A Breath of Fresh Air

It's easy for people to be down in the dumps about the current state of the economy and the gloomy jobs front. From my perspective as someone who works in Human Resources its frustrating to see so much talent in the workforce not being put to good use. I can only imagine how frustrating it is from the job-seeker's point of view. I'm of that certain age where I sometimes catch myself looking at the younger generations wondering what they have to look forward to if things don't change. Then along comes someone to shake me up with a completely different perspective.

Penelope Trunk is a commentator on CNN, 20/20 and FOX News, and also hosts her own career advice website which sees more than half a million hits a month. Recently she wrote a piece on why young people don't fear the lousy job market. Among her observations:

• As the country moves to a knowledge-based economy, most Americans can no longer expect to earn more than the generation before them.
• When the economy rebounds it will likely not be a recovery where the traditional skills of older people come back into demand; the jobs that emerge will be in new sectors, will require different skill sets, and the financial expectations of employees will permanently shift because of the new realities.
• Young people know these things. They are not waiting around for things to change, to get back to how they used to be because that will never happen. Young people accept the realities of today and jump right in. According to Trunk this is why young people on a whole are optimistic about their ability to get a job and find their place in the world.

Though she acknowledges that the emerging generation is in horrible financial shape due to a combination of outrageous student loans and low wage entry jobs, she sees the future as bright. She's banking on the changing demographics of America favoring the younger generations in the years to come, and she may have a point. Even though their departure may be delayed, the Baby Boomers will eventually leave the job market, and when they do the younger generation will capitalize on the anticipated labor shortage.

Anyone who's been around the workforce for a while knows they've been forecasting a labor shortage for a long time now, but if it ever materializes as Trunk foresees, its certainly the Gen-Y group that will likely most benefit. According to Trunk they'll get higher paying jobs faster, move up the corporate ladder more quickly, and they'll be able to remake the workplace in their own image without much resistance. When you look at it from that perspective, why not be optimistic? She even quotes a finding from Pyschology Today that people who are optimistic are more likely to create their own luck. And she makes a point that I think most of us would agree with - a successful career is a combination of hard work and good luck.

Perhaps this optimism is in part born of the fact that the younger generation isn't yet fully invested, either financially or emotionally, in their own status quo and has less to lose when the status quo of another generation crumbles. Still, reading Ms. Trunk's piece almost makes me wish I was younger and just starting out. Almost...