20something with Down’s syndrome lands dream job through Twitter

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It’s been very difficult for millennials to find jobs in today’s economy, but what about millennials with special needs?

This article discusses how a Twitter campaign helped Ben Small, a 26-year-old aspiring chef with Down’s syndrome in England, land his dream job:

#GiveBenAJob: Twitter campaign helps aspiring chef with Down’s syndrome land dream job (telegraph.co.uk) 

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Nobody Likes You When You’re A Millennial

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This post was written by Dolly, a UCSB graduate and an aspiring lawyer: 

Some days, I wake up feeling like a barista-designed agave latte, ready to awaken the senses and release my potential. And some days, it’s gas station coffee. Welcome to my rarely lavish, mostly ludicrous, twenty-something life.

The other day, I thought about the weird urge I felt to have every part of my life planned out and why I was feeling so anxious to get all my ducks in line. I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling of being behind. It was like waiting for the light to turn green and I was at a yellow. And that got me thinking about the little things in my life that were shaping how I expected the big things to occur in turn.

How to make the most of your 20s professionally

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Levo League recently published an article about how to make the most of your twenties professionally. While the article is geared toward young women, I think it could apply to all people in their twenties:

10 Ways to Make the Most of Your 20s Professionally (levo.com)

One piece of advice that the article gives is to use the time in your twenties wisely. Similar to Meg Jay, who warns us against delaying adulthood until we turn thirty, this article tells us not to waste our twenties procrastinating.

Framing youth and inexperience as an advantage

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Last week, I wrote a piece on Chelsea Krost’s blog about ways that millennials could gain professional experience for their first full-time job. This piece by Brian Hart, president of the PR firm Flackable, discusses how millennials could actually use their age and lack of experience to their advantage when they’re searching for jobs:

3 Ways Millennials Can Frame Youth And Inexperience As A Professional Advantage (chelseakrost.com)

One advantage that millennials have over older generations is their knowledge of technology and social media.

Job seekers: Be proactive!

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I recently came across a video series on NYC Media about finding jobs. While I’m sure that each of the videos contains great information about the job hunt, I wanted to focus on the video that’s most relevant to me and other young professionals out there: Gen Y School to Career

This video features the executive director of NYU’s career center and a senior career advisor at Baruch College, as well as millennial workplace expert Lindsay Pollack: people who certainly know what they’re talking about when it comes to young adults and finding jobs.  

A creative way to get hired

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Two weeks ago, I wrote a post about a lawyer who quit her job through a creative departure memo. While there are creative ways to leave your job, there are also creative ways to land a job: take Braden Young, who used a social media campaign in 2010 to snag his dream job as a Sales and Marketing Manager at Krispy Kreme.

Young opened “Hire Me Krispy Kreme” Facebook and Twitter pages. He also created a cover letter with a standout design and links to his social media accounts. It only took Krispy Kreme four hours to contact him; three days later, Krispy Kreme interviewed him, and he ended up getting the job.

How to clean up your social media

Photo credit: Social Sweepster

Social media can be a great tool in your job search, but it can also damage your career if not used responsibly. In an earlier post, I discussed how a reporter got fired for writing a blog post that mocked her job. But even something as simple as a picture or a comment could cost you your job or prevent you from getting a job.

Even if you’re careful about what you place on social media, it’s possible that your friends could post photos that make you appear irresponsible or unprofessional. It’s also possible that you might’ve posted some vulgar or offensive comment a while ago that you forgot about but is still lingering somewhere on your page.

26-year-old job seeker gets harsh LinkedIn message

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Kelly Blazek, who runs the Cleveland Job Bank, has come under intense criticism for sending a hateful e-mail to 26-year-old job seeker Diana Mekota in response to Mekota’s request to connect with her on LinkedIn:

Lessons Learned from CEO’s Painful Email Meltdown (shine.yahoo.com)

Blazek’s e-mail to Mekota is filled with stunningly inappropriate remarks, such as “Wow, I cannot wait to let every 26 year old jobseeker mine my top-tier marketing connections to help them land a job” and “I suggest you join the other Job Bank in town. Oh wait — there isn’t one.” 

How Generation Y will transform the workplace

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Our generation has only begun entering the workforce, but as older generations retire, we will eventually become the dominant generation in the workplace.

This interesting article describes how the traditions and values of Generation Y will transform the workplace in Canada:

The six ways Generation Y will transform the workplace  (globeandmail.com)

Millennials: Changing the world

Some of the extraordinary millennials spotlighted in the Huffington Post’s article (Photo credit: Huffington Post)

At 20somethings in 2014, I like to spotlight millennials who are making difference and disproving the stereotype that millennials are selfish and narcissistic.

So I was glad to find this Huffington Post article spotlighting seven millennials whose innovations are changing the world:

7 Millennials Who Are Too Busy Changing The World To Take Selfies  (huffingtonpost.com)