Thursday, January 29, 1998

Young people should study how to function in an office environment

By JEANNE PECK / The Orlando Sentinel

When Bill Goehring teaches other people how to prepare for retirement, he never acts his age.

"Especially at the beginning I was consciously trying to behave in a professional way," says the 20-year-old, who for two years has been a personal financial analyst with Primerica Financial Services in Altamonte Springs, Fla. "I paid a lot of attention to the way I spoke, the way I dressed, things of that nature."

As a result, most of Goehring's clients don't realize he's too young to buy beer.

"The ones I've dealt with in the past have told me they think I'm 24 or 25, or even 30," says the Apopka, Fla., High School graduate. "I don't act like the typical 19- or 20-year-old who stays up and parties all night."

Unlike Goehring, many twentysomething workers facing their first white-collar jobs earn reputations as office kids by acting more like fraternity brothers than suits.

Besides just looking like they're fresh out of school, young people can be unfairly labeled office brats because they don't know how to behave properly in an office environment. They also can get pegged as immature know-it-alls if, in their zeal to do a good job, they forget they're long on book smarts but short on practical knowledge.

Some fledgling workers might even see a little bit of themselves in the youthful characters on "Working," NBC's newest sitcom about enduring the ratrace.

"The biggest mistake you can make is thinking you have all the answers," says Barbara Adler, director of counseling services at Interim Career Counseling, an outplacement and human resources company in Orlando, Fla. "You're young and energetic and you just got your degree. But it's very important you remember there are ways of doing things you might not have thought of."

Instead of trying to look older by growing beards or spending too much time in the sun, young workers can avoid the kid stigma by trying to learn from their co-workers instead of telling them how to do their jobs.

There are various reasons why Generation X-ers can have a hard time settling into their first, real office jobs. Nationally, an estimated 1.2 million new college graduates will enter the work force every year between now and 2005, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says.

Young workers who speak and dress differently from seasoned co-workers tend to stand out in a corporate environment, says Bob Lucas, manager of professional development at the American Automobile Association's headquarters in Seminole County. Lucas has written a book, "Job Strategies for New Employees."

For example, someone who wears jeans, sandals and a casual shirt doesn't exactly blend into AAA's atmosphere of suits and starched collars, Lucas says. "You see a lot of mistakes in dress," he says. "Some of them just don't get it."

In addition, rookie workers might not feel comfortable interacting with baby boomers who aren't teachers or blood relatives, says Donald P. Rogers, a professor of business administration and director of the masters in human resources program at Rollins College in Winter Park.

"They often don't know how to treat older people as equals," he says. "What do you talk about with someone who is your equal when you don't share the same tastes in music? These are very often the folks you are going to wind up going to lunch with."

Learning when to gab and when to shut up also can be a challenge for people fresh out of college, Rogers says. "They come out of a culture that values openness and the sharing of opinions and feelings," he says. "They often move into a business environment or a government environment that values confidentiality. All of a sudden the unique, funny stories they have aren't appreciated."

Meanwhile, young workers who don't know better sometimes naively adopt an offensive "gimme" attitude, says Tim Flowers, a regional vice president-in-training at Primerica. "They say, ÔWhat is your package? What kind of signing bonus do you have? Are you going to pay for my Porsche?' "

Independence is another area for potential problems.

"The younger worker is going to say, ÔI know what I have to do, so let me work at my own pace. I don't need much supervision,' " Interim's Adler says.

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That's exactly how Michele Plant felt when she began working at an Orlando advertising agency after graduating from the University of Central Florida. "They were hesitant in giving work to me," says Plant, now 26. "Then they would hover over me and keep an eye on me."

Although Plant's co-workers and supervisors eventually gave her more freedom to do her job, Plant admits she was a bit frustrated by the hand-holding. "They would walk me through stuff I thought I could do," says Plant, now marketing director for the Orlando Sports Commission.

Like many goal-oriented young workers, Plant wanted to impress her supervisors from the outset. But experts advise eager employees not to alienate their older co-workers by immediately suggesting new ways of doing business.

"You have the knowledge and the skills, but you're still in the infancy of development," says Tom Crabtree, 30, a corporate recruiter for Southwest Airlines in Central Florida. "As far as real life practical experience, it doesn't always work the way it says in the book."

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Instead of trying to reinvent their companies, young workers should focus on the detail-oriented tasks they're assigned.

"I have people right now who work for me who are fairly fresh out of college," says Jill Dotten, a 42-year-old area manager for ConAgra Grocery Products in Central Florida. "Attention to detail is a problem. I know they want to do the job well, and they are great people. But if I say ÔI need this report by Friday and I need these specific things,' maybe 50 percent get it right."

Rogers says Dotten might have this problem because recent college graduates often aren't used to spending more than a few hours or days on a project.

"Most of the work at school is intellectually oriented, not detail-oriented," he says. "Most folks in their first jobs spend a tremendous amount of time doing the attention-to-detail work. That's because in most fields the entry-level jobs are the jobs that require a lot more attention to detail than the higher level jobs that require a lot more creativity."

Instead of judging co-workers and demanding better assignments right away, young workers should watch for cues on how to conduct themselves.

"Observe for a while before you start making comments or observations or offering opinions," Rogers says. And, he says, young workers need to understand that "in the eyes of somebody in his 40s or 50s, the 21-year-old is immature. The problem is the 21-year-old isn't going to recognize it for four or five years."

Luckily, young workers who mess up and alienate their co-workers can find redemption by learning from their mistakes.

"If you really want to change, take the initiative," AAA's Lucas says. "Apologize for your behavior and ask for your supervisor's help. There's a good chance you'll get some good advice. If nothing else, it will endear you to your boss."

Even Bill Goehring, who has worked extra hard to make sure he wasn't marked as the office kid, acknowledges his professional behavior isn't perfect.

"I've found I can maybe be a little too eager and overaggressive," he says. "Because of my age, I might have a little more energy. Maybe I can tone it back a little bit."

TOP 10 THINGS NOT TO DO

10. Don't remind co-workers how old they are. If you went to high school with their kids, keep it to yourself.

9. Don't be a know-it-all. In a few years you'll realize you didn't know as much as you thought you did, and, boy, will your face be red.

8. Don't constantly point out how stupid certain policies and procedures are. Your boss probably invented them.

7. Don't ever, under any circumstances, use the word "phat." Leave the MTVspeak to Kennedy.

6. Don't call your friends from work and laugh till you cry.

5. Don't plan your entire wedding from your desk. Eventually your co-workers will resent being asked to take messages regarding your bridesmaids' measurements.

4. Don't remind your co-workers of how technologically inept they are. Saying things like, "We learned about that my freshman year" won't win you many friends.

3. Don't brag about getting lucky at last weekend's young alumni bash.

2. Don't brag about breaking the beer-bong record at last weekend's young alumni bash.

And the No 1. thing not to do . . .

1. Don't tell a co-worker: "You remind me a lot of my dad."