His ideal job is Innovative, Fun and Adventurous.
…but unlike the GenExers he also wants the chance to make a difference.


According to a really interesting article based on Universum research, today's grads are are diverse, confident, team-oriented and globally conscious. And they want a chance to prove it. Their number 1 most important characteristic for any company they're going to join is "high ethical standards", which has replaced "sound financially".

So which are the companies that can satisfy the Millennials’ quest for professional realization and social contribution? Walt Disney that, with its anti-conservative culture and rewarded by its huge recruiting efforts had a comeback from 17th position last year to number one at an overall level as well as amongst business students. Runner up in the Business Ideal Rankings is PricewaterhouseCoopers (10.6%), followed Ernst&Young (9%), Google and Deloitte (7.8%). In the Investment Banking industry, only Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs held their ground.

My new favorite phrase which has replaced Helicopter Parents (if you don't know what they are, you haven't been paying attention to earlier blogs) is "Trophy Children"- aka MIllenials. They're called that because of the strong impact that parents have in their decision-making process.

They learn about future employers from Monster.com (39%) and Career Builder (24%) -- the top visited websites, but they also find useful information on local newspapers (30%), school publications (27%) and University Career Fairs (73%).

Ready for the bad news? Evan's friends with liberal arts degrees are looking to make 40K out of school. Evan's friends in IT want 52K.

(Evan's going to be a lawyer.)

have a great Memorial Day holiday weekend!

In my opinion, there are many women and more so moms in the workplace. Mothers have managed to be successful with parenthood, marriage and their careers.

But a recent, groundbreaking study conducted by Cornell University, shows that women are still combating the perception that if you're a mom, you can't focus on that big presentation; you can't focus on the next creative project; you can't focus on your next trial, etc. The survey revealed that moms are less likely to get hired, are paid less than equally qualified fathers or women without children and are seen as less competent.

For the study, Shelley J. Correll, an associate professor of sociology and Stephen Bernard, a graduate student and researcher, enlisted 192 undergrads to evaluate fictitious jobseekers for a Marketing Director position. Two applicant profiles were created with the same qualifications – one a mother of two and the other a married woman without children. And the survey says, students were much more apt to hire the childless woman than the moms, 84%-47%. Moms were viewed as less promotable, and less likely to be recommended for management than non-mothers.

Fathers were offered considerably higher salaries than men without children, while mothers, on average, were offered $11,000 less than women without children. Fathers were seen as more stable and committed to their jobs than mothers. This is more evidence of the bias women on a whole face in their careers and helps explain why women are underrepresented in the upper ranks of many major companies. Belle Rose Ragins, a professor in the School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee says, “It’s an ugly antiquated stereotype that’s still rearing its ugly head”

To work around these barriers encountered in the workplace, mothers should look for family-friendly firms with benefits like on-site day care and flextime. On your resume, do not advertise you are active in your child’s PTA, and on the job, do not make it obvious that you are a mom by advertising that you are leaving early to pick up your sick child.

Moms, you might want to slip off your wedding ring before your next job interview! And, try not to talk about your adorable children. Outing yourself as a mom can make it tough to get and keep a job!

When you quit your job and accept another offer, it might be a good idea not to accept a counter offer. It is not always about more money? Your compensation should reflect your contribution to your employer. If it takes a resignation to remind your employer of your contribution, then weigh your options. Think about why you felt the need to pursue other opportunities in the first place.

"The demand for talent has risen as companies invest more heavily in their marketing strategies," said Tracey Turner, executive director of The Creative Group. "As a result, businesses are striving to retain their best people, and creative professionals have more leverage in terms of compensation."

Turner advised employees to think carefully before accepting counter-offers. "Professionals should consider all of the factors that prompted them to seek other positions; the decision often involves more than money. If the new job provides greater growth or advancement opportunities, accepting it may be a better long-term career move."

Turner provided the following factors to consider when a counteroffer is extended:

The rationale: Have you been asked to stay because your firm will be in a pinch if you leave? Ensure the counteroffer is being extended because of the value you bring to the team, not to prevent you from leaving the company in a lurch.

