featuring Rachel Gerrald

03: Moving Your Career Forward Through Face to Face Conversations

Career Growth as a millennial can be frustrating and tough. Not to mention, millennials have a reputation for avoiding face-to-face conversations. Millennial Rockstar, Rachel Gerrald shares with us how she used face-to-face conversations to get more opportunities and career growth.

Rachel Gerrald is the Internal Auditor at Valvoline. Valvoline Inc. (NYSE: VVV) is a leading worldwide marketer and supplier of premium branded lubricants and automotive services, with sales in more than 140 countries. Established in 1866, the company’s heritage spans more than 150 years, during which it has developed powerful brand recognition across multiple product and service channels. Valvoline ranks as the No. 3 passenger car motor oil brand in the DIY market by volume.

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Disclaimer: This transcript was created using YouTube’s translator tool and that may mean that some of the words, grammar, and typos come from a misinterpretation of the video.

The Transcript - Moving Your Career Forward Through Face to Face Conversations

AMANDA HAMMETT:Hey, this is Amanda Hammett, and this is the Millennial Rockstar Podcast. Hey, welcome to this episode of the Millennial Rockstar podcast. Today we have Rachel Gerrald who is an internal auditor at Valvoline, and although she's only three years into her career, she actually walks us through the importance of face-to-face conversations and how that can really move your career forward. So watch up and see what she has to say. Hey there, my name is Amanda Hammett, I am known as the Millennial Translator, because I help companies attract, retain, and engage top Millennial talent and speaking of top Millennial talent, today I am talking to Rachel, who is coming to us from Valvoline headquarters. Hey Rachel, thanks for coming on Millennial Rockstars.

RACHEL GERRALD:Thank you for having me.

AMANDA HAMMETT:Awesome, awesome. So Rachel, tell me a little bit about you and your career.

RACHEL GERRALD:So I'm a Buckeye, graduated from Ohio State, and started here in April 2015, so I've been in audit now for going on three years. Got a finance degree. Yeah, that about sums me up as far as my background

AMANDA HAMMETT:Awesome, awesome. Now Rachel, did you always know you wanted to go into finance, was that always the plan?

RACHEL GERRALD:I knew that I wanted to go into business just because I've always liked math and been good at that. I watched my dad go through business and he's been successful and kind of see that lifestyle so I knew it was either accounting or finance and when I got into the classes, I thought, finance is a lot more fun because you can put a lot more creativity and assumptions around that and it's about the future, not the past, right. So I really enjoyed that aspect of it.

AMANDA HAMMETT:That's awesome, I love it. I love that. So you know, I know that you are fairly new to the working world, I mean what, three years?

RACHEL GERRALD:Yep.

AMANDA HAMMETT: So is there, have there been any moments thus far or let's start with this…

What has been the biggest difference between what you thought about the workforce versus the reality that you have found now that you're in the workforce?

RACHEL GERRALD:I don't know that I had any preconceived notions as far as what it would be like. I would say for me in college I was a very serious student and I basically treated it like a nine to five job and told myself I'm going to be in the library studying if I'm not in class

AMANDA HAMMETT: Wow

RACHEL GERRALD:So I kind of transitioned very well through that. Yeah, I studied a lot, I graduated top five of my class.

AMANDA HAMMETT:And Ohio State's not small.

RACHEL GERRALD:No, it's not, it's not. So I kind of took that approach which translated well to the working world and I have to say I like the working world a lot better than school just because you get to see those real-life impacts that your work makes.

AMANDA HAMMETT:Wow, I love that. So tell me about what the process was like for you when you were leaving Ohio State and you were looking for that first job coming right out of college. Were there specific things that you were looking for, were there things that you were like I definitely know that this is not for me? Walk me through that.

RACHEL GERRALD: Well audit is like one of the best places to start and I would definitely recommend it to anybody who's coming straight out of college because you get just a whole lot of experience to a lot of areas of the business, so coming in with no experience other than the classroom, I was able to get a really broad view of this company, through stocks testing is where I started but I've also worked on projects ranging from supply chain and procurement all the way through finance and accounting. So audit was something that I was definitely interested in just because it gives you a very well rounded view.

AMANDA HAMMETT:That's really cool, that's so cool. Now what about, have there been any stumbling blocks thus far in your career, just things that you've had to deal with?

RACHEL GERRALD: I would say just, I think it's normal for everybody, you have to take charge of your own career, right, nobody's going to open those doors for you necessarily so you,

AMANDA HAMMETT:They don't do that?

