Gen Y’s at Work
The following is a guest post from Michael Zimet, chair of IABC’s Advocacy Committee. An active member of the CSR sub-group, he had heard a proposal for a presentation for a conference on social responsibility. He has shared his thoughts about that presentation and some actions for IABC members in the following post.
I recently attended a team presentation of a proposal for a conference on Social Responsibility and ISO 26000. It was a good proposal–well researched with a detailed overall theme and agenda, good speaker recommendations, and complementing activities designed to make the conference a strong learning experience. It was an excellent presentation.
What made this proposal noteworthy is that it wasn’t done by a leading consulting firm. It came from “OrgComm Associates,” the pseudonym for a group of Organizational Communication students doing a group simulation project at Ithaca College’s Park School of Communications. Even more notable, when I commended assistant professor Cory Young on the caliber of her graduate students, she replied, “Oh, this isn’t a graduate class–it’s a 100-level course. Most of the students are freshmen and sophomores.”
For an exceptionally rare moment, I was speechless.
Now, having “recovered,” I congratulate everyone in “OrgComm Associates” for an excellent proposal. From start-to-finish, a first-rate job–and the seed for some real program opportunities we’ll explore.
But the main reason I’m posting is to share my excitement about the kind of work being done by the next generation of communicators now completing their studies at Ithaca and other excellent schools. If these students are typical of this new crop (and I certainly think they are), then there’s an amazing new pool of talent in the wings, poised with the latest technical and professional skills as well as a contemporary (and fresh) perspective that promises to elevate not only our profession, but also the organizations and endeavors we support.
So I encourage IABCers everywhere to do two things:
1. If you have a local student chapter, build bridges to it and support it with your time, interest and guidance. Like me, you’ll find yourself energized and excited by working with students.
2. Whether you have a student chapter or not, extend your chapter’s outreach (or your personal outreach) to students in your area. Include them when publicizing your meetings and other activities so they can learn from you (and you from them), network and get an early “foot in the door” of our profession.
BTW, the first annual IABC National Student Conference will take place in Hartford, Connecticut this fall. It should be outstanding!
Mike Zimet
Note: There will be more discussion and insight about Gen Y’s at International Conference and later in the year when the IABC Research Foundation releases its study on Gen Y’s.