Much has been said about millennials and what they want from their personal and professional lives. If popular notion is anything to go buy, it seems that they want travel, technology, and bean bags. We decided to find out what it is they really seek in their professional lives – and in the process dispel some rumors – and draw a comparison between what their more senior counterparts seek as well. Turns out, their aspirations are not always quite so different.

As part of the series, we interviewed a millennial and non-millennial from several leading agencies in the region. This article features:

The millennial: Reem Lezeik (21), planning executive

The non-millennial: Karan Kukreja (35 years young as he likes to call it), business unit director

Most important factors in a job:

Lezeik:

• Organizational culture
• Management
• Work-life balance

Kukreja: 

• Company values and culture; it is what makes your work day fun and motivates you to keep coming back
• Career progression; it’s essential that a fair opportunity exists to climb the corporate ladder leading to professional and personal growth.
• Challenges; it’s important to me that the job makes me better.

Best way for a company to retain you:

Lezeik:

Being appreciated and valued as that encourages me to give the company more. My learning potential will expand hence helping me grow in my career path.

Kukreja:

By keeping me challenged and on an upward growth path.

Your driving force in this job:

Lezeik:

The company’s position and reputation within the industry, in addition to having my hard work valued and recognized.

Kukreja: 

Media wasn’t my profession of choice. I landed up a job back in 2004 as a media executive and today media to me isn’t just a job, it’s my passion. This is where I felt my calling. The ability to give consumers choice, assist them in making decisions and eventually impact our client’s bottom line is rather gratifying.

Expected frequency of appraisals:

Lezeik:

Based on my performance and business merit, I expect it to be annual if I am reaching my goals and improving the company’s productivity.

Kukreja: 

I expect to be appraised every year, as appraisals are an official means to measure performance and good performance should be rewarded – not necessarily with a promotion but definitely with a raise. To top that, we’re all expats here and the cost of living isn’t going down which needs to be considered on an annual basis.
When it comes to promotions, each position you occupy has some expectations and skill-set requirements. Once you have managed to demonstrate expertise in them and have started taking on responsibilities from the next role, you’re ready to be moved up. This shouldn’t be time-bound: some get there fast and some take the natural course of time.

Career goals:

Lezeik:

As a fresh graduate, my short-term goal is mainly on personal development. I want to fully benefit from the training offered by the company to help develop myself in leadership areas, hence fulfilling my long-term goal of being a business leader.

Kukreja:

Short term: I’m etching closer and closer to senior management and hope to take on a role that would expand my experience

Long term: Lead the expansion into new emerging markets and increase management remit across multiple geographies

Work-life balance:

Lezeik:

One of the main essentials to me is having a balance between work and personal life. I avoid slacking in any, which is why I dedicate my weekdays for work only, so I have nothing to worry about over the weekend enabling me to give time to my personal life.

Kukreja: 

It’s extremely important; the right balance keeps you happy and happy people are more productive. Having said that, yes I do check my emails on weekends, simply because I’m addicted to my phone. It’s become sort of a reflex action, to check the phone when an email comes in.  Depending on the urgency/ importance, I choose to respond.  If it can wait, then it waits.
Weekends are time for my family and unless it’s absolutely critical, I don’t work.

What would motivate you to switch jobs:

Lezeik:

I’d evaluate the outcomes of my efforts and see if they are being acknowledged and rewarded and if there is any room for advancement.

Kukreja:

Complacency is a career killer, so when I sense that complacency is setting for whatever reason – organizational or personal – I will consider new opportunities that promise a stronger challenge and better growth prospects.