Why millennials value volunteering

Photo credit: Indevjobs.org

Despite stereotypes of being self-absorbed and apathetic, millennials actually care more about volunteering than older generations — at least according to a poll that the Associated Press and GfK conducted. This poll finds that people under 30 are more likely to say that citizens have a “very important” obligation to volunteer.

Why is volunteering so important to millennials? Perhaps because so many of them grew up in a culture that encouraged and even required volunteer work. For 24-year-old Morgan Gress, community service was required at her high school, and there were numerous opportunities to volunteer at her college.

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Nobody Likes You When You’re A Millennial

Photo credit: nanigans.com

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.

Are millennials ruining this country?

Photo credit: Wikipedia

In a letter to Ask Stacy, a reader (referred to only as “C”) calls millennials “a danger to the financial security of this country and workforce security.”

C even likens working with millennials to working with alcoholics  — in that they let personal problems get in the way of their work — and accuses their parents of enabling them:

Ask Stacy: The Millennials Are Ruining This Country. What Can We Do? (moneytalksnews.com)

Youth unemployment: A global issue

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While I certainly know how young adults in America are struggling to find employment (being among them myself), this Huffington Post article makes it clear that youth unemployment is a global issue:

Unemployment Plagues Young People Around The World (huffingtonpost.com)

The article profiles young adults in America, Spain, France, Canada, and Great Britain who are struggling to find jobs that utilize their skills and education, while also having to pay off student loans.

How to ask for a raise

Photo credit: Freakingnews.com

Do you feel that your salary doesn’t reflect your contributions at your job? Then perhaps it’s time to get a raise. And this post from Grad School Hub shows you how to ask for it:

How To Negotiate A Higher Salary (gradschoolhub.net)

As young workers, we carry the burden of unjust stereotypes: namely, that we’re entitled and we’re constantly believing that we should be getting more than what we have already.

So we have to convince employers why we deserve more by focusing on our achievements and contributions, rather than acting like getting a raise is our God-given right.

Busting millennial myths

Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb (Photo credit: Save the Children)

In this segment of the Today Show, Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb interviewed psychologist Dale Atkins and Dan Schawbel of Millennial Branding about traits that are prevalent among millennials:

TODAY: How millennials see life differently from boomers (today.com)

Kathie Lee seemed to be the voice of negative millennial stereotypes during the interview, making statements like “They move from job to job and seem to be more laid back about life and seem to be very entitled.”

But Schawbel had more a esteemed opinion of millennials, praising their education, their desire to have meaningful work, and their optimism in spite of today’s economy:

Time Magazine’s millennials cover

(Photo credit: Time Magazine)

“Millennials are lazy, entitled narcissists who still live with their parents.”

That’s what the cover to Time Magazine states. I’m sure the people at Time are smart enough to know that not every millennial is lazy, entitled, narcissistic, or living with their parents, but they’re still placing this stereotype on their cover.

There are countless ethnic, racial, and gender-based stereotypes that Time Magazine would never dare place on their cover, but to propagate a stereotype about a group of people based on their generation is somehow acceptable?

Being stereotyped as a lazy, entitled narcissist makes me fear that people  — especially employers — will form an impression of me as “lazy” or “entitled” or “narcissistic” before they even have the chance to get to know me.