When Naples native Jeff Faramo was in his final semester at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), he went to the school's career center and started researching job options. He knew there were certain things he wanted in a job: high rewards for hard work, acknowledgment for his work, and a job that he found personally rewarding.

"I didn't want a job where I sat behind a desk filing papers," he says. "I wanted to find something where I'm continuously learning."

Faramo, now 24, graduated on Dec. 19, 2004. On Dec. 20, he started his job as an account executive at Gartner, a technology-related research firm with offices in Fort Myers.

All across the country, recent college graduates like Faramo are starting new jobs. They might have different backgrounds, different majors and different career aspirations, but they have one thing in common: they belong to Generation Y, a massive contingent of Americans beginning to have a big impact on the work force.

Also called the Net Generation, Millennials or Echo Boomers, Generation Y is some 70 million strong. Its beginning and ending dates vary among demographers and media reports, but the generation is often considered to include those born from the late 1970s to the late 1990s.

Most Gen Yers don't remember when the space shuttle Challenger exploded. Some might remember the fall of the Soviet Union; others hadn't even been born yet. They've grown up with technology and are highly adept at using computers, iPods, cell phones and other electronic devices, many of which didn't exist-or were in their infancy-during the earlier generations. The children of baby boomers or older members of Generation X, they've been coddled more and raised with more creature comforts than

probably any other generation of children.

Why should businesses care about all of this? Because Generation Y exhibits sharp distinctions from Generation X and the baby boomers, and its members are going to work differently and have different expectations of their careers.

"Being a healthcare organization, we have so many different generations working together," says Dionne Carter, manager of diversity for the Lee Memorial Health System. "What motivates one group does not motivate another; the benefits important to a certain group are not necessarily important to Generation Yers. Those are some of the different dynamics employers have to look at."

"There is no doubt in my mind that the success of any business is going to depend on its ability to recruit and retain Generation Y employees," says Jim Wall, the quality improve­ment manager of the Southwest Florida Work­force Development Board.

"When a current CEO or COO plans for the future of their company, it really does have to include a solid strategy for hiring and maintaining Generation Y employees, who are going to be top-notch employees if businesses are able to recognize the different needs of that generation," he says.

"High-tech, high-touch"

Reid Lennertz, director of Career Development Services at FGCU, has a lot of experience working with members of Generation Y and has become something of a local authority on the subject.

There was a time when power, resources and money were controlled by older generations, but that is fast changing because younger workers are more technologically savvy, he says. "Generation Y is a wanted commodity, and they know it."

Certainly not every Gen Yer is the same, but Lennertz has noticed some general characteristics of what he calls "a high-tech and high-touch generation" that employers need to consider.

"This is a generation that's accustomed to and likes a high degree of contact with each other," he says. That contact, which tends to be informal, is supported through technology, including instant messaging and cell phones, which are indispensable and ubiquitous with this generation. "What arises from that is an expectation that they will have access to and immediacy of contact with others.

"They are also individuals who value when others take a sincere and genuine interest in them as an individual. They like to be treated [as] special," he says, and they expect a high level of interpersonal interaction, even in the work place.

Gen Y members tend to be hardworking, enjoy being part of a team and have high expectations of work situations, perhaps because of the way they were raised. "They expect good pay and a good position, they want to know what their responsibilities are, and they want to feel that the job that they're doing is important," says Joseph Heinzman Jr., a professor of business administration at International College, which has campuses in Fort Myers and Naples.

"Generation Y workers have high expectations of themselves as well as their colleagues and management," says Joe Buckheit, president and CEO of MediaBrains, a Naples-based Web marketing firm. "They want to know where they stand and what is expected of them with regard to their work goals. They are more direct and not afraid to confront management on issues."

Faramo admits that it's hard to "go from being this top dog in college to just being one of the masses in the work force." That's why it was important for him to find a job that doesn't just issue a paycheck for the work it expects of employees, but that rewards well for hard work. He's done just that; in his first year at the company, he has made the firm's "winner's circle" and is being rewarded with a trip to New Zealand.

For most in this group, training and continuing education are key components of a job. Michael Millett, a 25-year-old senior at FGCU, wants to get into real estate development after he graduates. Though he'd like to have his own company one day, he plans to work first for a firm where he can learn about investing in real estate. He is looking at companies both in Southwest Florida and outside of the area. "I want to learn as much as possible," he says, "so wherever that takes me, I'll go there."

While benefits such as health insurance and a 401(k) are important to him, he'd also like benefits such as tuition reimbursement and employee development seminars as part of the package. "Leadership development at the job site is very important," he says.

"I would say training is something that is a big deal, instead of saying 'here's your job, here's your role, get it done,'" says Faramo. "We're like sponges coming out of college."

"[Gen Yers] don't like being thrown into chaotic, unorganized situations without a lot of training," says Lennertz. "That theory of just throwing someone to the wolves-that might work with some people, but many of our students like an environment that nurtures a little bit more."

But don't expect Gen Yers to stick with a long-term training program. "Time is compressed for Generation Y," Lennertz says. Training programs are great, but not if they're going to take a couple of years, because this is a group of people with more immediate expectations; they might not see two years down the road.

The right balance

Because they've grown up seeing what an all-work, no-play lifestyle did to many of their parents, having a work-life balance is important to this generation. "Our students value the relationships they have with their family and friends," says Lennertz. "They want to have a life." So flexible work hours, job sharing or the option to work from home are big pluses for this group.

"We have found that the Generation Y members prefer a more casual work environment-casual dress, flexibility in hours, open work spaces and the ability to freely communicate with senior management," says Buckheit.

Though Millett is willing to do what it takes when he's first starting out, he realizes there are limits. "I love to work and I want to be productive," he says. "But you can only do that long term if you're living a balanced lifestyle. Without balance, those 80-hour work weeks don't last very long."

Lennertz recommends building a rapport with these employees, tapping into their individuality and letting them know the purpose behind what you're asking them to do.

When it comes to recruiting and retaining members of Generation Y, companies can take certain steps to increase their chances of success. Using the Internet is key, and not just traditional job boards but sites such as

www.craigslist.org and www.myspace.com. Because Gen Yers are highly connected and communicative, "recruiting often occurs among themselves," says Wall, "so there needs to be a good deal of effort and time spent recruiting through word-of-mouth techniques."

When interviewing, employers should provide Gen­eration Y job seekers with an idea of what their career path could be. If an applicant isn't right for a particular position, Lennertz recommends keeping the résumé on file as a potential candidate for future openings.

He also advises moving the hiring process as quickly as possible, partly because good employees can sometimes be hard to come by in these parts, but also because Gen Yers won't wait long for a response.

Companies also need to recognize how Gen Y work styles differ from those of Generation X and baby boomers.

"As far as technology is concerned, Generation Y is superior," says Carter of the Lee Memorial Health System. "They will know how to use any software, and even if they don't, they have so much technical ability in their backgrounds that they pick up on it very easily. To an employer, this is definitely an asset."

But Carter adds that because members of Generation Y can be very opinionated, it can "sometimes be challenging when they're working side by side with other generations."

"There's not a one-size-fits-all approach to working with Generation Y," says Lennertz. "Employers really need to look at the person and find out what motivates that particular person. That resonates very well with this group."