Marissa Klein, founder of boutique staffing firm Choice Fashion & Media shares her take on the drawbacks – and benefits! – of employing and working with the millennial generation...

Recently, I realized that I was the age of a person who says the phrase “in my day” often in a professional setting. EEK! Lets be fair, those “more seasoned” than me would scoff at my epiphany, but those I mentor- well- they can’t help but see me as more experienced as I am in my late 30s and have two kids. Even though I toy around on social media, drink the same Kool Aid, and wear the same clothes, I am in a different demographic than those entering the work force.

Every day, someone asks me the “temperature of the market” and from my position on the front lines, I respond honestly.  We are busy, we have a great supply of openings (thank goodness) and to be honest, fair demand.  It is definitely a job seeker’s market.  They have choice again, unlike in 2009 or 2010, they can be passive; they don’t have to jump at the first offer when they *think* they can get the next best position.

They don’t want to pay dues AND their parents endorse their thought processes.

“In my day,” we were taught work ethic and earned our place in the ranks by paying our dues. I realize often that I, a hybrid of Generation X & Y, have more in common with my parents than to the new graduating work force. This new group of “candidates” are passive job shoppers.  They tend to have unrealistic expectation and exceptional impatience. Earning stripes is lost on them as a whole and paying dues is fine as long as it is on terms they or their parents ironically approve.

*Note, I recognize that I am exposed to a very niche group of new grads and perhaps I should not generalize. My day-to-day interaction is with tristate area, recent college grads, who have professional interest in the fashion & media world. Perhaps my point of view is not the norm.*

However, millennials are sharp, well-skilled, charismatic and engaging – and sometimes they showcase these positive qualities in real life and not just through their smart phones. There are some diamonds in the rough in the piles of resumes, I promise!

Its up to me and my team to uncover the gems.

Just keep in mind, if you are looking to make a hire this summer and you have been hunting a new-ish grad down to fill an open job on your P&L, you might have to wait until after Labor Day.  Being Funemployed is just too addicting during these summer days.

Well, I wouldn’t know, but I can tell by looking at their Instagram!  PS: It’s okay if we are a little jealous… I won’t tell if you won’t.

Marissa Klein

Marissa Klein knows a little something about dreaming big… After building her career in beauty and fashion sales in NYC, she finally embraced her inner entrepreneur, left the corporate world behind, and started a successful handmade and custom gift company, Rissy Lyn. Throughout her travels, Marissa was always the “matchmaker”- constantly connecting people, helping people, talking to people, changing people. So, while promoting her namesake brand at one of the many trunk shows at Henri Bendel, she had an epiphany: why not bring these skills together and help others dream the way she always had? For the past decade, she has managed Choice Fashion/Media, the creative division of her family’s boutique staffing firm. Everyday, she helps people find their dream jobs. She believes that while inherently we may have more “grown-up” realities, at the end of the day, we all just want to be able to do what we love and be genuinely happy doing it. Marissa is also the author of the children’s book series, The Dream Big Academy. With the second installment on the way, she loves how she can marry her career and love of writing to teach children why we work and to always dream big! Marissa is originally from Harrington Park, NJ, and graduated from the University of Richmond with a degree in business. She currently resides in Hoboken, NJ, with her husband David, her two beautiful dreamers, Sienna and Summer, and her poodle, Simba.

Connect with Marissa… Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Dream Big Academy