These days, there are so many things to learn and know and do to try and figure out how to find a job and navigate your career. Do you think it’s worth investing in a career coach? Absolutely. And the best career coaches don’t cost a penny. Rather, they are your network, your personal board of directors — the people you can lean on and learn from as you chart your path. Every successful person has mentors. They may not and need not be official mentors, like in a program — just people with whom you develop a relationship, that you trust and can give you advice about the complex career journey. We all learn from trial and error, and it’s great to have someone to help you along the path who isn’t getting a fee. So go out and find your career Yoda — if no mistake you have made, losing you are; a different game you should play. I’m surprised at your recent response to the 64-year-old man who complained about working with young women in the office who he finds “annoying.” This person is a sexist and you should have called him out for it. To best give the answer to the problem, reverse the sexes and it would be clear by current standards. What would you have said if “boys will be boys” banter was going on? I would have said the same exact thing. We now have five generations in the workplace and norms have changed dramatically. It was never OK to mistreat anyone at work for any reason, but a 64-year-old man frustrated by the personal banter of 20-something women doesn’t make him a sexist. We need more understanding and to save the hostility for the transgressions that deserve it. By the way, I sympathize, since I can barely listen to my son’s friends in conversation half the time before my eyes start rolling into the back of my head. Gregory Giangrande has more than 25 years of experience as a chief human resources executive. Hear Greg Wed. at 9:35 a.m. on iHeartRadio 710 WOR with Len Berman and Michael Riedel. E-mail: [email protected]. Follow: GoToGreg.com and on Twitter: @greggiangrande
