portfolios or links to their personal websites; it’s really helpful to see a copy or sampling of their work”.

3.  Know what to include and what to leave out

If, after all things considered, you do decide to construct a video resume, make sure you are well aware of how you are presenting yourself to your potential employer. As DeBevoise, states “while some employers may think its really creative to have Bush’s ‘The Chemicals Between Us’ playing in the background while you talk about why you are interested in a position in chemical engineering, others may not.” Mufson, in line with DeBevoise, notes that it’s imperatively important to know your audience and “make sure the video resume comes across as clean, from a visual and auditory perspective.” Similarly, Sobo suggests that whether you are sending out a more traditionally formulated resume or a video resume, “keep it as professional as possible.”

After hearing what professional recruiters had to say, it is clear that the most important thing to remember if you are considering using a video resume is “know your audience.”  Lastly, while most recruiters reported seeing video resumes used very rarely (especially for higher level positions), it seems that there still may be some place for them in the world of job searching, provided they are constructed in a creative and professional manner and marketed effectively to a few targeted employers.

But we want to hear from you guys.  Have you ever submitted a video resume?  Would you ever create one?  Do you think it’s a viable alternative to a paper resume or completely unprofessional?  Let us know in the comments section!

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