Generation X is all grown up, and with Baby Boomers on their way to retirement and career shifts, Generation X is now transitioning into positions of middle-management and authority. While pegged as the slacker generation, Generation X found its strengths: individualism, creativity, practicality, and a willingness to fight for social justice, albeit with a somewhat cynical outlook on the limitations of institutions themselves.

The next generation to enter the workforce is the Millenials, those who have come of age in the year 2000.

The Millennials represent over 70 million people in the United States, which means more than 20% of the population. This makes them the largest generation since the Baby Boomers. While defined in part by the war on terror and the radical worldwide transitions of the 21st century, Millennials have finished college, and by all accounts, they are ready to work.

What makes the Millenials different from previous generations? And how can advanced personality testing help to determine their strengths, weaknesses, and how best to utilize them for the positions to which they are most suited?

While recruiters will always be looking at individuals, taking time to explore the aggregate of this burgeoning generation will show how they will be approaching the job finding experience, what they will expect, and how their immersive experience in the technological world can be their greatest strength -- or their greatest challenge to overcome.

The Internet generation
Representing people born between 1977 and 1994 -- years which saw the tech industry boom and bust, only to rise again -- the Millennial generation has always had easy access to advanced technology and to the internet. Over 97% of college Millennials own their own computers, for instance. This information overload has given them certain characteristics that are unique to the job market, including an insatiable need for stimulation, growth, and continuing education.

However, information cannot be confused with experience, something that this somewhat overprotected generation lacks. But that doesn’t mean that they aren’t eager to seek out the knowledge they can’t get by Googling for it. In fact, taking risks is something that comes easy to this confident, off-the-cuff group.

According to a 2004 survey by monstertrack.com, Millennial college seniors are skeptical about their prospects, and yet ready to plunge in when the chance arises:

• 51% do not expect jobs after graduation
• 16% will go to graduate school
• 57% are headed back home
• 56% would relocate for a job
• 34% believe that the job they studied for could be outsourced
• 74% think work experience is the most important factor in getting a job

Other characteristics that define Millennials include an overwhelming tolerance for diversity, a desire for instant gratification and speed, and a unique motivational independence. Remember: these are the children of a divorced generation, and as such, they are used to going to a different source if they can’t get what they want immediately.

This means recruiters must be plain spoken, honest, and attractive from the outset – offering clear benefits and opportunities for advancement that stand out from the grind of the corporate world of bygone years.

The mercenary mind
Not since Rosie the Riveter and the Greatest Generation has there been a generation as competitive and ready to work hard for their place. No “slackers” here: the Millennials are incredibly well-educated, and are used to being overloaded with assignments and deadlines.

After all, this is the generation for whom the word “multitasking” was invented.

Loyalty, however, can be an issue. While Millennials promise to be an amazingly powerful and competitive workforce, the difficulty will be in retaining them in the jobs they have applied for and accepted.

With a constant itch to prove themselves and excel, Millennials will always be scanning the horizon for something better, unless the job they have taken is the right fit for the right future.

How personality testing can help
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, employers plan to hire 17 percent more graduates from the class of 2007 than they got from the class of 2006. Additionally, employers created about 1.8 million additional jobs in 2006 and average weekly earnings rose 4.5 percent, compared with a 3.2 percent increase in 2005.

It is no longer about finding the best person for the job. In fact, with the Millennial emphasis on education and competitiveness, recruiters will be confronting overqualified candidates by the bushel. Instead, the real problem for sifting through the new crop of candidates is finding the right person for the right job – determining who will thrive, and, with this less loyal group, finding those who will stay.

Four factors contribute heavily to reported feelings of career satisfaction and happiness in work-related relationships:

1. Personal Interests – the opportunity for an individual to have many job experiences that energize them.
2. Situational Requisites – the opportunity for an individual to work within a context that enables productivity and satisfaction.
3. Behavioral Style Alignment – whether an organization supports an individual’s personal approach to relationship and task accomplishments.
4. Organizational Alignment – whether an individual is closely matched to an organization’s style of accomplishing organizational goals.

Using a scientifically based behavioral assessment to determine these qualities during the application process can be the most valuable tool a recruiter has at his or her disposal. And if there is anything the Millennials are good at, it is taking tests.

Finding the right replacements for the retiring Baby Boomers should be easy among the next generation of workers. They want the jobs, and they are more than willing to work hard to prove themselves. The hard part will be explaining to them that there can only be one CEO.

About the Author:
Taking over for her father, Dr. Roger Birkman, in 2001, Sharon Birkman Fink is President and CEO of Birkman International, Inc. providing a unique assessment tool that accurately measures internal needs, behaviors, occupational preferences and organizational strengths. She can be reached at 713-623-2760 or sfink@birkman.com

About Birkman:
The Birkman Method ® has been in use for over 50 years and has been used by over 2 million people and 5,000 organizations worldwide, including corporations, not-for-profit organizations, governmental agencies, and individuals in their hiring, retention, motivational and organizational development activities. The assessment accurately measures social behaviors, underlying expectations of interpersonal and task actions, potential stress reactions to unmet expectations, occupational preferences and organizational strengths. For more information: www.birkman.com or 1-800-215-2760.