Communications of the ACM
Clash of the Generations: IT Vets and Fresh Talent Scramble For the Same Jobs
The current economic environment is leading to a situation in which experienced technology professionals and recently-minted graduates are competing for the same IT jobs. Older professionals with decades of experience in the industry are finding that they are suddenly out of step with cutting-edge IT, while younger graduates are finding that they lack the business savvy of their older counterparts. Recruiters are grappling with the fact that aging baby boomers and fresh-faced millennials are two distinct generations with differing work styles, conflicting cultures and different skill sets. Deciding whom to hire for certain positions is as much about technical expertise and business acumen as it is cultural preferences and career expectations.
A weakened economy has changed the dynamic between Baby Boomer and Millennial workers. As a growing number of U.S. workers age 50 or older look for work elsewhere, they are coming into competition with much younger candidates. As Boomers struggle to reinvent their careers and millennials flood the workforce, IT managers are having to re-think what it means to be an IT professional and to weigh the relative value of traditional and new skills. A millennial is more likely to communicate via Web 2.0 tools such as wikis and social networking sites, while boomers prefer conference calls, e-mails and traditional technologies.
From Computerworld
View Full Article
No entries found