Far from being a negative generation worried about what’s ahead for them, they generally remain positive and upbeat about the future, as demonstrated by the findings from a recent MTV online survey about work, money and spending from a sample panel of 600 young people across Europe.

After all, if you work hard enough, and want something enough, you’ll get it…

Here’s the headlines:

They’re keen to tell the oldies how it’s done
76% agreed that they feel THEY can teach older colleagues things; and 73% agreed that they can go against conventional wisdom in the workplace. A whopping 85% like coming up with their own ideas and being creative at work.

They want a strong feedback loop
The vast majority of young people are goal orientated (82%) and strongly believe that they benefit from regular work reviews and feedback (80%).

They’re an entrepreneurial bunch
Almost 9 in 10 agree that they constantly strive for self-improvement; they see their work ethic as essentially underpinned by their strong entrepreneurial spirit in the workplace (3 out of 4 agree)

They try not to let the word “failure” into their vocabulary
9 in 10 agreed that it is important to make “failures” into positives. Almost 2 in 3 say that they either NEVER use the word “failure” to describe how they feel or that they try not to.

They’re pretty damn positive that they’ll end up with the job of their dreams
47% state that they are going to continue to work hard to get the job of their dreams (rises to 53% for ages 16-24) and 14% say they already have their dream job. The remaining 39% are either more practical (“I’d just be happy with any job that helps me pay the bills”: 16%) or are feeling a bit worried about it (“I’m not feeling as confident as I once was that I’ll get my dream job”: 13%, and “I’m worried that I won’t get a job at all, let alone my dream job”: 10%), but on the whole, the majority are still believers that their dream jobs are out there ready for them to seize: in fact, 70% are overall positive about getting the career/job that they want at some point in their life.

This reflects Millennials’ overall attitude to economic issues: youth are aware of the economy and its potential effect on them… yet they still remain largely positive buoyed up by the lack of boundaries and encouraged sense of limitless potential that many of today’s youth experienced when growing up. And now they’re taking it to the working world.

By Emma Murray, London-based, International research.

Our parents are constantly getting warnings about loans, spending less and saving more. They’re getting tips about how to secure a decent future. There’s only one problem: the youth are the future. And we’re looking the other way.

Looking at my own environment in the Netherlands, I see many differences, but with one similarity: the “crisis” is being ignored. Of course there are concerns about finding a job in the future; but we only think about our student loan if another letter from the government is lying on the doormat, and we obviously don’t spend any less money because of it!

The young people of the Netherlands would rather live in the present, then in the future. Deep in our hearts we recognize the problems, we see the news and we know that we have to think about more than just ourselves. Yet we continue to prefer to be selfish. Precisely because our future doesn’t look so bright – we are going to have less money to spend, and probably have to work to our seventieth year – we prefer not to think about it. All these obligations and responsibilities are for later.

Now we are still young and we still want to enjoy our lives.

That is my own opinion of the attitude of most young people. The only question is whether that’s the right opinion? Living in the ‘now’ can be very good, and even healthy, but living in the present is different from ignoring your future life. We are searching for more and more opportunities and even excuses to postpone our thoughts about it. Going to parties and festivals, finding all kinds of activities to do with our friends, is just to cleanse our mind and be free. Right now, friendship and togetherness in the present is more important than the future. Because who wants to face their future problems alone?

By Martin Bonke, Netherlands

Life as they know it is purely digital and with that comes a connectivity that is constant and omnipresent. Millennials are constantly ‘on’ and eager to share life experiences at every interval, and it’s this sharing mindset that is driving today’s digital revolution. Millennials are accustomed to working on numerous devices, gadgets, social networks and apps, and thus live in a perpetually virtual world allowing them to maintain a consistent level of engagement. Knowledge and information is being transmitted and absorbed across various mediums 24/7, and this has made a significant impact on the modern workplace environment.

Corporate America hasn’t taken too kindly to the Millennials, interpreting their connectivity as a distraction rather than a tool aiding in their productivity, creativity and interaction with colleagues and external partners. But the reality is that senior management could learn a lot from them. What this communicatively adept generation may lack in experience on paper it makes up for in its knowledge and understanding of the digital space, an ever-evolving toolkit that is shaping the way companies and brands communicate and function.

By embracing Millennials’ familiarity with change and inclination towards early adoption of new platforms, employers will be better equipped to streamline their efforts, be more efficient, more effective, and stimulate a workplace environment that thrives on innovation and collaboration.

