I just read this thread, and thought there were interesting points in all of the articles listed. As a Gen Y-er, I'm finding it difficult right now. It might be my location, but with two undergraduate degrees, an MA, 2 years experience in admin, as well as 4 in customer service, I can't even get a callback for a receptionist position. I have had my resume looked at by two different services, and have applied to over 70 jobs in the past two months. The consensus- I didn't take the "secretary diploma", so I won't be able to handle it. It's frustrating to see my peers turning down jobs and quitting because it isn't perfect when I am struggling to find an entry-level position. If a job offered me everything that last article said my generation wants, I would be highly suspicious, to be honest.

Exactly, WTF!!!! Why didn't they just sum this all up with "you didn't suck their dicks enough." I would worry more if I had great experienced people with years of connections in my industry leaving than I would worry about a 22 year old who gets their job and realizes "ohhhhh, being a _____ means I have to do it EVERY SINGLE DAY OF MY LIFE."

Was that Careerbuilder tongue-in-cheek or was the author serious? Plus, what economy are these Gen Y'ers living in where they can just hop from job to job?

I agree and I love this article - one of the men who reported to me is 27 and had this attitude. "I have to show up on time? Every day? I have to do this AGAIN this month? I don't like doing data entry. I have a degree, you know."

Plus he had called in sick because:
He left his iPhone at a friend's and had to get it
He woke up in some strange girl's bed and was "quite frankly, too drunk to come into work", and didn't know where his car was anyway (on a work night)
He missed his flight out of Las Vegas because he got "confused as to the day" - the flight was at 12 AM and he showed up the next day at the airport

And finally, what got him fired - got caught sleeping in one of our supply rooms. When asked why he thought that was a good idea, "I only sleep when I have downtime."

Meanwhile, he was constantly asking me when he would be promoted, why he wasn't making more money, why he wasn't given higher level stuff to do, etc. Really?

LOL.

This guy is dumb. Dumb knows no generation.

I don't know if he was dumb (although missing a plane because you're there on the wrong day certainly qualifies) because he was an "ok" performer as a financial analyst, but he did made a lot of stupid decisions which caused him to be an overall poor employee. Because he wasn't horrible at the job, he thought he was a star performer without taking into account that he was chronically late, called out frequently, etc., which also factors into total performance.

When I was writing him up or otherwise giving him verbal warnings, I had to educate him on the concept of C/PA, which is the ratio of how much someone contributes (C) divided by how much of a pain in the ass (PA) they are. His C was low compared to his PA, so out the door he went.

How did he ever get out of school? Was promoted for social reasons?

I love the C/PA concept. I will use that in the future. Lisa, I like you more and more everyday.