If you\u2019re a regular reader of this column, you know that I\u2019m a manic advocate for networking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a deal-changer for success in your current job, making a move to a new job, and even for visibility within management and coworker circles in your workplace.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I never said it was easy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
But no matter how bashful you feel you are, or think you don\u2019t know how to get started, I\u2019m certain most people can do it \u2013 that is, if they make the effort.<\/p>\n
The people I worry most about are our young adult men, typically those between ages 16 and 28, because research data indicates they\u2019re struggling like never before.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Scott Galloway, the outspoken podcaster and NYU marketing professor, too many young men rely too much on social media as substitutes for personal friendships and professional relationships.<\/p>\n
Among his favorite bits of freely given advice is \u201cget off your phone\u201d and put more effort into creating genuine friendships with real people instead of avatars.<\/p>\n
He points to recent studies that indicates young men and women, but mostly men, who spend more than three hours a day on social media face a greater likelihood of dealing with mental health issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those issues tend to negatively impact their sense of self-worth along with their ability to get a job and make a living.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
They have no close friends<\/b><\/p>\n
During Galloway\u2019s recent appearance on the \u201cToday\u201d show, he cited a few more surprising statistics: Nearly one in five men in their 30s still live with their parents, and 15% say they have no close friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Well, I\u2019m not in my 30s and I don\u2019t live with my parents, but I couldn\u2019t imagine my life without my close friends.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
They keep me alert, curious, and challenged, and add great value to my life.<\/p>\n
While my friends and I do \u201ctalk\u201d via text and email \u2013 who doesn\u2019t? \u2013 we also spend lots of time talking to each other, a life skill that\u2019s oddly missing from too many of the young men in their 20s and 30s whom I interview.<\/p>\n
Recently, as a favor to a friend, I sat down with his newly graduated 22-year-old son, whom I\u2019ll call Paul.<\/p>\n
Either out of shyness or nervousness, he kept looking elsewhere, mostly down, as if he couldn\u2019t wait for our one-sided job interview to be over. I felt the same way.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve seen that same awkwardness from plenty of young men in their 20s and 30s who lack what\u2019s known as \u201csoft\u201d skills, like being able to communicate in a professional setting.<\/p>\n
No matter what their academic degree or resume says, their lack of interpersonal skills makes it much easier to pass them over for more socially well-balanced candidates.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, I agree with the professor when he says that when young men face adversity, too many of them tend to go off-track.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every young man (and woman) can benefit from the gift of mentorship and guidance. This doesn\u2019t need to be an official mentoring relationship. It can simply be a one-off over a cup of coffee or a beer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There\u2019s always comfort in talking to a friend and\/or mentor who knows the value of building self-esteem, empathy and a greater awareness that attitude, cooperation and yes, appearance, all matter.<\/p>\n
Which leads me to another one of my job-related passions \u2013 internships.<\/p>\n
Smart, successful co-workers<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s not only about the kind of work interns do, it\u2019s also about being around smart, dedicated co-workers, seeing them do their jobs well, and then talking about it as colleagues.<\/p>\n
So, what\u2019s the best thing you can do for a young person who may lack \u201csoft\u201d skills but seems to have potential? How \u2019bout hiring a few?<\/p>\n
We usually have one or two interns at Manpower Staffing and we\u2019re thrilled to see them go on to great success.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s make a greater effort to hire an intern (or two) and help our young men and women become better adjusted to the world of real, live people who actually talk to each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a long-term life changer.<\/p>\n