Flexibility, interesting work, and likable co-workers are cited by Penelope Trunk in the Brazen Careerist blog as the three most important criteria for Gen-Y when it comes to choosing where to work. Brazen Careerist is a career management resource for the next generation professionals.

The company partnered with PayScale to establish criteria for the first Brazen Careerist Top 50 Places to Work. While salary is always an important factor in the job selection process, it was not considered a key criteria for selection. With salary information now public and searchable by position and location, Trunk states in her blog that “the days when a company can screw you by underpaying you are over.” The Gen-Y population accepts this and, instead, turns its attention to workplace environment and corporate philosophy and culture as key criteria for employment. The companies that made the Brazen Careerist list employ a minimum of 2500 and come close to reaching a 50-50 gender balance. 

Here in the RNR (Roanoke and New River Valley regions), the larger employers come from manufacturing and education. As a region, we face the challenge of retaining and attracting the 10,000 -15,000 or so who graduate each spring from the area's rich selection of 2- and 4-year colleges and universities.

Jim Flowers, Director of VT Knowledge Works, suggests in Growing a Regional Economy - One Small Company at a Time that building an entrepreneurial region founded on 21st century technologies and market trends should be encouraged and supported. With 1/3 of all jobs being created by small companies with 20 employees or fewer, it's safe to say that in addition to salary, size probably won't matter to future Gen-Ys either - especially if the environment is friendly, flexible and interesting.

The next generation of college graduates: prospective students attend Open House and tour Radford University.
Photo taken with camera loaned to blogger Z.Kelly Queijo by Olympus.

Related links:

What Does High-Tech Want?

81 Reasons to Connect