We work in a contemporary world. A world where things are changing — whether it's when and where employees are working, how employers are handling their human resources or the constantly changing trends — the world of work is moving and shifting. And as wacky as that world can be sometimes, it's also fascinating if you have the right guide.

This blog is designed to be just that — a companion on your journey through the changing world of work. Here you'll find tips, tools and information on topics as diverse as the workforce itself: the aging workforce, working women, professional etiquette, generational diversity, the talent crunch, and more. So whether you're an employer or an employee, and whether you're beginning or close to finishing your career, I hope you find the information here useful for navigating the contemporary world of work.

Thanks for reading and have fun!

Melanie

A young person I love was recently laid off from her professional position in New York.  It’s easy to give advice when you don’t care about the person affected — but when it is someone close to you, relevant advice is a bit harder to articulate.  The first thing I did was listen to what she had to say and how she said it.  Then, for what it’s worth, here’s what I told her:

• This isn’t personal.  While it’s difficult to separate your head from your heart, know that the lay-off was driven by the economy — not your work or your behavior.
• Having said that, you have every right to grieve.  So go ahead and be mad, be embarassed, be sad and be scared.  That’s perfectly normal and to be expected.
• Don’t focus on the past — look forward to tomorrow.  It won’t necessarily be fun, but you WILL get through this.
• Learn everything you can about your unemployment benefits.  The good news is you can get them.  But be sure you understand the impact of part-time or temporary work while you’re looking for that next career step.
• Once you know how it may or may not affect your unemployment benefits, register at a staffing company (Manpower would be my first choice, of course).  While it might not be easy to find a good temporary position right away, it is possible that a good position will be available to help tide you over.
• Try to put some structure into your days while you’re not working.  That could mean walking the dog every morning, catching up on all the museums in town or simply taking long walks. 
• But even better, consider volunteering.  It’s possible to find volunteer opportunities that match your skills and/or your passions.  Volunteering will give you someplace to go on a regular basis but — more important — you’ll be giving back to your community and feeling good about yourself at the same time.  And it never hurts to expand your contacts and your network through these volunteer opportunities.

I wish I had a magic wand to make the economy better and improve the unemployment picture — particularly for people I love.  But I don’t have that wand.  So consider some of my advice if you’re one of those who are out of work.

Recall that last week I blogged about generational issues and how they cross borders — we’re all the same no matter our color, gender or national origin.

Well I had a similar experience recently and that lesson was reinforced.  I was honored to host a group of very talented women from South Africa for a discussion about trade and doing business in each other’s countries.  I should tell you that I have a soft spot in my heart for South Africa because of two fabulous trips there that included exciting bush drives, scenery that took my breath away and people who were physically beautiful, open, friendly and very smart.

But whether or not I love South Africa, my point is the same.  People — and in this case women — are the same the world over.  We want success, we want to raise our families and we want to make contributions to society.

Again — diversity lesson.  No matter our gender, color or national origin, we are all human beings who have the same dreams and goals.

I had the privilege of traveling to Mexico City last week to speak to a very large number of HR professionals. The subject was the Net Generation (aka Gen Y or Millenials) and how HR should be preparing to recruit and retain this fabulous, very large generation.

I won’t bore you with my entire presentation — because there isn’t room here. But the gist is that this generation’s use of technology is one of the foundations for everything they do. And while the Net Gen has gotten a lot of bad press, I firmly believe that we can all learn from this cohort and should embrace many of their characteristics:

• They value integrity.
• Doing meaningful work and giving back to their communities is important
• Work/life balance is not just a phrase — they want to actually live it.
• Utilizing the ubiquitous, 24/7 technology for entertainment is something they do, but they also want to leverage technology to collaborate on a global basis.

I could go on and on, but the real point of this post is that whether I’m home in the U.S. or down in Mexico, we are all the same. Generational issues cross borders, languages and cultures. While I believe this has always been true, technology and the shrinking world have made our similarities more obvious.

Is there a diversity lesson in here? Don’t we all want the same things? Aren’t we basically the same — no matter our color or gender or national origin?

I found a recent Harris Interactive survey to be quite interesting — and in some cases counter-intuitive.  In their Widely Held Attitudes to Different Generations, they asked 4,000 Americans what they thought of people of various ages:

• Baby Boomers are most widely viewed as having a positive effect on society, followed by Generation X.
• Traditionalists (Silent Generation) are the most widely admired.
• Traditionalists and Boomers are viewed as the most generous.
• Baby Boomers and Gen X are seen as the most productive (counter-intuitive to me).
• Generation X is seen as the most innovative.
• And Gen Y is the most self-indulgent (they are seen as self-indulgent by themselves).

