What Its Like to Be the Youngest Person at Work - The Muse

What Its Like to Be the Youngest Person at Work - The MuseWhat Its Like to Be the Youngest Person at Work As a recent college grad, Im not only the youngest member of my team, but also one of the youngest people at my company. And Im not saying that while awkwardly cringing. In fact, I love that I get to work with people who are so much more experienced than me. But even with that said, there are definitely days where I feel like an imposter, or that I dont really belong. (Example Whenever I wear a more formal work outfit, I still feel like a child dressing up in her mothers clothes.)Heres a secret Its not that I dont consider myself a key part of the team, but when Im surrounded by people who are that much further ahead, it can feel like I cant keep up. Want to know what else Im constantly thinking? Ill do you one better- I wont just share whats going through my head, but also what the youngest person in yur schreibstube is probably thinking, too. After all, I happen to know a few o thers.1. We Sometimes Feel Excluded Because of Our AgeWhen people tell us that we dont or wont get something because were too young to understand, it makes us think that certain colleagues care more about ur age than what weve accomplished. And this is where imposter syndrome tends to kick in for us. We try to engage in casual conversations in the kitchen, only to awkwardly miss a reference everyone else is laughing about because it welches before our time. Or, we have to embarrassingly ask someone to explain a basic concept to us because weve never heard of it. In these situations we usually leave feeling like we couldnt contribute anything valuable, when all we really want is to be a part of the group.2. Were Afraid to Seem Immature Around Our Older Co-workersMy first work happy hour was a blast, but I also sweat through my shirt. For most of my life Ive been surrounded by people my own age. So the first time I went out with people several years my senior, I didnt exactly know how to act. I was afraid to accidently say OMG or dope out loud, or bring up stories from my (very recent) college days. Luckily, I think it went off without a hitch, but even today Im always cautious about what I say and do. Not because someone told me I had to, but because I genuinely have less practice having conversations with people who arent going through similar life stages. 3. We Work Differently, But Just as HardIf youre worried that your younger colleague wont have the same work ethic as you, youre right- and wrong. According to plenty of studies and more than enough articles, younger people work equally as hard as the generations above them. But, we may not work the same way- we tackle problems differently, find energy in different places, and even work the most productively at different times of day. However, at the end of the week, we put in the necessary hours, pay attention to details, and ultimately care about the success of our team and our company- just like everyone else.4. Most Things Are New and Exciting to UsYou know how that younger co-worker on your team always seems to be in a bubbly mood? Or is regularly chatty? Or asks a ton of questions about every little thing?Well, thats because everything were doing is new and exciting- yes, even receiving emails or attending meetings (were an odd bunch). We want to soak up everything and anything we can because chances are weve never seen or done anything like it before. More importantly, we look up to our older co-workers- so when we bother you with questions, its because we want you to share your knowledge and expertise with us. 5. We Want to Be ChallengedA lot of us are still struggling to get our bearings, but that doesnt mean we dont want to be challenged. We thrive on support, but we also want our managers and co-workers to trust us to do our best work on our own- and not worry that they have to babysit us.Like I said, we work really hard, and we may even make mistakes along the way. But we crave growth opportunities and learning experiences, which is why wed love nothing more than being handed an important assignment or a difficult task when weve earned it.Your youngest team members may not bring the most experience to the table, but they have plenty to offer. Especially because more than anything, we just want to learn everything you know. So if you recognize and take advantage of that, we just might become your most valuable player.