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Millennials: Job Hopping or Advancing Careers?
Rig Zone ^ | June 09, 2015 | Valerie Jones

Posted on 06/10/2015 8:18:11 AM PDT by thackney

While many HR professionals have seen the oil and gas industry’s downturn as an opportunity to acquire some highly-skilled workers, the industry is still challenged with a shortage of STEM-capable people in the pipeline. And once the industry is back on the uptick, oil and gas companies will have to rehire – probably rather quickly – to remain competitive.

So HR has some important decisions ahead.

And while one can never determine how long an individual will stay with a company, Chris Melillo, managing partner and energy practice leader for Kaye/Bassman International Corp., recently told Rigzone it was a very “realistic fear” for employers right now whether or not employees hired on during the downturn would remain loyal to their companies.

But company loyalty has changed over the years and today, on average, an individual stays at their job for 4.6 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That is lower than in the past, but people now have different reasons for staying – or leaving – a company.

Results from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York May 2015 Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE) reveal that bachelor’s degree graduates are more likely to voluntarily leave their jobs than their counterparts who have some college, a high school diploma or less. Additionally, the survey found that those under age 40 were more likely than their older counterparts to voluntarily leave their job.

Millennials have been known to switch jobs frequently, a term many have referred to as “job hopping.” But, their reasons for working are different than generations of the past. Millennials prefer meaningful work over a high salary and are motivated by career advancement.

In essence, some millennials switch jobs frequently, not because they are unhappy at their current company, but because they are constantly seeking out new opportunities. According to the same CSE survey, nearly 65 percent of those under age 40 believe they will find a job in the next three months if they were to lose it today; compared to about 52 percent of those aged 40 to 60 and nearly 31 percent over age 60. Many millennials see new job opportunities as a way to advance their careers.

Oil and gas recruiters and HR professionals have identified there will be a great need in the industry for future leaders who are tech-savvy and innovative. Millennials stand a good chance at filling that void.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: energy; jobs
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1 posted on 06/10/2015 8:18:11 AM PDT by thackney
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To: thackney

Millennials are not loyal to anything except themselves.


2 posted on 06/10/2015 8:21:01 AM PDT by Resolute Conservative
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To: Resolute Conservative

A-friggin-MEN


3 posted on 06/10/2015 8:23:13 AM PDT by Old Sarge (Its the Sixties all over again, but with crappy music...)
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To: Old Sarge

Companies demonstrate no loyalty to employees. Employees have no duty of loyalty to companies.


4 posted on 06/10/2015 8:27:18 AM PDT by altsehastiin
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To: thackney
And once the industry is back on the uptick, oil and gas companies will have to rehire – probably rather quickly – to remain competitive.

And they're shocked and amazed that the same people they laid off when things got slow are not chomping at the bit to come back to them when things pick up?

5 posted on 06/10/2015 8:29:55 AM PDT by DoodleDawg
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To: altsehastiin

Damn straight.


6 posted on 06/10/2015 8:30:36 AM PDT by Night Hides Not (Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad! Remember Mississippi! My vote is going to Cruz.)
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To: altsehastiin
Companies demonstrate no loyalty to employees. Employees have no duty of loyalty to companies.

Something that obviously hasn't sunk in with corporate America.

7 posted on 06/10/2015 8:31:05 AM PDT by DoodleDawg
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To: Resolute Conservative
They learned it (and the art of blaming everyone else for their problems) on their parents, the Xers. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm an Xer.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

8 posted on 06/10/2015 8:32:09 AM PDT by wku man ("Weenie in a Hybrid" by 10 Pound Test - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWdLDSB_6gY)
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To: wku man
From their parents, that should say.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

9 posted on 06/10/2015 8:33:53 AM PDT by wku man ("Weenie in a Hybrid" by 10 Pound Test - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWdLDSB_6gY)
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To: thackney

“... as a way to advance their careers...”