Interesting food for thought that might change some of our attitudes about the different generations.  Take a look.

PR: wait…  I: wait…  L: wait…  LD: wait…  I: wait… wait…  C: wait…  SD: wait…

I saw the Broadway production of The Color Purple this weekend and I really enjoyed it.  There are lots of lessons to be learned from this entertaining and moving play:

• Don’t judge a book by its cover
• Love lasts years and doesn’t stop because of time or distance
• Family violence is passed on from generation to generation
• Role models are very important for breaking that cycle

But what came out very clearly to me was the issue of jobs. 

• Harpo broke the three-generation violent cycle in his family by creating a business that gave him monetary rewards, but more important, the self-esteem that accompanies success.
• Celie broke out of her life-long habit of accepting what the men in her life imposed on her by finding success in making pants (Yes — making pants — if you haven’t seen the play that might sound strange!). 

This reinforces my strong belief that it’s all about jobs.  If everyone had sustainable employment, our problems would be far fewer.  Let’s all see what we can do to help make that happen!

Seems as if I’m bucking a trend.  According to a recent article on MediaPost Publications, Boomers Are Not Bloggers.  Well, I’m a boomer and I’m a blogger.  

A ThirdAge/JWT Boom study reports that people over age 40 rely heavily on word-of-mouth and value personal recommendations.  Apparently we want to connect with others, but we use more traditional web communications tools like email. 

I found the list of web-based activities in which boomers have little or no interest particularly fascinating:

• 67% of respondents have little or no interest in writing blogs
• 63% don’t care about social networking
• 62% don’t play games with others
• 55% don’t listen to podcasts
• And 44% don’t download music

Well, I do it all and my hunch is most of you who read this blog do it all as well.

According to early federal data released a few weeks ago, a record number of babies were born in the U.S. in 2007.  An article in a recent USA Today reports that there were 4,315,000 births — the most since 1957, which was the middle of the post WWII Baby Boom.

This astonishing number is both good news and bad news.  Bad news for our education system — we’ll have to make room for all these kids to get their schooling.  But in 18 or 20 years it will be good news for employers.  If we get the education part right, businesses will have a lot of qualified employees from which to choose.

According to The Alliance for Board Diversity in their study Women and Minorities on Fortune 100 Boards:

• Men, and white men in particular, occupy the vast majority of the 1,219 board seats, at 82.94% and 71.53% respectively.
• In contrast, all women — and, in particular, white women — hold 17.06% and 13.04% respectively.
• All women and minority men constitute 28.47% of board member seats.

Their conclusion:  Corporate directors remain predominately white and male.

What’s up with that?

I was interviewed this morning about whether or not recruiters discriminate against mature candidates and — if you are a mature candidate — how to avoid being passed over because of your age.

Age discrimination is against the law, but the reality is that some recruiters will sort a resume to the bottom of the stack if the candidate appears to be of a certain generation.  That makes absolutely no sense to me because mature workers are good workers — work experience, life experience, integrity, loyalty… you’ve seen my list before.

But to be on the safe side, there are some things you can do to avoid being sorted out because of your age:

• Consider your resume your best sales tool — work hard to make it relevant and customized for the specific job opening.
• Don’t go back to your very first job 30 years ago — focus on the relevant skills and accomplishments of the last ten years or so.
• If possible, don’t list the year you graduated from high school, technical college or university.  Be sure you list your educational accomplishments, but avoid calling attention to the fact that you graduated during the Nixon administration!
• Use technology, where appropriate.  Virtually every job has a technology element to it — so show off your technical knowledge.  Develop a profile in LinkedIn or other social networking site.  If you’ve got a website of your own, provide a link so your potential employer can see your technical skills showcased.
• Don’t take “you’re over qualified” as an answer.  Assure your potential employer that you’re serious about this application and you’ll do everything you can to help the company succeed.
• Finally, even though I’m advising that you avoid calling attention to your age, be very proud of your age and experience.  Know that you bring a lot of great things to work!

Good luck in your job search.  Employers are looking for qualified employees who can add value and help them succeed.  And you could be the perfect match — no matter how old you are!

As you know, I’m a proud baby-boomer.  As you also know, I try very hard not to be judgemental about the other generations — there are no ‘bad’ ages to me.  We all have our strengths and our weaknesses.

Several years ago, managment by walking around was all the rage.  We were told to be seen by our employees, show interest in their work, be available for questions, coach them, give them feedback…  It made a lot of sense ten or 20 years ago.

But what about Gen Y?  Many prefer to communicate electronically.  And many more do their best work when they are out of the office.  So who will I see when I’m doing my managing by walking around?