What I learned on my trip to Omaha and Kansas City

Members of the National Millennial Community visiting the Omaha Chamber of Commerce.

This past spring, I traveled to Omaha and Kansas City with members of the National Millennial and Gen Z Community on behalf of Kent State University. I visited companies such as Union Pacific, the Omaha Chamber of Commerce, Flywheel and Sprint. This trip presented me with an opportunity to create conversations with companies about millennial mindsets in today’s workforce.

During our visits with companies, we were presented with each firm's accomplishments and projects for the future. These companies would then ask for our insight in order to better understand how they could tailor their jobs at their firms to young professionals entering the workforce.

One of the visits I found the most interesting was the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. Before this trip, I had not heard much about job opportunities in Omaha. Through our discussion, I was happily surprised to learn how much Omaha had to offer young professionals. Additionally, we discussed what matters most to young professionals moving to a new city for their career. Some of the key points brought up were the cost of living, ability to advance in a company, community safety, and public transportation. While providing input on these subjects, I felt I was giving the companies valuable information they will use for recruiting employees in the future.

Through our visits with various companies, one of the main themes was “what do young professionals look for in a job?" One of the biggest misconceptions employers have about millennials is they think the only thing important to us is free drinks, video games and food . Although these are great perks, millenials look for greater benefits while researching job opportunities.. Many NMC members stated that they want structure, education and growth opportunities offered at their workplace.

During this trip, I created a new mindset about my future employment. I began to understand my worth within my chosen career field. While talking with companies, I understood how important benefits are as well as my individual worth as an employee.