Published: January 19, 2008 08:21 pm         

Job seekers, regardless of generation, seek similar opportunities

Here it is the first of a new year and many people are reassessing their jobs and career goals, possibly with an idea toward change.

Still others may be entering the job market for the first time. Mid-winter graduations have made January a search month for many companies.

A report from Robert Half International and Yahoo! HotJobs looks at the priorities of the newest generation of job seekers, ages 21 to 28, who are already or soon to be in the work force.

For this age group the report indicates:

• Health care coverage is the most coveted benefit.

• Financial security is a top career concern for one-third of those surveyed.

• Three out of four are concerned with work/life balance.

• Higher pay would most influence them to leave their current job for another one while a prestigious title would be least likely to influence their decision.

• One in four would consult their parents first when making career decisions.

The jobs pollsters determined that baby boomers (my generation) and Generation Y (tentatively identified as those born between 1979 and 1999) may have less of a gap than one might think.

It seems the younger generation shares many of the same concerns as more tenured workers in terms of retirement, health care and work-life balance.

In terms of the younger generation, “The research depicts a pragmatic, future-oriented generation that holds many of the same values as its predecessors,” said Reesa Staten, senior vice president and director of workplace research for Robert Half International. “Yet, certain distinctive qualities, such as a desire for very frequent feedback from their managers, are unique to this generation.”

They are looking for supportive management styles that will allow them to play a greater role in organizations as more of us retire.

I’m not sure they are finding that but according to the survey most respondents appeared optimistic.

This is in spite of the fact they believe they will have to save more money for retirement and study harder than generations past.

Degrees are important to this generation and if you look at this newspaper’s help wanted ads, they are also important to those looking to fill jobs in a wide range of fields, from health care to account management and a variety of skill areas.

Opportunities for professional growth and advancement rate higher than the corner office or prestigious job title, it seems, and I’m not sure that isn’t true for my generation as well.

One thing that is quite evident from the survey is that the days when an employee stayed with the same job or company for 30 or 40 years are pretty well over.

I remember a friend of mine telling me several years ago that it will be the norm for workers to have seven or more careers in a lifetime. That’s been happening for quite a few people I know. In fact, retirement for many of my generation means taking on another job or career, often totally outside of the realm of their previous career.

People do require challenge on the job and in their lives, it’s part of the fuel that keeps us all going, often well beyond our chronological age.

Another survey I took note of recently pointed out a significant difference in the generations.

This one involved executives and determined that for this group, which more prevalently falls into my generation, the spouse or significant other is the chief career advisor, though the mentor comes in a close second.

The survey by Accountemps of California indicates that 150 senior executives with the nation’s 1,000 largest companies were asked: “If you were considering changing jobs, which one of the following people would you most likely approach first for advice when evaluating a potential job change?”

The options included spouse, mentor, coworker, other family member, friend or someone else.

Forty-six percent chose spouse, while 41 percent chose mentor. The remaining options received single-digit percentages of less than 5 percent.

“The advice of mentors, colleagues and other confidantes helps when weighing the pros and cons of a career transition, but a job change has personal and family implications,” said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of “Job Hunting for Dummies.”

Regardless of your generation if you are looking at the possibility of changing jobs there are two pieces of advice from Accountemps that make a lot of sense to me.

• Is the grass really greener? You need to decide exactly what will be better in the new job.

• Will you have room to grow? You need to be able to expand your horizons professionally and be fulfilled personally in whatever new role you take on.

Contact Mona Ridder at mridder@times-news.com.