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Task

Post-1990 Generation

Human resource managers across the country are bracing themselves for a new kind of crisis this summer.Over the next couple of months,they are go ing to have to deal with a new breed of graduates,one which is j ust as talented,j ust as ambitious,and j ust as qualified as those who came before.

It’s one that knows a lot about the Internet,is internationally aware,embraces modern so cial media and all the benefits that brings and thinks more innovatively.

But the people from the post-1990 generation who are sending in the resumes that are now arriving on HR managers’desks across the land are different in their attitudes,their confidence and their expectations.And it’s a difference many professions don’t like the look of.

According to the Ministry of Human Resource and So cial Security,6.8 million college graduates,mostly born between September 1989 and August 1990,will flood the job market this year.Most are the single child of their families and have been raised at a time of a tremendous rise in economic wealth.

That sounds OK sofar.But many HR professionals are questioning what kind of workers these young people will make?From direct contacts to second-hand reports,the speculation is that managers will have to work that little bit harder to deal with this new wave of talent.

Z hang Can,a manager with a consulting firm headquartered in the United States,recalled recently,after giving an assignment to a post-1990 intern,that the young man simply replied:‘Yes,I heard what you told me to do,but if I have to do it,I’ll j ust leave.’

Z hang was sho cked by the lack of respect,the manner,the tone from someone j ust five years younger than he is.He said it was like dealing with ‘a complete stranger’.

He added:‘It took me a moment to realize I was talking to a person of roughly the same generation as I am.I could never imagine myself do ing that when I was an intern.’

Those born after 1990 appear to be bringing something new,for sure—and in many cases,it’s not good.

Xu J iangling,who interned as an assistant to a bank-lobby manager,said it washard to understand why the job requires him to always stand,even if nobody seemed to mind if he sat down.

Huang Feiyi,one of Xu’s classmates who worked in an international consultancy company,said he found the company’s dress code old-fashioned and‘boring’.

However,for all their reported downsides,some also po inted out that the arrival of the post-1990 generation brings skills and attributes that should be warmly welcomed into the 2012 workplace.

One manager told people.com.cn:‘Let’s not forget,we’re in an era of increasing market competition,and many are certainly competitive,and very creative too.’

The key to getting the best out of the new breed of graduates,stressed Tang Wen,a senior public relations manager at ChinaHR.com,is in finding ways to match their talent to the most suitable job.‘If they can be put in suitable positions,they can work very well and contribute a lot to their companies,’he said.

Today’s new graduates tend to have wider,more diverse knowledge because they grew up in the Internet age,added Tang—a‘precious resource for innovation’and a blessing for the creative or marketing sector.

The English proficiency of post-1990 graduates is also higher than any previous generation of university graduates in China,making them more suitable for jobs in international companies.

Having been equipped with so cial media skills,too,the post-1990 generation and their supporters have also been quick to defend themselves and their reputations on the Internet.

Following an analysis of this new generation on xinhuanet.com,the website of the Xinhua News Agency,one young commentator,signed as Qiu Shi,claimed there has always been discrimination or prej udice between job market generations,such as those of the post-1960 against the post-1970 and post-1980 generations.

And according to Weday8745,who claimed to have guided many new recruits in the last couple of years,about half of the post-1990 generation in his team are performing well.‘They are smart,willing to learn,work hard,and are modest,’he said.

Fen Yan Wu J i,meanwhile,commented that every new generation faces criticism,but the secret is to rise to the challenge.‘People should not be too hard on the post-1990 generation,’he added.

Human resource analysts also encourage companies to look at their positive characteristics,instead of refusing to hire them.Or as some human resource experts said:‘Companies have to deal with the issue sooner or later,as the post-1990generation is go ing to become a key part of driving the economy.’‘Let’s j ust learn how to work with them from now on.’

Task 1.Fill in the blanks according to the information in the paragraphs.

Task 2.Suppose you work as an HR manager,how would you respond to those post-1990 intern and staff in the reading materials?Work in groups,have a discussion and present your best ideas to the class. 6Jq/epi9uBQngQcEraiRPLdO2/oKwiBxO76DuAsZrbp0iBFfZ7ZLFaxoZXcBwQp9

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