RACHEL GERRALD:No! But I mean that's the same as it was growing up and in school but I think not everybody realizes that if you're interested in something or you want to learn more about something, you have to take that initiative and reach out and so I've done that. I've also come across areas where I need more challenge and I don't feel necessarily like I'm being challenged as much as I should be and I could grow more so that's something where you have to have that conversation and say I'm eager and willing to take on more responsibility and if you don't raise your hand, you'll never get that chance.

AMANDA HAMMETT:So Rachel, walk me through that conversation. So who do you have it with? Kind of set the scene for me, tell me about that, I love it.

RACHEL GERRALD:Well it's basically you asking for more opportunity with your boss and kind of weaving that into conversations because you don't want to come out and say hey, I want X, Y, Z and say I have some availability or I'm really interested in this side of the business, I'd like to work on a project here, I'd like to work on a new area because I've done this and I know it really well and I'm ready for something new. So basically, I just brought it up and we have trimester reviews here, brought it up then and said, you know, I really like my work here but I'm very interested in this one particular area and I feel like now's the time, I'm ready for some more challenge and responsibility and I'd love it if you could help me with that and help me grow my career.

AMANDA HAMMETT:So Rachel, I want you to emphasize this point. You said it but you just glossed over it, I want you to spell this out. Are these conversations in person?

RACHEL GERRALD:Oh, absolutely, 100% yeah. That's the way you have to do it and I'm probably not like most Millennials as far as that's concerned because I am somebody who doesn't really like to hide behind the email and the IM, I like to go talk to people.

But I think that's also part of audit because we're the auditors so we really have to work on that relationship and the only way you can really do that is by going and talking to people.

AMANDA HAMMETT:Okay, yeah, I think that's really great. One of the things that I see a lot is that Millennials who are ready and want to move forward, they work it into an email or

RACHEL GERRALD:No, no, no

AMANDA HAMMETT:Or some sort of electronic conversation and I'm like

RACHEL GERRALD: Right

AMANDA HAMMETT: That's, this is where eye to eye contact is really important. You need to show that you are ready for that responsibility and that comes through building that sense of trust.

RACHEL GERRALD:Right, I 100% agree with that, yeah.

AMANDA HAMMETT:Okay, I love it. I love it and I love that you're taking charge and really not waiting for someone else because I speak to a lot of people and they're like well, I want my work to speak for itself and I said I get that. It's good that you want to do good work but sometimes you have to point it out, hey, boss, you got 12 other people you're managing, I just want to make sure that you know that I'm ready to move on

RACHEL GERRALD:Right

AMANDA HAMMETT:Do you think I'm ready, what am I missing.

RACHEL GERRALD:And I think they appreciate that honesty too and transparency, like I'm a super transparent person so if I feel like hey, I would love to take on this added responsibility and I'd love your support in that, I have no problem saying that and I think they appreciate that too.

AMANDA HAMMETT: Perfect, perfect. Oh, gosh, you're awesome. I just want you to know

RACHEL GERRALD:Thank you

AMANDA HAMMETT: I think you're awesome So, let's talk a little bit about your boss, again. So is there anything that your boss or maybe I know that you work in a group or any of your coworkers or maybe you have a mentor or an advocate within Valvoline, is there anything that they're doing specifically that really keeps you engaged and motivated and wanting to get out of bed in the morning and audit some different departments?

RACHEL GERRALD:I think communication is a big part and having those checkpoint meetings with them and having that two-way communication as far as what's going on. Training is also something that Valvoline's really supportive of which I think is awesome. So I recently got my CIA, which sounds really cool but it's Certified Internal Auditor. So I took three tests to become certified for that. And Valvoline was supporting me 100%.

AMANDA HAMMETT:Cool.

RACHEL GERRALD:And then they also have continued training through not only for audit but also, they bring in people who talk to us about MBA programs and if we'd be interested in that, so there are definitely opportunities for continuing education here which I really like that.

AMANDA HAMMETT:That's awesome. Now I know that Valvoline has some different employee resource groups and things like that, is there anything that Valvoline is doing, whether it's perks or benefits, specifically you've mentioned a little bit about some further development, charity work opportunities, is there anything that they're doing specifically, Valvoline itself, like hey, I am gaining a sense of loyalty to this company because I feel a connection based on where they are and where I am going.

RACHEL GERRALD: Yeah, well Valvoline has a really strong culture and I think the people here really are what make it special. And Valvoline's always been a supporter in giving back. We have an employee giving campaign that I've been involved in, we do that every year. This year for the new headquarter building we actually have like a community celebration where we had a yard sale for all the things that we had from our old office building, and then we opened up our brand-new building to the public so I was one of the tour guides who was able to learn some cool facts about our building and give tours which is really cool.

