On the eve of beginning my first job after college — I’d landed an editorial assistant position for an automotive magazine company — my parents gave me the First Job After College talk. In addition to the basic reminders to show up on time and work hard, my parents emphasized the importance of sticking with this first job at all costs.
“You need to stay with this job at least two years,” they said. “You don’t want employers to think you jump from job to job.”
I stayed at that first job for more than six years. I made 20 years with Mobility Management earlier this year, so that parental advice clearly became embedded in my brain. When I’ve hired associate editors, I’ve looked for job stability in résumés, not just because of what my parents taught me, but because who wants to have to train new employees every few months?
So I was shocked — really stunned — by what Bill Mixon and Ann Mahaffey said in our recent podcast.
Bill is CEO of National Seating & Mobility (NSM); Ann is NSM’s Chief Human Resources Officer. And in the podcast, they talked about what younger workers — Millennials and Generation Z (Zoomers) — want from their jobs.
Spoiler alert: It’s not just a paycheck. Instead, think: scheduling flexibility, community support, and carbon footprint.
Yes, their potential employer’s carbon footprint matters to at least some younger job applicants.
My first employer’s carbon footprint — we published magazines about muscle cars, among other vehicles — was the furthest thing from my mind as a 21-year-old. I don’t think even knew what a carbon foot print even was back then. So it’s astounding that questions about carbon footprints could come up the next time I interview for new editors.
Listen to Bill and Ann’s conversation here, in our podcast “Reimagining the Successful Workplace of Tomorrow.”