And this new concept of success and work is just as strong in neighbouring Latin American Millennial culture as well. MTV’s Culture Catchers talks to young Latin Americans all the time, and asked them what success means:

“For me, success can only be measured according to the goals you set for yourself, not by ‘external’ goals… I mean, we don’t have to care if society says being successful means having a 9 to 5 job as an office manager but we have to be successful according to our own definition, within the parameters we set.” – Argentinean, female, aged 23.

“Very simply, being successful is being happy with what you’ve got so far. Having achieved or reached what you set out to achieve.” - Mexican, male, aged 21.

By Gracia Larrain, Miami, USA.

With thanks to Salvador Mata, Culture Catchers www.culturecatchers.com

About Gracia: based in Miami, Fla., seasoned PR executive with more than 10 years of experience, freelance writer, social media enthusiast and blogger

Image Courtesy of here

For those trying to pip the majority to the post, early applications are in order, however this does not always guarantee success. A friend of mine who is trying this method has also placed her own online ad: “Will blog for food” accompanied by her email address.

Many job adverts are breathtakingly demanding for entry level positions, merely offering expenses or minimum wage if you’re lucky. Sometimes up to 200 people can apply for a single position. It could be argued that to make it in today’s job market as a young person, and actually be successful in securing a paying job, requires you to have a psychotic persistence.

Some prospective employers have made online screening an additional ‘requirement’ that involves you waiving your privacy for your online accounts to Twitter and Facebook etc. So not only do we have the application submission and the interview process, we also have virtual character checks to contend with.

Failure may not feel like a good thing when you receive the “not this time” emails. Reading the “NTT” email can be a bitter pill to swallow when you have spent hours researching the company and gone through an assessment process that is one step away from flouting what was laid out in the Geneva Convention.

Having endured this type of interview once, I was surprised to receive a wonderful congratulations email and job offer from a highly prestigious organisation. As the interview process was so intense, you could imagine my delight, and I quickly shared the good news with the twitter-sphere and Facebook. Five minutes later I received a second email, a recall email. Call it a mistake, fate or HR humour, the end point was the same: the position wasn’t mine.

But as peculiar as it sounds this mistake inspired me to keep trying. My mentor advised me that it’s natural to fail several times before finding success, something I shared with my friends whilst scoffing down the cupcakes they had brought around to cheer me up. If failure is partly responsible for some of the great inventions we use and enjoy today, it can’t be all that bad.

More and more people are now starting to think outside of the box, some affiliate themselves with certain organisations like Enternships and YCN to give their CV a ‘Halo’. Some post phantom vacancies to ‘gauge’ the competition. Gauge or glean, ethical or unethical, you decide.

Being a tech savvy bunch, we tweak our online accounts, and pimp up the mundane on our CV’s. We go the extra mile by walking prospective employers’ dogs and do outrageous things. One of the most memorable was someone being a closet heterosexual to land their dream position in a great company.

For those still looking for inspiration, Intern X via IdeasTap has some great insights into what the world of work looks like through an intern’s eyes, and on the flip side the thecynicalgirl.com might be worth a peek as she talks about careers advice, HR and cats (of course).

This tough job market has given birth to a new breed of applicant, converting them into freelancers and entrepreneurs who think outside of the box, and find new ways to earn a crust.

Failure’s a dirty word nowadays. And if the new F word depresses you, keep your head up; a little persistence, thinking outside of the box and resilience can soon convert failure into success.

By Natasha Trotman, London, UK.

Image Courtesy of here

Nowadays the new game is about individuals setting their own goals and standards. It’s about finding a career which fits your values and where you can make a difference, rather than allowing yourself to be modelled by corporate and dated ideologies from yesteryear.

This hit home for me when I read online about MTV US’s recent ‘Millennials In The Workplace’ research study, which talks about how the new Millennial generation is ‘reshaping today’s consumer and media markets’. The study highlights that:

‘Three-fourths of Millennials want to work for themselves one day’
‘81% of Millennials think they should be allowed to make their own hours at work’
‘Nearly 6 in 10 Millennials feel that they will switch jobs in less than 5 years’

Interesting stuff, however these are only some of the statistics…..

The fact of the matter is, current career prospects offered to young people may be a start but it’s certainly not enough! We want more than just a temporary job to keep us ticking over – especially when we have taken out thousands in student loans. New media portrayals such as ‘The Apprentice’ and ‘Dragons Den’ have presented a more appealing view of the modern working world. It’s faced-paced, entrepreneurial and at times… high risk! Most importantly however, it leads us to desire and expect more from our working ambitions. It’s no secret that young individuals dream of desirable lifestyles - this is reflected in our career choices. After all, when you’re young you have the world at your feet. So why would you ever settle for anything less than what you’ve been lead to believe you should achieve?

