Gen X / Gen Y - or just Generally Lazy

I’ve never been a particular fan of pigeon holing and mass generalisations, especially when it comes to recruitment and the web. It’s probably a chip on my shoulder accentuated by approaching another birthday, but whilst I appreciate the need for them in some discussion contexts, when it comes to recruitment I think the way many people jump on such terms such as Gen X & Gen Y when trying to define job seeking / applying behaviours is little more than lazy.

But it’s not so bad – just as I was feeling dejected and non-pigeon-holeable – not Gen Y in age, not Gen X in digital traits, Pepsi have given me and people like me a pigeon and a hole of our very own. I only just fit in (I don’t hesitate to add), but it would seem I’m a 'Reborn Digital' (35 to 48-year-olds). Frank Cooper, VP for flavoured carbonated soft drinks at Pepsi-Cola North America. "…there's a group in that category that's 'reborn digital.' They've lived through the change and learned to adapt to it."

If I were being picky, as is my wont, I’d suggest that such a group have actually learnt ‘to adapt it’ to our requirements, as opposed to 'adapt to it'. I may even be so bold as to suggest this group will have played a significant part in shaping the development and success / failure of many aspects of the digital environment in which we find ourselves and continues to evolve – but I’m probably a little comforted to belong to some grouping none the less.

The digital world is moving at such pace and is such a personal as well as environment / circumstance dictated experience, grouping one entire generation as a defined user group for recruitment, which must be considered a micro activity (as opposed to a macro activity such as accessing news, utilising communication channels etc), makes most debate built around this of little relevance. Especially considering that these days we can generate real track-able results that we can harvest and scrutinise, therefore reducing the need to fall back on such massively crude generalised boxes.

I’ll concede that there may at times be some merit in talking about recruitment as a general activity, but our assimilated knowledge and tools available today should make recruitment activity, if not quite scalpel-esque, certainly more carving knife than sledgehammer in approach. And if that’s the case then surely the debate should move well beyond lazy people with their generic claims and nothing new ‘guff’ hiding behind generational groupings which have little relevance to clued up recruitment specialists. And make no mistake, recruitment is a specialism not a generalism, so please let’s try to make sure we’re not guilty of being lazy in our debate. Come on, let's push that bar – gen’.

Oh - and if you're genuinely Gen addicted, try considering Gen C instead ;-)

Comments

[Richard Millington]

I think there's a very strong case for micro-precision approach to recruitment. 3 very qualified candidates are always better than 20 good ones who might slip through the rubbish-radar.

You might also be interested in my approach, i'm starting a blog with the specific objective of being hired for one person. One person, one blog, one objective. It's going to be interesting to see if it works.

[Matt]

@Richard - Thanks for reading us and good luck getting the internship. Blogging to get a job, I like it!
@Alex - Interesting post. Broadly agree. One thing to add..there seems to be a whole host of blogs, articles, books etc that are turning Gen Y into some kind of "thing" rather than a highly generalised term for a group of people. I'm beginning to think that writing about Gen Y is becoming an industry in it's on right. Attitudes in the work force are certainly changing hugely and I would accept that this is potentially happening along arbitrary generational lines but then again wasn't it ever thus?!!

[Alex Hens]

wonder if Richard actually got the summer internship?

Would recommend his site. Can't work out if he's a very bright button who has read of lot of well read people to get his insight, or else a very bright button who's lived before. Either way I found it a good read.

Do come back let us know if you got it or not (can't see on Seth's site any name mentioned - but best of luck with the studies whatever).

And yes Matt - you're right, Gen Y is becoming it's own industry, I think largely playing on people's paranoia of a world speeding up and leaving them behind (if it's already been categorised and you attend a conference / read a book on it then you can assume a mantle of knowing smugness). I'm not saying that it doesn't have its place in the big bad world, I just think that sometimes in Recruitment we all too often jump on this months' hottest marketing term bandwagon without thinking about its real relevance to what's specifically being talked about - and recruitment is largely about specifics.

But as you say - wasn't it ever this

:)