(QUINTESSENTIAL CAREERS: DeLand, FL) -– With a new batch of college graduates entering the job market and workforce over the next few weeks, it’s imperative that organizations looking to hire and retain these Gen Y workers understand their attitudes and motivations toward work.

“This group of job-seekers has a radically different view of working than previous generations -- and employers will need to adjust in order to hire and retain them,” states career expert Dr. Randall Hansen, founder of Quintessential Careers (http://www.quintcareers.com/), an online career development site.

Generation Y -- also known as the Millennials, Boomlet, and Digital Generation -- are those people born between the late 1970s and the late 1990s. They are about 72 million or so strong -- and are the current and future workers for just about every organization in the U.S.

“Generation Y job-seekers are looking for companies that understand them -- that get that they want a job that is dynamic, in an organization that has a positive culture that supports values-based initiatives such as corporate volunteering and flexible work schedules,” Hansen said.

In a soon-to-be-released report entitled, “How to Recruit, Hire, and Retain the Best of Generation Y: Workplace Issues Most Important to Gen Y,” Hansen outlines the 10 workplace issues most important to Generation Y:

1. Nurturing corporate culture. “It’s all about having a positive culture in which co-workers are friends and bosses are seen more as mentors. They are also seeking employers who will be loyal to them too,” Hansen states.
2. Job flexibility. “Gen Y workers see themselves working at all hours and in all places -- except in a cubicle. Work and life are inseparably intertwined because of technology -- and they want an employer who understands that,” Hansen says.
3. Challenging work. “These graduates are some of the most educated and experienced workers ever, and they are not interested in ‘grunt’ or jobs in which they must ‘pay their dues,’” Hansen reports.
4. Professional and personal growth opportunities. “Generation Y gets the concept of lifelong learning, and seek employers who offer tuition reimbursement, sabbaticals, and other types of learning experiences,’ Hansen states.
5. Volunteering options. “This generation has been volunteering and performing community service for so many years that it is a key part of their personalities -- and they want an employer who not only values that commitment, but embraces it with corporate volunteering programs,” Hansen says.
6. Competitive salaries. “On average, these students are graduating with several thousands of dollars in credit card debt and almost $20,000 in students loans, and are seeking jobs that pay well in general – and to support that debt,” Hansen reports.
7. Advancement opportunities. “They’ve seen the generations before them suffer through downsizings and rightsizings -- and they want employers who can show them that they have a future in the organization,” Hansen states.
8. Recognition programs. “Gen Ys were raised with constant praise and recognition from their families and teachers – and so it’s not surprising that they want that from an employer as well, but it needs to be sincere; these folks have seen movies like Office Space too many times to be able to recognize fake praise and lame employee recognition programs,” Hansen says.
9. Business casual. “This generation is one of the most self-expressive, often through piercings and tattoos, and they seek an employment environment in which they can continue that self-expression without having to always cover it,” Hansen reports.
10. Intrapreneurship programs. “Study after study shows that a large percentage of Gen Y expect to start their own businesses, and employers can tap into that entrepreneurial spirit by developing intrapreneurship programs that foster new ideas and business opportunities -- that stay within the organization,” Hansen states.

The full report -- How to Recruit, Hire, and Retain the Best of Generation Y: 10 Workplace Issues Most Important to Gen Y -- can be found at: http://www.quintcareers.com/recruit_retain_Gen-Y.html.

A companion article, Perception vs. Reality: 10 Truths About the Generation Y Workforce, can be found at: http://www.quintcareers.com/Gen-Y_workforce.html.

About Quintessential Careers: For more than 12 years, this comprehensive career development site has been empowering job seekers of all ages find their ideal careers and jobs. With more than 3,500 pages of content -- from articles, quizzes, and tutorials -- Quintessential Careers offers visitors no-cost content that can improve their lives.

About Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.: Dr. Hansen is the founder and publisher of Quintessential Careers. He has been involved in the career industry for more than 25 years. As an educator, he works with Generation Y students first-hand, and has a pulse on both the education and career markets.

Editorial Note: More background about Quintessential Careers can be found at http://www.quintcareers.com/home.html.