Officially a Triathlete

This weekend was the culmination of all of the training I have been putting in over the last few summer months. I completed my first Triathlon! This was a sprint distance triathlon, 350 yard swim – 11.5 mile bike – 3.1 mile run. Over the course of training I had decided my goal was just to finish. As the day came closer I decided to set my time goal for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Then the day came and it was time to race. I completed the race in 1 hour and 28 minutes, putting me in 3^rd place of my age group of 20-24 year old females.

To shatter an hour and a half was the most amazing feeling. I honestly thought when my goggles snapped right before my swim that that was it, this was not going to go well. The swim went well, but I quickly realized I was too cocky with my swimming and did not get enough practice in. The bike felt good, there were plenty of challenging hills but I took each one in stride and even passed two women going uphill. Then came the run, I’ve always had issues with tight calves and they were on fire, finally the halfway turn around approached and I was able to shake them out and get some speed going.

Crossing the finish line with my family and friends support including my dad (an Ironman) and my boyfriend (a half Ironman), was a huge feeling of accomplishment. If you would have told me last year I would be finishing a triathlon and beating my goal time, I would’ve said no way I’d be lucky not to die in the process. Now I can say I am addicted to the sport. My next attempt at a triathlon will be at White Lake in September, a shorter course but with an open water swim.

Stereotypes hurting Millennials

Majority of my blog has been taking articles and critiquing them when it comes to the Millennial generation. It is disheartening to see that lately there are so many articles coming out that are making it even harder for the 14% of unemployed Gen Y’ers to get jobs.

I am oh so frustrated with the article, “Are millennials cut out for this job market?” from CNN. This guy who obviously has zero experience with Millennials, other than what he has “heard” decided to write and Op-Ed with the message that, “They feel entitled to the best of everything,” so therefore employers should knock us off our high horses. I am finding the longer I have been out of college the more appreciative my friend and colleagues around the same age as me are of the positions they currently hold. I think it was a rude awakening for many of us to have graduated during a recession and to not have gotten the dream job. But more and more I am seeing that we are all thankful for the paycheck we have and the fact that we don’t have to live at home like some of our friends.

Another point made in this article is that Millennials are not interested in the more physically demanding jobs -- construction, landscaping, farm work and that is because those usually don’t pay the bills. Most millennials graduated with huge sums of student loans, that even with a corporate job I will be paying off for what seems like forever. So why should it be expected that college educated students with bills to pay go out and get a construction job? It’s not the fact that they are too good for it, it’s the fact that it really doesn’t cover the cost of living.

My favorite part of the whole article is, “With millennials, you didn't do them any favors by offering them a job; they think they did you a favor by taking it.” I would just like to end this with a REALLY?!? I don’t think any of us look at job acceptance as someone doing a favor for someone else. This is a business decision and let’s keep it that way. I wouldn’t ever say a company did me a favor by giving me a job… it’s two parties coming together to benefit each other.

My challenge today to all the millennials that may or may not read this, is to go to work today and prove this guy wrong. Show him that we work just as hard as our older counterparts for less money than when they started in the field. Show him that we accept criticism and can come back better and stronger. Show him that we aren’t the “entitled” generation, we want to work to gain experience and move up just like the Baby Boomers once did.

Dismal headlines for Millennials today

It’s a dismal picture in the news today and it’s not because of terrorism. We should be happy, or at least relieved, that the government has reached an agreement regarding the deficit but by the looks of CNN headlines, we have a lot more to worry about that the country’s credit rating.

Some of the top headlines today are, “Job cuts by the thousands,” “Stocks drop as worries persist,” “Job growth stalls, layoffs surge,” and “9 job killing companies.” If there is ever a time to be thankful you have a job now is the time to start. But if you are like me and a part of a company that had major layoffs during the last recession you might start to worry.

At this point I am early in my career and wondering which direction the future holds for me. Today is my two year anniversary with the company I joined straight out of school. This has to be a good sign that I have lasted this long and have moved up in this company. But in the back of my head I’m like “who knows what the job title ‘coordinator’” truly means in the grand scheme of upper level decision making. Does my long title that ends with coordinator mean I am safe or does it mean I’d be one of the first to go?

A person could drive themselves nuts trying to guess the next move of the corporate executives at their company. I do know that some of the 9 companies that are “killing” jobs work with us in some way or another. But as people get hired here I am hopeful that though we may be facing an imminent downturn, it won’t hurt us all the way 2008 did. There is still room for me to grow here and I have a certain optimism that the opportunities will keep coming. And like many Millennials out there today, I am hoping that we don’t have to start over or extend the wait for that dream career.