The entrepreneurial TV shows are great the only thing I would say, is that the oversaturated corporate element can make you wonder whether they are too old fashioned for young modern individuals. Perhaps producers could look towards creating something which is purely coming from a young person’s viewpoint. Games, opinion polls and competition formats based on past knowledge and future ideas could provide the modern equivalent.

Twelve years into the millennium, most young people have witnessed an economic downturn that has crippled many! But fear not people… reports have shown that throughout history, unstable economies have provided new platforms for successful entrepreneurs, opportunists and business start-ups alike. Are you the next Millennial to strike gold?

By LiLi Julian, UK.

Image Courtesy of here

To a majority of youths today, a dream job comprises of at least one or more of the following aspects: the job works with their lifestyle, they can be themselves, their coworkers have the potential to become friends and their workplace is social and fun. If the quote by Steve Jobs holds true, then young people who are looking to do great work should not settle for anything less than their dream jobs because that is the key to loving what you do.

Looking for a dream job seems easier said than done but social media makes it easier to reach one’s dreams and the vast majority of young people are social media savvy enough to be able to fish out the more nonconventional jobs available.

The hype over getting a dream job was tapped into in 2009 when Tourism Queensland ran a contest for applicants to win a chance at the “Best Job in the World”: to be a caretaker of a beautiful island for six months with a reward of £73,000. Similarly, in 2010, Belvedere followed suit with a contest aptly titled “A Bartender’s Dream Job” and offered aficionados and amateurs alike a chance to compete for a $100,000 contract as its 2011 Global Brand Ambassador. Applicants had to log onto Belvedere Vodka’s official Facebook contest page and submit a short video.

Apart from contests and competitions, a new generation of job search websites has emerged and one such example is’Escape the City‘. Although ‘Escape the City’ was founded with a mission to help talented people of any age to escape from unfulfilling corporate jobs, Millennials are beginning to look to such sites as a first point of reference when applying for jobs. Some examples include applying to be a programmer or designer at a start-up project in Bali, or a role to travel the world and get paid for it.

Even before entering the working world, youths already have the general sentiment that they do not want a corporate job, because it does not match their perception of a dream job. ‘Escape the City’ not only lists interesting jobs but also focuses on the providing the relevant information, connections and opportunities to support the path to getting a dream job, including a section on normal everyday people- who they call ‘Heroes’ - who have already achieved it.

These supporting elements are important, as after all, taking the road less travelled and vying for one’s dreams requires bravery.

By Jacqueline Chang, London and Singapore.

Image Courtesy of here

A job in journalism is worse than worse than being a butcher, dishwasher, or meter reader.

That’s right. Being a newspaper reporter is the fifth-worst job in America according to California-based career advice website, CareerCast, in their list of the worst jobs of 2012.

It’s hard not to be disconcerted with this fact. Journalism is a noble career with lots of historical significance. It’s why writers are called “watchdogs” and “muckrakers;” it’s why the Pulitzer Prize is as honorable as the Nobel Prize.

This phenomenon—of youth trying to achieve their dream careers in a down economy—is not limited to journalism. Millennials trying to pursue jobs in all kinds of industries are discovering that they way they perceive the “real world” is not necessarily how it actually is.

We want jobs that fit our lifestyles
We seek social workplaces
We crave feedback from our bosses

It would be easy to fault Baby Boomers for feeding our overblown senses of individuality and entitlement. It would be even simpler to blame the economy for failing us personally.

But we remain with a positive out-look : our generation has the ability to change the way they fit into the working world. Some of the most successful companies and jobs arose from disenchanted young adults creating their dream careers for themselves.

Thanks to technology and frankly, to our hyperbolized egos’ credit, youth are realizing that with a little bit of creative solving, we can change our employment situations if we don’t like them. Ultimately, dream jobs are still attainable—we might just have to create them, rather than fit ourselves into preexisting positions at established companies.

Or at least, that’s what we keep telling ourselves.

By Hilary Saunders, Virginia Beach, USA.

Image courtesy of here

A recent MTV online survey about work, money and spending from a sample panel of 600 young people across Europe revealed that young people are not only optimistic about future success, but they are also keen to take the lead in projects, with 85% saying they like coming up with their own ideas and being creative at work. Getting their voices heard is also something that Millennials feel very strongly about. When asked how they would describe their work ethic, 87% said that it’s important to make their point of view heard. Read more about the research findings here.