AMANDA HAMMETT:That is cool.

RACHEL GERRALD:We've also done things like Habitat for Humanity as a group which is a great team-building opportunity so that's definitely a plus of working with Valvoline.

AMANDA HAMMETT:Absolutely, yeah. You guys have done a really nice job and it just, it's just a really friendly environment. I noticed there's not, everybody was just walking around with smiles on their faces, I was watching people just kind of walk by that desk in the front and I was waiting on someone towards the end of the afternoon and you know usually towards the end of the afternoon, you've hit that two o'clock slump feeling, but nobody looked just down and out, they were really kind of walking around, smiling, laughing about different stuff and I loved that, I thought it was cool.

RACHEL GERRALD:It's a really strong culture and I think too now that we've spun off from Ashland, that everybody has that energized feeling that good things are happening for Valvoline, the future's bright so we're all excited to be part of it.

AMANDA HAMMETT:That's commercial worthy, Rachel.

RACHEL GERRALD: Well it's true, I think you can see that, you saw it when you were here and that's the attitude.

AMANDA HAMMETT:I definitely felt it, it was, yeah, it was very much, palpable, so very good. I love it. Alright, so tell our audience here is there anything that in your mind or maybe your boss has told you since that really made you stand out in the applicant pool or in the interview pool when you were going through the process to join Valvoline?

RACHEL GERRALD: Right. I think what really stood out the most coming straight out of college is just my strong academic record. I graduated with a 3.9, which is not easy. And just hard work ethic and willingness and eagerness to learn and contribute everything I can to be part of the team. So I think that goes a long way.

AMANDA HAMMETT: I think that you might be right on that teamwork and collaboration

RACHEL GERRALD:Right

AMANDA HAMMETT:That's great. Now is there anything that you wish, I don't know this for a fact, but I assume that you did interview with other companies before you chose Valvoline. So I would imagine that you were probably courted by other companies with some attractive offers and perks, but is there anything that you wish that companies knew about hiring younger employees?

RACHEL GERRALD:I wish that we could kind of challenge the stereotypes of Millennials as far as, there's a negative connotation, I don't really understand why, because I think we're all just individual people. I know when you were here you mentioned something about you heard that Millennials don't make eye contact. Well, that's never really been a problem for me. So I think those stereotypes you really have to challenge them by being different from that stereotype. I wish that in the hiring process it could go a little faster because sometimes it can take a whole lot of time. I know that's like ideal world,

AMANDA HAMMETT: That's not a generational thing.

RACHEL GERRALD:No, that's just overarching, I know.But, I'm losing my train of thought here, but I did have another point that I wanted to,

AMANDA HAMMETT: Sorry, I interrupted.

RACHEL GERRALD:No, that's okay. Your question was on hiring, was there anything different. Probably just also recognizing that even though you don't have a lot of experience, somebody has to take a chance on you and allow you to grow and have that experience. So Will, who hired me, took a chance on me and I really appreciate that because you do come in with not a whole lot of experience but I do they should also recognize that you still have perspective and you still have things that you can add from the classroom and from your personal experience. So I think because a lot of the time the younger people get, well you don't have any experience, but nobody will give you experience. So that's kind of challenging. Yeah.

AMANDA HAMMETT: Okay, excellent, I think those are all really great points. And you kind of touched on this a little bit with the shorter hiring process. But is there anything that you wish that companies did to make the hiring process easier or better, besides shortening it?

RACHEL GERRALD:Besides the time? I think Valvoline could do a good job of recruiting further out. They do a good job recruiting here in Kentucky and UK, but I didn't see anything when I was at Ohio State, so I think that getting in front of those college students in career fairs and things like that is really important because that kind of sets the tone and gets you in their mind. So and that's what, all my interviews pretty much came out from contacting somebody at a career fair who I talked to so I think that's a really good way to meet good people.

AMANDA HAMMETT: Fantastic, I think that's great. Alright, well fantastic. Rachel, that is really all I have for you and that was awesome. You are actually a rockstar.

RACHEL GERRALD: Thank you, that's sweet of you to say.

AMANDA HAMMETT: Phenomenal and I really appreciate you being here and I'm just so impressed. I know that you are all of 25 years old but I am super impressed.

RACHEL GERRALD: Well thank you, thank you for having me. I appreciate it and I think what you're doing here is really cool.

AMANDA HAMMETT:Thanks so much for joining us for this episode of the Millennial Rockstar Podcast. If you are looking for even more information on Millennials and some free resources, visit my website at amandahammett.com, the link is below, it's amandahammett.com. There you can download a free Millennial employee engagement guide that will give you all kinds of tips and tricks on how to keep those Millennials engaged on a day to day basis. Because we all know that Millennials who are happy at work are more productive at work.