The work: A new salary or title won't compensate for a lack of interesting assignments. If your career has hit an impasse, get assurance that you'll be provided greater challenge, not just better pay.

The future outlook: Have your previous requests for promotions or raises been denied? The best employers promote from within and compensate fairly on an ongoing basis, not just when they are forced to do so by circumstance. If you have to give notice to earn a salary adjustment, you may be better off elsewhere.

Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side!

Tonight what's on my mind is how great it is to dream something and then see the concrete results in the great work, new friends and all the fun each day as I battle deadlines, embrace technology and try push the creative edge from Corporate to Cutting Edge.

And, though the walls ARE green, it hasn't been all roses. There were whole days spent crashing in Bombay with tech support and crushing disappointments that left me in wondering disbelief about why I just couldn't catch a break.

One day, when I was in the negative, I took a piece of paper and drew a line down the middle- on the left side I wrote down all incidents and people that I was disappointed by. On the right side I wrote down all the miracles that I should be grateful for. I kept the list in a handy place where I could look at it each day. Sometimes I used an eraser to move an item from one side to the other because I just hadn't seen the whole picure at the time it was recorded. I threw out that list because thanks to more of the "right" stuff, BRANDEMiX has grown into a business that I'm proud to be part of, working with wonderful people that I really enjoy.

So, thank you Fran and Joycie and Linda and Lisa and Les and Dawn and John and Bruce and Nick and Vincent and Robin and Laurane and Chris and Susan and Jean and Nancy and Rosemary and Harold and Suzanne and David and Hedhead and "Brenda" and Chele and Scarlet and Josie and Larry and Peter and Angie and Sara and Lulu and Douggy and all my friends who understand why I can't call them during the day anymore!

And if your name's not here yet, don't worry. There's always next year. See ya!

Guess what. If you're happy on the job, you'll work more. On average-- 11 hours per week!

Not an astonishing A-HA yet it was a feature article in Money Magazine last month. (Yes, I'm behind in my blogging! But you can't sue a girl for that because the law associates-- not happy on THEIR job are working less. See my last blog if you don't believe me. )

What I did find interesting is that stress doesn't correlate to happiness- people could experience a lot of stress on the job (61% do) and yet still be happy at work.

After reading the entire article, it seems that the commonality between happiness was ease and ability to: take off when necessary, telecommute when necessary, have a flexible schedule and take the vacation time that they were due. The average time on the job for respondants 8 years. So the moral is make it easy for good people to work, and they in turn, will work more. Doesn't sound that hard does it?

Just in case you were wondering, here are the Top Jobs in America:

Notice anything interesting... see, 4th one down... that's right. It's human resources.


I never knew you guys made so much money! Here's more info you can download to make sure you're on top of your field.

xoxox

Happy Mother's Day if I don't talk to you before!

Caution- Evan, this is not for you to read.
Evan is my son, about to enter his first year of law school. The reason he can't read it is because according to the Wall Street Journal, the average turnover at law firms at the associate level after 4 years is 62%.

I know that my retail clients and viewers wish they had such a low figure. But the startling reality, as you know from reading previous findings, is that college grads and law school grads (and yes, I'm sure that mine are included) just don't want to work that hard!

They want work & the ability to have the l- word-- life. They want to enjoy their time. And, they've just completed 15 years of school and are more interested in spending time with their friends, families or tv then trying to impress the mucky-mucks for years on end to finally become a partner just to work hard still.

They're seeing that life at the Partner level isn't all roses-- the partners are working long hours trying to please all their clients and bill top hours and the road to partnership is harder each year.

Now law firms at the forefront of recruiting take note- someone has moved your cheese. And while you're finding it hard to recruit top talent now and I predict it will only get harder. Let's take a look at that thing called "culture" and tie it into today's generation of graduates.

They are decidedly different. And if they ask questions about what the "lifestyle" would be like at the firm, you'd better have a good answer for them. Or you will find yourself all dressed up and no one to sue with.