Trent Barnes, associate director, SACVM UNC Charlotte (N.C.); Karen Totaro, general manager, Atlantic City (N.J.) Convention Center; Casey Sparks, assistant general manager, BOK Center, Tulsa, Okla.; and Jena Hoffman, president, INTIX.
REPORTING FROM COLUMBIA, S.C. — In order to come up with a snapshot of what millennial expectations for their first jobs were, panelists at SEVT conference here, March 16-18, sent out a survey to students at the University of South Carolina. It covered a range of topics that the panelists then discussed in order to create a clearer picture of what these new hires are looking for in their first job.
“Entry level and millennials kind of go hand-in-hand these days, and there’s a lot of talk about what millennials expect from their first job,” said Casey Sparks, assistant general manager, BOK Center, Tulsa, Okla. “There’s a lot of bad stuff I’ve read about millennials, and there’s a lot of great things I’ve read about millennials.”
Starting Salary
The survey asked the students what they thought they’d be paid for an entry-level position. Most answered $25-35,000, which the panelists said was spot on.
“As you go into entry-level positions, especially in venues, other opportunities can also open up,” said Karen Totaro, general manager, Atlantic City (N.J.) Convention Center. “I know it’s scary trying to live off such a small salary nowadays. A lot of our entry-level workers will also take part-time gigs, like being our ticket seller or working in concessions. So there’s a way within the venue to make those additional dollars and still be getting great experience.”
Trent Barnes, associate director, SACVM UNC Charlotte (N.C.), said as a state employee, he often gets paid less than the private management employees, but good health benefits and retirement plans help balance it out.
Job Promotion
The next question asked students how long they thought they would stay in an entry-level position before being promoted. The majority answered one to two years.
“For the most part, after one year you’re just acclimating to your location where you’re working,” said Totaro. “You’re really just seeing how it works and flows. That’s your growth year when you’re absorbing, you’re a sponge, you’re taking all this information in. By the second year, you can start applying some things you thought. Now you’re actually adding value to what you’ve seen. That second year is where you’re actually going to start producing or filling in a void or initiating something. It’s really probably more towards the end of your second year or in your third year when you’re promoted.”
Sparks suggested moving on from the organization you interned at, since oftentimes upper management can only think of you as an intern and it can stifle your career. Because the industry is relatively small, Sparks also said that a job promotion could require moving buildings, cities and even states.
“There’s more opportunities for promotion if you’re willing to move and relocate,” said Totaro. “If you have two years behind you as a marketing coordinator and now there’s a marketing manager position opening up across the country, that’s an opportunity for us to jump and get a bigger salary and title, but you’ll have to move to do that. It’s a give and take. You have to understand what you want.”
In addition to being willing to move, initiative plays a big part in getting promoted. It’s something you have to take control of, not something you should just leave up to management.
“In my career of promoting folks, I’ve never asked somebody to accept a promotion,” said Totaro. “You have to control your own destiny. You have to be in front of me, showing me what you’re doing. Promotions are up to you to happen. It’s not going to be management that comes and says we want to promote you.”
Defining Success
The survey then asked the students how they would define a successful career. Answers included high earnings, power and a stimulating work environment, but the top answer came in as successful work/life balance.
As one student in the audience said, “From my parents and grandparents I’ve learned you are what you do, and I don’t think that’s something millennials carry into their personal identity. I think it’s you are what you participate in and what you love. So while work is something that’s very important, we are fans, we have families, we love to travel, we love Instagram. We want those things, and all of that doesn’t necessarily come from work.”
Totaro said work/life balance is something the industry needs to take more into account, and millennials are forcing that to happen.
“Our lives aren’t so balanced between personal and work,” said Jena Hoffman, president, INTIX. “You need to help us understand what that looks like so we can start creating that in our work places.”
Sparks said it wasn’t such a buzzword in the industry when she started like it is today, but that at the BOK Center, they’re trying hard to accommodate that.
“That’s one thing we’ve modified for our employees,” said Sparks. “There are certain people that have to be there every day by 8:30, but for the rest of us, we try to give our employees the freedom to create their own schedules. I never really get involved with it unless I don’t know where you are and you’re not getting your work done.”
Because work is so easy to take home, Barnes said at one point his sleep schedule was so messed up he could fall asleep instantly whenever he sat down at work. At one point, he had to stand up for himself and tell his boss that some things needed to change.
“I had coaches calling and emailing me at all hours of the night saying they have to change their practice schedule,” said Barnes. “Why would I need to know that at 2:00 in the morning? I just started turning my phone off after 9 p.m., and fortunately my boss supported me in that. But it got to a point there where it was almost literally 24 hours-a-day on call, and it was affecting my abilities and my sleep schedule.”
Work Motivation
When it came to what motivates them at work, the top answers were more money, more responsibility and private praise.
“The motivation will change for you over the course of your career as well,” said Totaro. “One of the benefits of our industry is it is a small staff, so you really become so connected, it becomes like family. That in itself is so motivating, because you never want to let each other down. That becomes a huge piece of going-to-work fun.”
Barnes said he tries to foster a very positive work environment where he’s sure to give constant positive feedback and share any positive emails or compliments he receives from clients with all of his staff.
Workplace Value
The survey also asked what value in the workplace is the most important to them. Out of structure, inclusivity and others, the top answer was respect.
Barnes brought up that respect is a two-way street, and sometimes there can be a perceived lack of respect. He told the story of calling out a young employee who was on his phone during a meeting, when actually the employee was researching a question he had asked to try to get him an answer.
“You need to know your environment and who you’re working with and for, because there could be a perceived lack of respect from your employer” said Barnes.
Part of earning that respect is being in control of your “human brand.” Watching what you post on social media, controlling what you’re tagged in and watching how much you drink in front of your peers at industry conferences, all plays into how you’re marketing yourselves to future employers.
“Things that are posted online on Facebook or whatever do matter,” said Totaro. “People do look. I think that’s the hardest thing about your generation. I would just cringe if I knew there was video of my college years. It really is a hard thing to maneuver through, so just be aware of how that information gets out there and how you’re behaving in front of your peers and your potential boss.”
Barnes experienced it himself when after a day of interviewing, the interviewers came in and asked him why he liked Lord of the Rings so much. They had found that out from his Facebook page.
“They wanted to prove to me that they were already looking at me intently,” said Barnes. “And that night I made my profile private.”
Excitement and Anxiety
When it came to what the students were most excited and anxious about in their first jobs, answers included applying what they learned in school, working in an environment they were passionate about and new opportunities in different cities, followed by the anxieties of not loving it, long hours, surviving on entry-level pay and finding a job in a competitive environment.
Sparks said she almost left the industry at two different times in her career, but her deep love for it ultimately kept her in it. She encouraged the students to stick with it and pay their dues.
“It has been an amazing career and amazing ride. If you love it — and what’s nice about this industry is you find out pretty quickly if you like it or not — it’s going to give you more than you could ever give it, so just enjoy it,” said Totaro.
Interviewed for this story: Casey Sparks, (918) 894-4210; Jena Hoffman, (212) 629-4036; Karen Totaro, (609) 449-2012; Trent Barnes, (704) 687-1836