Why Gen Yers Fail to Launch

The movie “Failure to Launch” played as a comedy on the big screen, but is it really funny? Talking about their young adult children, perplexed parents will say, “He’s bright, did well in school, loved his major, but is lost when it comes to looking for a job or finding a good fit.” Employers are concerned as well, worried about the time and money it takes to recruit and retain young talent in their organizations. Why is this happening in greater numbers today?

According to a 2007 study, many of today’s young adults “claim to want challenging and rewarding careers, yet they do not take the necessary actions to plan and prepare for these careers.” The study was conducted by two Michigan State University researchers: Philip Gardner, Ph.D., Director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute, and Georgia Chao, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Management at the Eli Broad College of Business, for MonsterTRAK, the online college recruitment website. They report that young adults “surf for the right job” by moving from job to job frequently, similar to surfing on the Internet.

The study also found that parents provide support by allowing them to come home to regroup and by financing their lifestyle and activities. The young adults proceed with their job changes with optimism, believing that at some point, they will find their ideal job by a process of elimination. About half the survey’s 10,000 young adults perceived themselves as entitled to the better things in life and did not want to compromise on requirements for their “ideal job.” This prolongs their job search.

About half of the young people ages 18-28 surveyed also reported that they did not have concrete career goals or plans. “Thus, job surfing is used to gain different experiences in order to determine what kind of career would best fit them.” Surfing was more likely for young adults who majored in liberal arts, social sciences or communications; less likely for those majoring in education, the health professions, or computer science.

“I see a few things with young adults as they leave college and start their first job,” says Duncan Ferguson, a Senior Consultant with SSP-BPI Group, a Chicago executive coaching and career services firm that typically works with mid-career adults. “Some young people just don’t grasp the job search process. They spend too much time on the job search mechanics, studying interview questions, getting a resume ‘done’, surfing the net, etc. They need to realize that the job search process is really about marketing themselves. That means being clear on what they have to offer to the marketplace, for example, skills, expertise, capabilities, characteristics and values, and translating that into a marketing message that employers will find engaging. They need to be ready with their marketing commercial – the ‘elevator speech – and a marketing brochure – the resume – that tells the world what differentiates them from the competition.”

“The other group of young adults who seem to be lost are the ones without a direction, because they haven’t reflected enough about themselves. That is, what do they like, what are their passions and interests, what don’t they like – all more important questions than ‘Can I get a job with this degree?’ Many receive a ‘job ready’ degree, like accounting or engineering, yet have never taken the time to ask themselves, ‘Do I really like this?’ versus ‘Will this get me a job?’ Ferguson continues. “I see grads with liberal arts degrees who may have a lot of options but don’t know how to process them. They don’t know themselves and what careers best match their strengths.”

“In hindsight, these ‘Early Careerists’ as we call them, could have utilized their campus career services more. Many colleges and universities have excellent resources far from fully utilized by students. Now these young adults who are one to five years out of school need help, but most colleges don’t have the staff or budget to serve the different needs of their alumni. The really great schools are trying to figure out how to set up services for these young alumni,” Ferguson says. “I would encourage Early Careerists to get involved with their alumni association, which will naturally give access to networking contacts and potential mentors.”

“It’s also important to acknowledge that all Generation Yers do not fit the negative stereotypes, that they are slackers or goof-offs with an out-of-proportion sense of entitlement,” Ferguson concluded. “But they differ from their Baby Boomer parents in that they are looking to work to live, not live to work, so work-life balance issues are very important. Many are good kids from good schools who are looking to take their place in the marketplace. For young adults, it’s never too early to start reflecting on career goals and building their network. These are critical skills that they will need throughout their entire career.”