First there were the Baby Boomers, then Gen X… Now it’s time for Gen Y.
Approximately anyone born between the years 1980 and 1993 can be considered Gen Y (or Millennials, or Generation Next, etc.). Now that we’re right at the beginning of 2012, these “babies of the eighties” are all grown up, heading to college, starting families, and climbing the corporate ladder.
But, who is Gen Y? This is the generation that grew up with the Internet. Half of their lives have been post-9/11. Not to mention, Gen Y is the largest represented group on the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest, to name just a few social media platforms.
This infographic by Millennial Branding and Identified helps paint an even better picture of where Gen Y lands in the grand scheme of business, based on Facebook use.
A few highlights include:
- The fifth-most popular job title for Gen Y is “owner,” which proves that there is an increase of entrepreneurial spirit for this generation.
- Roughly 10% of Gen Y has worked for a Fortune 500 company.
- The top Gen Y industry is in travel and hospitality while the top employer is the armed forces.
- The top Gen Y job title is server, followed closely behind by manager.
- The average work friend count for Gen Y is 16, while the average total friend count is 696.
But what does this all mean?
Ultimately, this proves that Gen Y shares a lot of information on Facebook. I’ve talked to Tony Morrison, VP of Business Development at Cachinko and he agrees: “It’s clear that Gen Y is more comfortable integrating their personal and business lives. However, they don’t appear to be creating a unified personal and professional brand.”
Tony continues: “The job search is still very fragmented. We create multiple profiles with good intentions to interact with multiple communities, but we cannot manage all of them and so many profiles are abandoned. Incomplete, outdated, or neglected profiles can be a major detractor from one’s personal and professional brand, and in some cases could cost a job seeker a great opportunity.”
What do you think? How can Gen Y (and job seekers in general) fix this fragmented social media presence? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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