PEORIA MAGAZINE July 2022

Jill Paska

Carlton Slaughter

framed their careers in terms of the impact they wanted to have rather than their personal elevation. This rings true among 20-somethings across the country. Most fall into “Generation Z,” that group born between 1997 and 2012. A survey conducted by Lever entitled, “The 2022 Great Resignation,” found that 42 percent of Gen Z workers value a company that gives them a sense of purpose over one that pays more. That’s a full 10 percentage points higher than their Gen X colleagues. Young workers aren’t all take and no give. Not only do they want to work at a place that gives thempurpose, theywant to contribute to that purpose as well. THEY TAKE OWNERSHIP OF PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTH. When discussing their careers, Slaughter, Paska, and Kesselmayer all brought up the desire for growth and development immediately and repeatedly. Even in themidst of multiple quarantines, they searched for ways to better themselves. “The pandemic taught me to take ownership in my own well-being,” Slaughter said, “to take ownership in my own professional career and development.”

Kesselmayer, for example, intends to take his structural engineering and civil engineering exams to continuously develop his knowledge and skillset as an engineer. Slaughter decided to pick up Spanish, as it’s been a lifelong goal of his to visit a Spanish-speaking country and maintain fluent conversations. Paska referred to the media she consumed during the pandemic as “development tools.” She constantly asks herself, “What can I take away from this that will make me a better individual?” The budding legends I sat down with spoke positively about their career paths, but they’re also realistic about what’s missing. “I think we said a lot of positive things, and that’s good, but the process [of cultivating a career] is definitely not one to be sugar coated,” Paska commented. And she’s right. According to the Lever survey, Gen Z workers have the highest attrition rate among all generations, with 65 percent saying they plan to stay at their company for less than a year. Another study, from Benchmarking: An International Journal, found that human resource management practices “have not been evolved to address the Generation Z concerns,” subsequently resulting in record-breaking turnover rates. While young employees have a lot to offer employers, they expect a lot in

return. They foster a positive culture, so they expect a sense of community in return. They strive to make an impact, and expect their company to do so as well. They seek growth and want to work for an employer that supports their pursuit of progress. There’s a lot of talk about 20-some things and the way we work. We’ve grown up during the rise of social media and technology. There are careers now that weren’t even in existence when we were dressing up as rock stars or Olympians, telling our parents what we wanted to be when we grew up. We’re adaptable, we value our community, and not only are we always looking towards a better solution, we strive to become that solution ourselves. Companies that can capture the essence of what these 20-somethings relentlessly pursue wi l l have an advantage in attracting the legends of tomorrow.

CeCe Hill grew up in Normal and is a 2020 Graduate of Webster Conservatory in St. Louis, where she studied acting and English. Currently, she resides in Morton, works in customer engagement

at Rivian Automotive, and spends her free time scouting out the perfect spot to work on her sixth full-length novel

JULY 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE 31