Disclaimer: This transcript was created using YouTube’s translator tool and that may mean that some of the words, grammar, and typos come from a misinterpretation of the video.

featuring Cindy Hancock

02: Millennials: the Quest for Learning and Making an Impact

Educating millennials doesn't end once they leave college and head into the workforce. Their quest for knowledge is unrivaled. But how do employers harness the quest for knowledge and educating millennials to their benefit? Millennial Rockstar, Cindy Hancock, shares with us how she went from having a masters in Chemistry to leading an operations team for a fast growing startup.

Cindy Hancock is the Revenue Systems Manager at SalesLoft. SalesLoft is a sales engagement platform. The company was founded in September 2011. Though its original product offering focused on sales development, the company has since expanded its platform to offer functionality for the entire sales organization.

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Disclaimer: This transcript was created using YouTube’s translator tool and that may mean that some of the words, grammar, and typos come from a misinterpretation of the video.

The Transcript - Millennials: the Quest for Learning & Making an Impact

AMANDA HAMMETT:  Hey, this is Amanda Hammett, and this is the Millennial Rockstar podcast. Alright, good morning, this is Amanda Hammett, I am known as the millennial translator because I help companies attract, retain, and engage top millennial talent. And today we are on millennial rockstars, and we are with the very talented rockstar Cynthia Hancock, who is with SalesLoft. Cynthia, welcome to the show.

CINDY HANCOCK: Hi, thank you, good morning. Thank you for having me.

AMANDA HAMMETT: Oh, good morning, good morning. As you know, we are only having rockstars on that have been nominated by someone who can vouch for their rockstar status. So, I'm curious, Cynthia, I really love and value the person that nominated you. What makes you a rockstar?

CINDY HANCOCK:  a hard question. It's, I'm actually not a person that likes to brag, so. But I think one of the things for me is I have this hunger for knowledge. And it's like, what can I do to grow, and constantly permeates what's that next step, how can I level up? And then actually doing it. So, when I stared at SalesLoft, I just came in as a support hire, and my mindset at the time was like, let me just get in the door of this great company, and then I can grow from there. The opportunities and potential is endless, so let me just take it and run with it and let me just prove myself. So, I was the first hire in the support team.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  Awesome.

CINDY HANCOCK: Helped scale that out, and then I ended up managing that team. Within like the first year that I was there.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  Really?

CINDY HANCOCK: Yeah, yeah. And then I took a little time off because I got pregnant and I had a baby, and that was really exciting, big accomplishment there.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  Yeah!

CINDY HANCOCK: And I came back and I was the first, I wouldn't say hire because I wasn't like re-hired, but I moved into the first operations role at SalesLoft. And then we helped started scaling that team out, and now I am managing that team now as well.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  Wow.

CINDY HANCOCK: So, very exciting.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  How long have you been at SalesLoft?

CINDY HANCOCK: It will be three years in the beginning of February.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  Coming up. Alright, so you've been there three years, you've had multiple roles, which is amazing. So, what is your current role today?

CINDY HANCOCK: Right now, I'm heading up the revenue operations and systems team.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  Okay, fantastic. And remind me again, where did you start?

CINDY HANCOCK: In support, technical support.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  And you started out, I think it's really interesting and I want this for younger listeners to note, you started out in a support role, and you just wanted to get your foot in the door, that's what you said.

CINDY HANCOCK: Yep, yep.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it. Since we're talking about that, is there anything that was really different for you as far as reality versus expectation when you were coming into the work force?

CINDY HANCOCK: You know for me, I was having, it was a big change for me. So, I have, I'm trained traditionally as a chemist. I have my masters in Chemistry, and so for me, my expectations were not maybe as high as maybe typical millennials when they are maybe looking for a new job once they come out of college. Mainly just because I knew I didn't have any background in SAAS, and this was a new field for me, so I was just trying to figure out what I could learn and then go from there. But I did, and I still do have a lot of ambition, and so that's, I think, where it's taken me, to where I am now.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  That's amazing. I love that you can really tell that your quest for always learning, how you can tell that that has really played a major role, so good for you, that's fantastic. Now, so, let's talk a little bit about that because you did say that you have a masters in Chemistry. Did you just at some point figure out that was just not going to work for you, or tell me a little bit about that, what made you make that transition away from Chemistry? becauseobviously, there was a love there if you went all the way through getting a masters in Chemistry.

CINDY HANCOCK: Right.

AMANDA HAMMETT:   Tell me about what happened.

