#u30pro Needs an Intern!

It’s been great to watch the community grow around u30pro. Lauren and I can’t thank you all enough for contributing your time and thoughts every week.

As it continues to grow, u30pro has taken more and more of our time. Both Lauren and I are very busy with our jobs, and have decided to bring in some help to manage the u30pro projects.

We need an intern.

What can we offer you?

Well, no money…u30pro doesn’t make any. But we can offer you the chance to gain valuable experience building a strong community, working with the best team ever, some resume juice, and the chance to be part of something fresh and exciting.

What would you do?

Help with the weekly digest.
Manage other areas where the community expands. (linkedin, facebook, etc…)
Participate in chats/help with moderation.
Work with partners on our cross-promotional efforts.
General promotion of the community.

We’re not a business. We’re not revenue driven. We’re just providing a forum for communication amongst one of the most enthusiastic communities around…and loving every minute of it.

If you’re interested in joining us, email me at dspinks5 at gmail dot com with one paragraph explaining why you’d make a good u30pro intern.

Don’t Stereotype… Use Your Baby Eyes

Assumptions can be dangerous, unreliable and unfair. The problem is, they’re inevitable. People are judgmental, and they form stereotypes in order to satisfy their natural need to classify and organize. The minute people meet each other, they are analyzing who the other person is and how to classify them.

A baby doesn’t make assumptions. It sees everything for the first time; everything is new. That shouldn’t change. Everyone is different, and should be approached as something new.

Age, sex, race, size, culture, personality, style….everything about us carries a stereotype.

Stereotypes are usually based on some truth. They don’t develop out of thin air. They’re developed based on experience. If someone has a number of experiences with a certain “type” of person, they assume that the same experience will occur with others of that “type”.

Still think Millenials are great with social media? Or maybe you think they’re entitled and lazy. The only thing that you can say is 100% true about a millennial is their age. Same goes for Gen X, boomers and on… Anything you assume as a result of that age is based on stereotypes. Whether it’s a positive stereotype, or a negative stereotype, it is still dangerous, unreliable, and unfair.

Use your baby eyes, like you’re seeing everyone you meet for the first time (I know…ridiculous). You’ll be surprised how much more you can learn and accomplish with people when you eliminate assumptions. Thinking about stereotypes may be inevitable, but if you recognize that it exists, it is unfounded, and focus on the specific person as an individual, you can overcome them.

Should We Hide Our Age?

What started as a little conversation between Lauren Fernandez and I, ended up being used as our first #u30pro topic…and both sides provided some great reasons why you should or shouldn’t hide your age.

So Here Are Some Reasons to Hide:

Responsibility: You will be given less responsibility if you’re young and relatively inexperienced
Opportunity: You may miss out on job opportunities because of your age, when in reality, you’re very qualified.
Respect: Your ideas and contributions will not be respected as highly as that of older, experienced peers.

Notice, all of the reasons for hiding your age are a direct result of stereotypes. The fear of showing your age isn’t because you probably lack experience and haven’t earned others’ respect yet, but rather because you are automatically assumed to lack the skills because of these possible misplaced assumptions.

Reasons to show your age:

Ambition: Show that you’re better than others that are the same age. You can differentiate yourself from others in your age group. If you can face a stereotype, and overcome, you’ll gain that much more respect.
Pride: If someone wants to discriminate against you because you’re young, they can go screw themselves. You don’t need to hide who you are to succeed.
Advantages: Being younger sometimes has positive stereotypes. You’re a fresh mind, with tech savvy and lots of energy. Use it to your advantage.

So should you hide your age? Chances are, people will find it out eventually. Still, you may gain access to more opportunities if people don’t realize how young you are right away.

I’d love to hear from more experienced professionals as well as I’m sure you’ll have some great advice. What do you think?

Come join Lauren and me at the next #u30pro chat tonight (and every Thursday) at 7:00pm est where we drive the discussion to bridge the generational gap, demolish stereotypes and break down differences in the professional workplace.