Nothing wrong with that in my opinion. Personally, I think the days of “Dad working at company X for fifty years and getting a gold watch” is something of the past. Many companies/business will force retire/pink slip a person just before retirement age. Plus, many businesses won’t promote from within. Even when I worked at a hospital, there were many techs/other positions that obtained their RN or other degree. If they wanted to work in that field, they had to apply to another hospital.. as a “fresh” employee. If they wanted a promotion, they applied elsewhere. Even one of my girl friends obtained her business degree and applied as a Loan Officer at her bank. They saw her as the “woman who worked as a teller”. She did obtain her position at ANOTHER bank. They were impressed by her years of loyal service and her willingness to obtain a higher degree.


10 posted on 06/10/2015 8:34:38 AM PDT by momtothree
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To: Resolute Conservative

Stability like conservatism, I think are values which usually mature with age. And that applies to responsible voting behavior as well.


11 posted on 06/10/2015 8:38:20 AM PDT by Trapped Behind Enemy Lines
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To: altsehastiin; All

A-friggin-MEN!


12 posted on 06/10/2015 8:40:27 AM PDT by notdownwidems (Washington DC has become the enemy of free people everywhere)
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To: momtothree
Nothing wrong with that in my opinion. Personally, I think the days of “Dad working at company X for fifty years and getting a gold watch” is something of the past.

I've taken the same approach to my own career. Job security comes with being good at what you do (or rather doing what you are good at...) and working hard.

Sometimes I've let the working hard part slip, sometimes that had consequences.

I've changed jobs more often than most would like. But for the most part, I've stayed consistently employed at good pay and doing work I've liked.

Earlier in my career, I changed jobs for resume building, taking lead roles on large projects and picking up experience and skills I thought would benefit me in the long run. Usually it came with a pay raise, almost always long hours, sometime less desirable working conditions.

After a couple decades of that, I'm more interested in working with people I like and respect that treat me well, along with large paychecks.

13 posted on 06/10/2015 8:41:05 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: thackney
Millennials prefer meaningful work over a high salary and are motivated by career advancement.

BS, they don't want career advancement, they want to start as CEO - which by the way has a high salary.

14 posted on 06/10/2015 8:42:39 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: thackney

Company loyalty goes both ways. In my experience, companies DO NOT CARE.


15 posted on 06/10/2015 8:43:22 AM PDT by glorgau
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To: thackney

You perfectly illustrated my point. While “young”, you moved around and obtained a resume and lots of work experience. Now you are stable/happy where you are, what you are doing and your salary. The “youngsters” today probably want the same thing. I don’t see it as being disloyal.. I see it as having ambition/and a career plan.


16 posted on 06/10/2015 8:48:22 AM PDT by momtothree
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To: glorgau

For that last couple decades, I’ve worked for consulting/engineering/construction type firms.

That means, I’m billable to a client, or I’m not making money for the company that employees me.

The company doesn’t exist to be a charity. Investors put money into a company to make money, otherwise the company would not exist and my job would not exist.

I’ve not taken it personally if a reduction in work resulted in a reduction in the number of employees, or the hours the employees get to work. Sometimes I was let go, sometimes I was just warned of the date we needed to get more work, sometimes I was the one telling others their job no longer existed.

I’ve found work several times, and kept work when things got slow, by helping my company find and keep work. I never took the opinion they “owed” me a job.


17 posted on 06/10/2015 8:49:13 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: momtothree
Now you are stable/happy where you are

Understand for me, stable means employed, but not necessarily at the same company year after year.

18 posted on 06/10/2015 8:50:20 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: thackney

A loyal employee is one who does his job honestly and diligently for the duration of his employment.


19 posted on 06/10/2015 8:50:32 AM PDT by Tax-chick (You know I don't find this stuff amusing anymore.)
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To: Resolute Conservative

And employers are?


20 posted on 06/10/2015 8:51:44 AM PDT by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously-you won't live through it anyway-Enjoy Yourself ala Louis Prima)
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