And their inspiration for future success is coming from a bunch of twenty something go-getters already fulfilling their career hopes and dreams. Here are just a few:

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder & CEO – aged 27

Featured in the 2011 Time 100’s most influential people guide, Zuckerberg is instrumental in uniting 845 million monthly active Facebook users interactively. The business enterprize heavyweight has recently added another notch to his belt with Facebook’s purchase of Instagram, a phone sharing app.

Pete Cashmore, Mashable founder & CEO – aged 26

Making the cut for the 2012 Time 100’s most influential people list, Cashmore is noted for creating Mashable, a site which delivers digital, social media, and technology news and information.

Jamal Edwards, founder of SB.TV – aged 21

This young man is working hard to keep us up-to-date with the latest music from the UK rap scene; his site also offers music promos, video interviews and impromptu live performances.

By Maria Sonni-Ali, London, UK.

Image Courtesy of here

Well, hold your horses, because Millennials are far less likely to have had sex by age 20 than Generation X-ers were.

And in the US, this is being led by… young men. According to the CDC’s National Survey of Family Growth, the attitude shift towards virginity among teen boys is especially dramatic, suggesting that many will not relate to shows or ads that assume all they ever think about is scoring. (Hugh Hefner, after all, is now the age of their grandparents.)

The share of never-married males ages 15-19 who have ever had intercourse dropped from 61 percent in 1988 to 43 percent in 2006-10. Meanwhile, the share for females declined from 51 to 43 percent. The reasons all have to do with personal connection and long-term commitments. Among males, “haven’t found the right person yet” has risen from 21 to 29 percent over the last decade. “In a relationship, but waiting for the right time” has jumped from 5 to 11 percent.

Now, this isn’t to say sex isn’t high high, high on their agenda (for some day at least…), but perhaps it is more to do with the fact that, as MTV’s International research shows, 75% agree with the statement that “love, authenticity and trust is more important than sex, drugs and rock n roll”.

You now have to be grown-up and ‘amused’ by sex and sexual shenanigans, adopting an air of bemused detachment and superiority, and not adopting the air of a dog in heat. That’s the real reason young people now are happier to admit to their virginity and desire to wait, and find love. Makes you feel all warm inside doesn’t it?!

By Emma Murray

For more information on MTV Research & Insights on Love and Relationships please contact info@mtvsticky.com

Fast forward to Spring 2012.

In first world countries, birth control is widely available and seemingly affordable, and sex is no longer synonymous with reproduction or marriage. Youth aren’t looking to their elders for moral support or advice as they are wildly dependent on peers and the media influence in lifestyle, habits and opinions. Sex isn’t viewed as a gateway to emotional intimacy. Support for same-sex marriage has steadily increased (42% of those 55-65 still believe homosexuality is wrong). Sixty-eight percent of Millennials are “pro-choice” in the sense that they believe legal abortions should be an available option in all communities.

Without a time machine and an invisible eye glaring into every bedroom the world over, we’ll never truly know if the Millennial generation is more open-minded sexually than its predecessors but as we are experiencing a radical shift in media consumption, technology and communication, researchers have been able to track that Millennials are prone to text vs. talk, to send fanciful photos of ourselves through MMS vs. snail mail and initiate a sexual relationship with someone we’ve met online vs. the coffee shop.

And when it comes to social media sexiness, those between the ages of 16-32 are most likely to pursue romantic rendezvous, flirt and stalk potential dates (and long lost exes) via Facebook than any other social media site.

Of course with all the studies that show the degree of interconnectedness (and neuroticism) the digital age has unleashed on the collective psyche, there is an inevitable downside to the online orgies. Twenty percent of Millennials have been dumped via text message, and 40% agree that social media has wreaked havoc on their real-life relationships at least once.

We disseminate information faster than ever before and through the current mediums, we’re at times more impulsive than ever before. Judging by an episode of Mad Men, however, I cannot presume that Millennials are initiating or having sex with any less abandon or inhibition than earlier generations; we just have far less social obstacles to overcome and much more instant gratification and access than any other generation known to man.

By Samantha Slabaugh

Text Bubble Image Courtesy of here; words courtesy of here

Sources:

Euro RSCG’s “Love & Sex in the Age of Social Media” whitepaper, published in February 2012.

http://eurorscgsocial.com/newsroom/love-and-sex-in-the-age-of-social-media/

http://eurorscgpr.com/?page_id=1953

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-troni/millennials-romance_b_1280380.html