We work sparingly with Gen Y-level salespeople but we do track the articles regarding this generation. BusinessWeek.com offers an informative read in their article Careers: The Goods on Generation Y.
The takeaway information for me:
Indeed, twentysomethings don’t view work as merely a way to make a living, says Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, author of Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens through the Twenties (Oxford University Press, 2004) and research professor at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. “They expect work to be a form of self-fulfillment€”they don’t want to take a job that pays well but is boring or annoying,” he says. Money is important to twentysomethings, he says, but it’s not as important to them if the work’s not enjoyable and exciting. This notion comes from their baby boomer parents, who invented the idea that work should be fun, he says.
Boomer parents have also taught their kids that they’re wonderful, so they enter the workforce thinking they should be showered with things that they want, Arnett says. With strong self-esteem, they’ve also grown up in an information tidal wave, as technology has become much easier to use and widespread, notes Bruce Tulgan, founder of New Haven (Conn.)-based generational research firm RainmakerThinking and author of Managing Generation Y (HRD Press, 2001). “This group is always connected, always accessible, and creative,” Tulgan says. He’s fond of saying that Generation Y is the highest-maintenance generation that will also be the highest-performing workforce.
Interesting. May I also recommend Steven Rothberg’s blog at CollegeRecruiter.com? I’ve learned more about Gen Y reading his blog than any other source. Well, other than talking to the Rock Star’s Gen Y twin sons.