CINDY HANCOCK: Sure, so actually, it's you know, growing up I always figured I'd be a doctor, or some kind of medical professional. And actually, a lot of that is just family upbringing, and you know.

There's the expectation there for that. And then one day it just was like a light bulb and I realized I needed to do what was there for what I wanted to do, not what was expected of me.

And what would make me happier, and I realized the lifestyle of a chemist was not something I was enjoying. It's really long hours, on your feet, doing lots of testing, very repetitive, you could be doing research your whole life working on a pharmaceutical or something like that, and you could potentially not see it to fruition. Just because how long it takes, you know, it could take 15, 20 years for something to go to market, just because of rigorous testing and things like that. So for me, it's like, I still wanted to make that huge impact, and still be innovative, because what I was working on at that time was very innovative with cancer tags. But what can I do that's more fast paced? And that's where technology came in.

With software, and I was like, where can I go, a startup, where I know I can learn a ton, have huge opportunities, as well as make a huge impact and actually have a voice.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  That's fantastic. And I think that that really encapsulates a lot of millennial ideals, is being somewhere where you can make an impact and have a voice. I mean, that is what you hear a lot.

Let's talk about this, I mean you mentioned it, but there might be some other things that you want to add in. Have there been any stumbling blocks or learning curves that you found in your career? And what did you do to get through them?

CINDY HANCOCK: Sure. One of the first things, especially right when I started at SalesLoft just because I was trying so hard to prove myself that I was almost too heads down. And not making or building those relationships that I needed to within the company. And so my boss at that time came to me and was like, Cindy, you're doing amazing work. Like your throughput is through the roof, but definitely come up for air, you know? I don't want you to burn out. If you do want to build those relationships I will help you, because I know you do. And so I started to do that. I started asking people to go out for lunch, and for coffee, learning about what they do, so I can learn more about the business. And then just, once I looked up more, there were more opportunities, just because I had those relationships, and a lot of my success here at SalesLoft definitely has to do with saying yes more and then building a strong network of advocates that I have now with the senior lead team. Which has been amazing.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  So do you see as a SalesLoft, I know that you guys are doing a lot of hiring these days.

CINDY HANCOCK: Yes.

AMANDA HAMMETT:   You guys are growing, which is fantastic.

CINDY HANCOCK:  Like crazy, yeah.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  But do you see that other millennials also have this issue with building relationships at all?

CINDY HANCOCK:  A little bit. A little bit, I think they need to just be told a little bit more, or not even told, they just need more feedback. They really enjoy that feedback, and that's, they, I don't know. That's a really good question.

I mean, what I see a lot is that a lot of times they're very comfortable making those relationships with people closer to their age, but when it comes to senior management, they want their voice heard but they just don't have those more social skills, or softer skills, so, you know, how to start an actual conversation that doesn't require email, like a face to face. And I think sometimes they struggle with that is kind of what I see.

Right, that is a really good point. So, that is something that I do see, actually. I hired a new person recently, and that was one of their things is building relationships has been difficult with senior people in the company. And it's not only just building the relationships but it's how they talk, almost. Like not being, like learning how to be tactful, a little bit, you know. Because millennials are like, just so easily just say what's on their mind, and not have that filter. And not think about like how those professional relationships can be a little bit different, especially knowing who their audience is.

You know, maybe it's an older audience, more senior audience with a lot of experience, and is used to being talked to a certain way, or something like that. So that is something I have seen.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  Yeah, yeah. I love that you said knowing your audience. That is huge. Yeah, I work with a lot of, coaching and mentoring a lot of millennials, and it is a lot of, hey, let's talk about eye contact, let's talk about how important it is, don't just send everything in text messaging, and addressing your audience, knowing who they are, and that's the way you go about it. So that's perfect point. Perfect, perfect point. So, I know that SalesLoft is fantastic. Is there anything, benefits, or perks, or anything at SalesLoft in particular that they're doing that you think is awesome about creating a sense of loyalty, a sense of community, how do they foster that?With their employees?

CINDY HANCOCK: Right. Well first thing for me specifically, SalesLoft is a performance based culture, and not based on seniority or how long you've been there, anything like that. So I've only been here for three years, and most people who have been here have been here for shorter, but you know. If they do well, SalesLoft has this great mindset of promoting from within, or even just letting you move to different departments.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  So more like a lateral move?

CINDY HANCOCK: Exactly, exactly.

Which is really great, so if you come in, like support, like I did, and want to go to operations, or if you come in, you're like implementations and training, and want to go into products, we have people who've done that and it's very common here. You know, you really get to learn, feel what you really like, and then explore it, so it's just really cool. Very flexible when it comes to work and home life. Which I think is really important, especially if you have a family.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  Which you do, yeah.

