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Career ADD: The Gen Y Job-Hopping Epidemic

Do you have a track record of getting bored and desiring a change of job/employer after one year? Do you find yourself unhappy and anxious after the first 90 days at a new job? Do you start a new job on a high, only to struggle to get excited to go to work shortly thereafter? According to CareerBuilder.com, if you’ve answered ‘Yes’ to any of these questions, you may have “Career A.D.D.,” often defined as a feeling of dissatisfaction on-the-job and a desire to move on after a short period of time.

While this new diagnosis may launch you into panic mode (as research shows that recruiting is one of the top concerns for executives during these turbulent economic times), The Boston Globe assures us there’s no need to worry. In fact, it seems Career A.D.D. is actually a win-win situation for both employers and their employees.

This recent Globe article advises young professionals to move around early in their careers in order to discover their perfect fit. “If you compare people who job hop with people who don’t, people who job hop build their network faster, build their skill set faster, and are more engaged in their work.”

And corporate loyalty shouldn’t be considered lost. The article says that “companies actually get more passionate work out of people who are in the first two years at a company than people who have been there awhile and plan to stay longer.”

But just in case you’d like to keep your current Gen. Y staff around, consider Penelope Trunk’s advice: What young people really want at work is opportunity for personal growth. That includes interesting assignments, flexible hours, additional training and “intrapreneurship” opportunities. Read more about them here.

Looking to treat your case of Career A.D.D.? Simply understand that the intense pursuit of 100% job satisfaction will not solve all of life’s problems … it’s “a never-ending fruitless endeavor,” says CareerBuilder.com, adding that job satisfaction is attainable at any age, it just requires the proper management of expectations.

Posted by Kate Patton

Watch Your Mouth!

Deceiving your customers just got illegal … at least in the U.K., where word-of-mouth marketing is about to face a major crack-down.

According to Advertising Age, beginning May 26, “it will become a criminal offense for brands to seed positive messages online without making the origin of the message clear … The rules make it an offense to blog, use brand ambassadors or seed viral ads while ‘falsely representing oneself as a consumer.’”

But every brand needs a big mouth behind it. The New York Times recently published an article about the new ways younger audiences are receiving information, transforming themselves from merely consumers to conduits of information and advice. This social filter – which includes blogs, message boards, texts and social networks – is simply a technological, “social media generational” version of the oldest marketing tool out there, said Jane Buckingham, founder of market research company the Intelligence Group, in the article.

And according to a new report from brand research company Millward Brown, online communities, blogs and message boards are actually the most likely sources of negative opinions about a brand. So it’s really no wonder companies are so desperate to spread a positive word online.

How desperate? Remember Sony’s “All I Want for Christmas is a PSP” viral? In Ad Age’s most prominent example, the company pushed buzz marketing too far with its campaign that combined “amateur” video footage with a blog supposedly written by a friend of the video’s character. “When consumers discovered the campaign had been masterminded by Sony and its agency, Zipatoni, there was a huge backlash and a formal apology from Sony.”   

Here in the U.S., let’s hope self-regulation prevents the government from getting involved. But until then, try creating quality products/services so you don’t have to brag about yourself or pay people to do it!

Posted by Kate Patton