I have lived through Jimmy Carter’s “stagflation recession” in the late 1970s, but I was “safely” isolated in college.

As this one came on us in late 2008, it seemed different, Equally scarey as the last one…maybe worse as I now had kids approaching college age.

I remember my grandmother, born in 1905, who told stories of the Great Depression and lived and saved in preparation for the next one until her dying day.

My question to you is this: How has this Recession changed YOU? Do you spend the same way? Do you invest the same way? How have you modified your thinking? Your career?

I have been looking at my ever-aging blog posts every time I logged on to LinkedIn.  I kept telling myself it was time to write something new. So, in the spirit of the new year, I will work to be more reliable in my posting.

It seems that the economy is improving slightly, although both sides are so politicized and polarized it’s hard to know what to believe.  Whether the economy is technically improving or not, the anecdotal evidence suggests that employment is still lagging and it looks like it will for the rest of the year.

Think of this time as an opportunity. If you are an employer, it’s an opportunity to get your company ready when the economy does improve. By ready, I mean ready to attract and retain more than your share of smart, effective and motivated people–the PWACs I wrote about last year in the book.

If you are a PWAC, decide if the company you’re at is the company you’ll be staying with, and if you are unemployed, seize this opportunity to ASSESS what you love, what you hate and what you want to do next. RESIST the temptation to just replace your JOB. PS…when I say “hate” I mean do not compromise yourself and do something you don’t enjoy just because it pays the bills. Remember: the abolished debtors prison long long ago.  Take a moment, envision your better future and take MASSIVE ACTION.

More Later. GMS

Spend this period before the recovery to hone your skills, take a course, and give deep thought to what you want to be doing when the headhunters start calling again.

I received a number of emails from friends and colleagues.

All that said, I’m excited that The PWAC Manifesto is starting to get some traction. I believe it is important for us to understand the issues facing our society, our economy, your company and your career.

This recession has been painful and while it might not seem like it, is only a respite before the demand for talent resumes its upward climb.

Take this time to refresh your skills and take a few minutes out of your day and start thinking about how you want to live and work when things start to improve, which I believe will be later this year.

Remember, all those Gen Y’s started graduating from college in 2007 and in about 3-4 years will be starting to buy houses and fill them with all the stuff we already have in our houses. Then the market and the general economy will rush to supply those new households with goods and services.

So, spend some time thinking about the future. Which one do you want?
GMS

Will this recessionary time recalibrate Gen Y expectations? Simple economics suggests so, especially as the enormous size of that cohort increases competition for the “good jobs’ as economic strength returns.

Other key findings:
Describing how their first job made them feel, 13% said they couldn’t wait for Friday to arrive, 10% wanted to quit every day and 8% felt it was a waste of their time

19% of 18-34 year olds wanted to quit their first job every day, compared to 3% of those 55 years old and over

So, does this represent unrealistic expectations by Gen Y or the typical angst of first time employees? Based on the research in the PWAC Manifesto, I suspect that we are seeing a continuation of the trend that started when they were kids. After years of being told by their parents and teachers that they were “special” many really believe that a few months or years into a job they should already have a clear path to the top. Did we all think that way when we were that young? I don’t recall feeling that way.

Here’s the paradox: there is a shortage of PWACs of all ages. So on one hand you do want to retain them even if they might need to recalibrate their expectations.

On the other, the Gen Y generation is huge so you might be time to consider letting the most unrealistic ones go and cast your net back into the pool.

How do you manage Gen Ys or UNREALISTIC expectations regardless of the age of your employee?

It’s a good point. My view is that while there always have been the elites in societies they were traditionally what I would call hereditary elites. Where monarchies existed, the elite came from the loins of the so-called royalty. In our culture, our elites came for the families of our richest citizens, many of whom EARNED their wealth in the entrepreneurial scrum of 19th Century America.

Today, elites (PWACs) will come from the ranks of the SMART. If you have the SKILLS, ATTRIBUTES, ATTITUDES, and INTELLECT to add value, companies and organizations will want, NO –NEED you regardless of where you come from.

The Talent Shortage may possibly do for people what BILLIONS of DOLLARS in spending and legislation have thus far failed to do. Create equality of opportunity for all…well, ALL that are willing to invest the time and energy it takes to cultivate these important skills.

It brings the question: Can ANYONE be a PWAC if they work hard enough? Your thoughts?