Manager a Lot Older or Younger Than You? Here’s What to Do

At some point in your career, if it hasn’t happened already, you’ll need to work with a colleague – or interview with a hiring manager – who is either a lot older or a lot younger than you. A lot has been made of the differences between how, for example, GenZ works, as opposed to Baby Boomers. But at the end of the day, your colleagues are just people, and overcoming generational differences can usually be boiled down to “communicate better.”

NY Times Bestselling author Lindsey Pollak, the author of books like Becoming the Boss and The Remix: How to Lead and Succeed in the Multigenerational Workplace, joined Andrew in studio to get to the bottom of what we can do to aid inter-age collaboration at work.

We All Want the Same Things

According to Lindsey, “Everybody wants advancement. Everybody wants a manager who listens to them and cares about them and supports them. Everybody wants to feel that their work has purpose. We just approach it in different ways.” So if you’re a manager, know that every member of your team just wants to be heard. And if you’re a contributor, try to put yourself in your teammate’s shoes.

Follow the New Rules of Job Searching

Regardless of when you were born, the job searching landscape of 2022 is digital, and so keeping up with technology is key. Know that your resume might be scanned by AI Applicant Tracking Systems, and put your keywords throughout. Know that you’ll likely be interviewing remotely, and set up your background accordingly. 

Job Switching Isn’t a Dirty Word

Members of younger generations, like millennials and Gen Z, often jump from job to job – and that can be an asset, as they learn skills and workflows from a whole bunch of teams. But for employers, offering internal mobility can be key to retaining younger employees who value variety.

If You’re Stuck, Look Outward

It can be tough to feel like you’re left behind by the current job market. Lindsey’s advice? “Go and do something for somebody else.” Volunteering your time, or working on a project that taps into a passion, often will put you in multigenerational groups that share a point of view on the world.

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