CINDY HANCOCK:  Yes, exactly. My boss that I have now has this huge thing for this culture of learning. So it's right up my alley. So professional development, SalesLoft has a whole, we have a budget specifically for everyone for a professional development, so that's amazing. And we have just really exceptional people here, so you want to work with them. Especially with our interview process, like you get to meet so many of them. And that's really a testament to our core values. Because if they align with yours, you just want to be here with these people and learn from them, and learn from each other, it's really amazing.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  That's really cool. Do you mind if I ask a little bit more about the professional development? Do you guys get to pick out, you know you said there's a budget for everyone in particular. Do you guys get to pick out what it is that you want to develop, or is there like a talent and development team that's like, okay, Cindy, this is kind of where we're pathing you. These are the skills we need you to learn, or are you free to make those choices on your own?

CINDY HANCOCK: You're actually pretty free to just make your choices on your own. So they could range from books you want to buy that you want to read, to getting certifications, to going to a conference.

And paying for travel and room and board and everything. And as long as you can provide some kind of relevancy of how it can improve your day to day with the work that you do, it's usually not an issue. So it's just great, yeah.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  I love that, I love that they're investing in their people, that is the most important, important thing. So let's talk specifically about your boss. Either your current boss, an old boss, a mentor, you mentioned advocates before. Is there anything, anyone, at any point in the past has done that really has kept you engaged, at work? And wanting to produce good work?

CINDY HANCOCK:  Right, right. So definitely with Erin, she's just amazing at being transparent. Any questions that I have about anything, she's like yeah, this is what it is. And you know, that way I can make my decisions a lot easier because I know what she's thinking, I know what everyone else is thinking. And a lot of the senior leadership is like that, they're not hiding things or anything like that so there's a lot of really clear transparency in regard to vision, or just things you just want clarity on. So that's really great. And just like expectations in general. And so that's really good. The other thing is because we are so open, and we have a really good trusting environment, which is of course really important, is feedback. I'm always looking for feedback and I know a lot of millennials do, and they give it very freely here. And it's, whenever you're asking for advice, sometimes it could be for yourself, it could be looked at as maybe like weakness, or you feel maybe self-conscious about it, because you have to ask, but it's really a sign of strength here. And people really, and you know, I mean, to be honest, people love it when you ask them for feedback and for advice, because it's almost like an ego stroke, right?

AMANDA HAMMETT:  Well yeah, and it's a sign that they trust you and they value your opinion, and so absolutely.

CINDY HANCOCK: So, you know, I definitely would tell millennials do it more, if you want to grow, that's the best way.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  Yeah. Someone said something to me a long time ago that feedback is a gift. And whether it's good feedback or bad feedback, it's still a gift, and it gives you something. Whether it's something to better yourself or maybe not.

CINDY HANCOCK: Exactly, exactly.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  Maybe to distance yourself from, I don't know. But I love that, I love, I know Erin is incredibly transparent, you can just see that about her the moment you meet her. But I think it's really valuable that the entire team is very transparent, and they put it out there because I think that that makes you as you're looking to continue on your career trajectory, it makes your decisions a lot easier because there's nothing clouding. You know exactly what you have to face. So, I love that, I love that. So is there anything that, I get a lot, I talk to companies from all industries, all sizes, and one thing that really bothers me that I hear is that sometimes companies say, you know what, we don't hire millennials.

And I'm like, first I'm a little stunned. Well the first few times I heard that. But then I'm like, you know, should we go ahead and schedule when you're going to close your business?

You're not going to have a choice! You know, 2025 they're expecting millennials to be 75% of the work force, so what are you going to do then?

CINDY HANCOCK:  Exactly.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  So is there anything that you wish companies outside of SalesLoft or even within SalesLoft, is there anything that you wish that they knew about hiring younger employees?

CINDY HANCOCK: Yeah, that's an amazing question. And I was thinking about this and I think it really came down to kind of this idea of entitlement versus ambition.

AMANDA HAMMETT:   Ooh, do tell.

CINDY HANCOCK:  Yeah. So millennials, they are taught to shoot for the stars and land in the clouds. Sometimes when I come to an interview and they do that, and they're like, yeah, I'm ready for that VP position. And you're like, hold up for a second. This doesn't quite work that way. But that's I think where you can, actually as for the company or a hiring manager, that's where you can see I think the opportunity in them.

CINDY HANCOCK: Is they have this, yes, you need to, meter their expectations, even though they are very high. But it's focusing on setting those expectations, setting clear goals and getting to them, getting them to that next level, and you know you can do that because they have the ambition to do it. You know? As a hiring manger now, I would choose ambition over complacency anytime, right? No one wants just the status quo.

