Recently there’s been a trend to stereotype millennials as ungracious, narcissistic, social media–obsessed, lazy, self-entitled “trophy children” who are handed everything in life.
As a Bentley University senior and proud millennial, I find these insults degrading and unwarranted. Comparing the values of one generation against another is flawed and rife with inaccuracies.
Let this be a guide to respond to anyone who dismisses our generation.
...
It comes down to the way you think. Job hunters, including millennials, need to understand that a technical mastery of the finer points in your chosen business field is not enough. Skill matched with a particular quality of mind equals talent, according to successful business executives who have graduated from Bentley.
Mitch Roschelle, co-founder of the real estate advisory practice of the American unit of the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, said he seeks three key mental attributes when recruiting talent: agility, empathy, and passion.
...
Wish your employer would treat you like a rock star? Chances are you're being treated more like a worker bee. And that's not good.
Instead of nurturing talents and giving employees the resources to “transfer more pollen” in the corporate landscape, many managers are sacrificing development in the name of efficiency. And like bees, they're producing less and less as a result.
...
In the current national debate over the value of higher education, lines are often drawn between business education and the liberal arts. Some argue that business knowledge provides the most appropriate education for today’s world; others take just the opposite approach, elevating arts and sciences as creating supple learners who can thrive in a changing environment.
Bentley Dean of Arts and Sciences Daniel L. Everett takes exception to each mindset. Everett’s beliefs are so strong that he published a book about it.
...
After 30 years in college admission, I am still surprised by how challenging it is to explain to prospective parents and students the art and science of college admissions.
Most would love nothing more than to be given a set of specific numbers by which to measure oneself.
...
After 20 years at work, first in the corporate world and then building my own business, I began to think back on when I was 20 years old. A sophomore — recall that the root of the word is “wise fool” — I thought I knew a few things about what awaited me in the world. Nothing beats experience, though. Midway through a successful career, with several professional peaks and valleys, here is what I would have advised that young Bentley student when she was halfway through her college education.
...
As screen-savvy, digital-native millenials reach college, a dynamic new teaching method is rising across America: the flipped classroom.
The premise of a flipped classroom is simple: Instead of lecturing in class and giving homework at home, flip it: give the lectures at home, and do the homework in class.
...