Whys and wherefores of Generation Y

Every year around this time anxious new graduates inundate the job market. Candidates send out resumes and sit through round after round of interviews. However, for the 1980s and '90s generation, sometimes known as Generation Y, getting the job is not the hardest part: keeping it is.

Gone are the days when employees would stay with a company for their entire working life. For the younger segments of the workforce, it is not uncommon to switch jobs every year.

The jumpiness stems from a stark cultural divide between those doing the hiring and managing, typically born in the '60s and '70s, and junior-level candidates, from the "me generation", who are used to getting things their way, says Angel Lam, a manager at the recruitment specialist Robert Walters.

Lam explained why managers find it so hard to understand Generation X and Y and what both sides should be doing to bridge the generational gap.

Years ago, many employees would stay with a company for life and get rotated to different units within the organisation. Companies would spend a lot of resources to develop them. Now, many fresh graduates change jobs every year or every two years. That's very common among the 22 to 28 age bracket.