AMANDA HAMMETT:   No, especially not now, especially not as the economy is changing and shifting. And in a place like SalesLoft.

CINDY HANCOCK: Right, exactly.

AMANDA HAMMETT:   Complacency will kill you. All the time. Okay, so is there anything in the hiring process that companies have that you wish was easier, or better, or just different?

CINDY HANCOCK: Yeah, this is, I'm not sure if this is so much in the millennial view.

This is more I think in general, especially in technology spaces, how can we take bias out of the interview process? You know, there's not enough women in senior leadership. And SalesLoft is trying very hard with, we sponsor a lot of senior leadership events, and we have a women's leadership training that I'm actually going through right now.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  Awesome.

CINDY HANCOCK: Sponsored by SalesLoft. And so just you know, what can we do to take out that bias on the front end? So that we're not, and it doesn't necessarily have to even just deal with women, but you know, races or anything.

Or you have just everyone has their own bias just based on their upbringings and how they think, just different things like how people dress, or what their makeup looks like, and things like that. So how can we get rid of that as much as possible? That is my big thing personally. Just more in general is SalesLoft does a really good job in the interview process of doing peer interviews and culture interviews and just making sure they are not only the right fit for the company, but also, they are a right fit for your team. Because each team has a little bit of their--

Kind of like subculture.

AMANDA HAMMETT:  Yes, absolutely! Absolutely!

CINDY HANCOCK: Right, so this has been really great, and not only for us as a company to hire the right people, but also for that person to really get to know the people at the company to make sure it's a right fit for them as well.

AMANDA HAMMETT:   A thousand percent. I love the way that you phrased that and you put that because each team does have its own subculture in particular. I mean, I loved all of it but that is just something that a lot of companies I think miss the mark on. They think, oh, you've got these skills on your resume, so check check check, you're good.

No no no no no, you could have great skills, but if you don't fit with your team, that whole team can tank in a very short amount of time, and you see it happen all the time, and they're like, what happened?

Well. So, that's awesome. Cindy, thank you so much. I really really appreciate all of your wonderful insights and sharing with us what makes you a rockstar, I know that you're too humble to say that, so I will say it for you.

CINDY HANCOCK: Well thank you so much for having me, I really enjoyed this.

AMANDA HAMMETT: You're so welcome. Is there any way that people could reach out to you through LinkedIn, are you comfortable with that?

CINDY HANCOCK: Absolutely. Yeah, reach out to me in LinkedIn, message me, connect with me.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthiabrownhancock/

I would love to connect, yeah.

AMANDA HAMMETT: Alright, perfect. Well I will include your LinkedIn link in show notes and with this interview, but otherwise, Cindy, again, thank you so much. This has been Cynthia Hancock with SalesLoft. Thank you so much.

CINDY HANCOCK: Thank you, have a great day, bye.

AMANDA HAMMETT: Thanks so much for joining us for this episode of the Millennial Rockstar podcast. If you are looking for even more information on millennials, get some free resources, visit my website at amandahammett.com, the link is below, it's amandahammett.com, there you can download a free millennial employee engagement guide that will give you all kinds of tips and tricks on how to keep those millennials engaged on a day to day basis. Because we all know that millennials who are happy at work are more productive at work.

Disclaimer: This transcript was created using YouTube’s translator tool and that may mean that some of the words, grammar, and typos come from a misinterpretation of the video.

Understanding Millennials

01: Understanding Millennials

Understanding Millennials seems to be a difficult mountain to climb for many people.  Millennials are often seen as lazy and entitled employees, But what if you could meet millennial employees who are NOTHING like the stereotype? What if you could meet millennial employees who are smart, motivated, productive and engaged every single day at work. And what if, those rockstars could help you with understanding the millennials in your own life?

Welcome to the Millennial Rockstars podcast where we interview millennials who are absolute rockstars at work. This podcast is for company leaders who are looking to understand the mystifying millennial generation. You will hear directly from the rockstars that every company wants to hire on exactly what attracts them and keeps them working hard every single day.

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Disclaimer: This transcript was created using YouTube’s translator tool and that may mean that some of the words, grammar, and typos come from a misinterpretation of the video.

The Transcript - Understanding Millennials

Hey there and welcome to the Millennial rockstars podcast this is season 1 episode 1, and I just wanted to give you this quick little episode to introduce you to the show so, My name is Amanda Hammett, and I'm known as the millennial translator because I help companies attract retain and engage top millennial talent.

But on the millennial side, I help them to develop the communication and leadership skills that are going to be necessary because whether you're ready for this or not Millennials will be leading corporate America in the not-too-distant future and our job is to help sure make sure that they're ready for that.

