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Social, professional networks are key
The social networks that younger generations have built around their lives can also be an advantage. What began as purely social antics on Facebook and Twitter has a career look-alike in the form of LinkedIn. And social media is used for so much more than artsy photos of dinner plates. People use these sites not only for posting pictures of their personal lives, but also for keeping in touch with past co-workers and college acquaintances. Those types of behaviors and tools make it easier for people to build a professional network, not just a social one.
It also helps with what Lifehacker author Alan Henry calls the “layoff test.” Henry describes this self-proctored test as a barometer for the health of your professional network. If you were laid off today, do you have 10 people you could call to ask for leads about a new job? If not, Henry evokes the “it takes a friend to be a friend” adage and suggests reaching out to past coworkers to see how they’re doing. Don’t fake it, but keep in contact with the very real possibility that you might one day need to make that call.
Often, social media itself is the tool younger workers use to make sure they have contacts in place. According to the 2014 Spherion Emerging Workforce Study, 47{01de1f41f0433b1b992b12aafb3b1fe281a5c9ee7cd5232385403e933e277ce6} of milliennials said their social network would be the place they’d start if looking for a new job. That’s almost double those in their parents’ Generation X group, and 27{01de1f41f0433b1b992b12aafb3b1fe281a5c9ee7cd5232385403e933e277ce6} more than that of baby boomers. That could also be why more millennials thought it would be appropriate for their boss to friend them on social networks, at 44{01de1f41f0433b1b992b12aafb3b1fe281a5c9ee7cd5232385403e933e277ce6}. As long as they’re not posting about a new job online before giving their two weeks’ notice, that person could one day be a valuable asset for future job searches.