Generation Next vs The Greatest Generation

I’m not so worried about Generation Next - our junior associates and their law school counterparts. Older generations have always discounted the ability of those who follow - lamenting their character, their commitment, their fashion, music, common sense, haircuts, dancing and all the rest. It’s easy to have a negative simpleminded reaction to younger professionals. Consider some of their most irritating traits

Yo, Dude, wassup with the hair gel?

If I hear the word “like” one more time I’ll hang myself in the shower; 

They love to multi-task and make it look easy;

They text, tweet, talk, order lunch, and criticize our lifestyles at the same time;

They accept the enormous amount of money we paid them and don’t offer to pay it back;

They want more out of life than we did - and they want to talk about it now;

They know a better way to do everything- and dammit if they’re not right most of the time;

They have no sense of history but they love Wikipedia;

They think sushi is one of the four basic food groups - not doughnuts, ice cream, pizza, and beer;

They use Dude as a greeting, noun, verb, gerund, and warning -sometimes in the same sentence;

They’re so impatient that they want tomorrow to be yesterday; and

They want to have a family and spend time with their family and don’t admire serial disorders or their “starter marriages”;  

            The Greatest Generation - The first reason I’m not worried is that I’ve met the Greatest Generation. The smartest toughest guy I ever knew was a kid in the Depression, joined the Marines in 1941, came home to a recession that cost him his job and raised four kids on a modest income and came into his own professionally during the 1960's. He sent me a note when I joined Shearman & Sterling which I still have today

Dear Franklyn,

Congratulations on your job with Shearman & Sterling. It sounds like a great firm and a great place to begin your career. I know that they’ve said they will pay you $25,000 a year. But if when you get there they can only pay you 10 or 15, keep the job - because it’s a great job. Play for the long term. That’s what matters. Ignore the potholes and keep on driving.

Pretty good advice. He was one of four Marines in the Second World War to earn the Distinguished Flying Cross three times - for landing his DC-3 at night, under fire, unarmed, to deliver ammunition and evacuate wounded Marines. He did this more than 200 times. He did it to serve his country and he was paid $62 a month. His Marines called him Captain. I called him Dad.

So you’ve gotten past the gatekeepers who reviewed your resume and cover letter and determined that you were good enough to make the cut for the company’s first round of interviews.  Well don’t break out the champagne yet, getting the interview is only half the battle and surprisingly that’s where many job candidates “flunk” out when trying to answer some seemingly simple interview questions. Below is one of the three seemingly simple interview questions that if not answered carefully could become the reason why you don’t get a call back for a second or third interview.

Question: What motivates you to do your job well?

Wrong Answer: Good pay, benefits, opportunities to advance in my career or anything else that is related to your own personal needs. No matter how nicely you put it, telling an employer that you are simply motivated by money will not land you the job. And just in case you were considering it, saying that you are motivated by the fear of losing your job, won’t get you hired either.

Better Answer: You enjoy meeting a challenge. You are passionate about your career; you enjoy helping others or anything else that has to do with your higher needs, preferable those in the “self-actualization” category of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.  You can even elaborate by telling a story about how your passion, desire to help others etc. has produced positive results in former jobs.

Stay tuned for Part II: What is your most valuable strength?