So my philosophy when I'm working with large fortune 500 or a small you know medium-size small to medium-sized business is that if you do not understand Millennials there's no way that you can lead them, and you definitely can't keep them and that is a really expensive problem to have in fact I think that the turnover of millennial employees if not showed up as a line item on P&L statements I think that there would be a lot of CFOs that went that are having heart attacks across the country.

So, that's one of the main reasons why I put together this podcast because there's a lot of misinformation out there about the millennial generation especially when it comes to Millennials as employees so this particular ass this particular podcast is going to be all about focusing on How do you attract Millennials how do you retain Millennials and of course how do you keep them engaged and productive at work.

So, season one is where I have gotten Millennials from all different industries all different job types and I've interviewed them and asked those questions now in order to be a guest on the show you had to be nominated you had to be nominated by a boss or a co-worker who can actually vouch for the fact that you are awesome at your job and a rock star every single day and basically you are nothing like the stereotypical millennial so you can't be lazy you can't be entitled and you can't think that you know more than everybody else that's just not the kind of person that we wanted on this show. So, when I started pitching this idea for doing this show I had a lot of people ask me Amanda are you actually gonna be able to find Millennials who are not you know lazy and entitled but surprisingly actually not surprisingly to me but I had a ton of people that were nominated and I actually just didn't have time to interview every single one of them but I want to don't worry there are going to be more seasons coming forward but this first season is 20 rock stars who are from all different age ranges of the Millennial spectrum. So you have some Millennials who have been in the workforce for 15 years or so and then you have Millennials who are fresh out of college and only been working for two or three years and everybody in between but some of the consistent themes showed up over and over and over again and again I'm a big believer in the fact that if you don't understand Millennials you can't lead them and you definitely can't keep them.

So I thought that some of my takeaways might be really helpful for you so one of the big things that you're gonna hear pretty much in every single episode is that Millennials have this consistent need for continuous learning they want to always be learning. They want to consistently be challenged what I heard from several different interviews was that you know once they've been in a role for two years or so they're really ready to take on a new challenge. So, whether that's you know a stretch project or maybe that's doing a lateral move you know they want to consistently be challenged they want to continue to use their mind and work their mind.

They don't want to just show up and collect a paycheck which is I think what we often think about with Millennials now the second big takeaway that I learned or that I saw over and over again was that Millennials really want to be treated as human beings so I know Millennials are known as snowflakes but you know this is really more about being treated as a human as an individual, as a person, which we all really want at the end of the day.

Corporate America sometimes has or in the past several decades has gotten this reputation for being a little bit cold and you know treating everybody as their a cog in this larger corporate wheel but Millennials really do want to make their mark on their team and on the company as a whole but they want to do it as an individual they want to be an individual contributor to an even larger team so that's really where this humanistic idea comes in where they really do want to be treated like an individual.

Now another interesting point about this is the is technology and how technology has done some great things for productivity and efficiency and has really brought us together in ways that you know we've never been able to do before but it's also allowed us to miss out on some of those human aspects of work you know that that human to human connection and as human beings were actually hardwired to want and desire that human to human connection and Millennials they're just asking for that. So, the third thing that I really saw a loud and clear in season one was that coupled with the first two so continuous learning and being treated as individuals or human beings Millennials actually can be some of the most loyal employees that you'll ever see and you're gonna see that in multiple interviews here multiple.

There's one lady who walks us through a deeply personal experience in her life and how her company which is a very conservative company really came through for her and she actually used the phrase that she would run through walls for them it's an amazing thing and that's an extreme example but there are many many others where you know bosses and company leaders showed grace and real true leadership to these Millennials and that loyalty it's coming through because when you have a millennial who is a loyal employee they're gonna be incredibly hard-working and incredibly profitable for you your team and the company as a whole.

So, join us for season one of the Millennial rock stars caste I think you're going to get a ton out of it don't forget to share it on your favorite your favorite podcast platform we are out there for basically everything that you can find a podcast on and if you have questions let us know so tune in for this episode learned from the Millennials themselves and we'll see you in season 2.

Thanks so much for joining us for this episode of the Millennial Rockstar podcast if you are looking for even more information on Millennials and some free resources visit my website at www.AmandaHammett.com

There you can download a free millennial employee engagement guide that will give you all kinds of tips and tricks on how to keep those Millennials engaged on a day to day basis because we all know that Millennials who are happy at work are more productive at work.

Disclaimer: This transcript was created using YouTube’s translator tool and that may mean that some of the words, grammar, and typos come from a misinterpretation of the video.