Marketing Eye Culture Articles

Common sense is not so common and the older I get the more I realise this to be the case.

Of late, I am getting more and more frustrated about the lack of common sense amongst the young, and today I realised that perhaps I am being a tad unfair. Gen-Y are not apt at using common sense particularly when it comes to business. I find myself constantly pulling my hair out when I hear and see things that they do, because I just don't get it. I don't understand how something so basic can be forgotten, not thought about or completely ignored. 

But am I being unfair. Often its things that they have been trained on, and they just constantly forget a process or sometimes its just when a client or supplier asks a question that has an obvious answer (at least to me) and they just don't get it.

Ignoring my #24yrold and #24yroldblackguy (the latter is his own hash tag - not mine!), I find myself constantly getting irritated at the lack of common sense in the typical Gen-Y. They are the exception and I have never found myself to be having "the conversation" with them.

#24yrold says "you are born with it".

With lots of thought given to this problem as it seems to be the only issue I face in the office these days, I realise that perhaps its actually mine. In general, I have had 10 years to hone my skills to ensure that I think before I act, and based on experience, minimize errors. I cross all my "T's" and dot all of my "i's" - if you know what I mean.

The question is, what is common sense? To me it is not another kind of knowledge, nor is it a simple cognitive process or ability. My common sense tells me that is as complex as the factors inherent in a situation to which it may be applied.

Marketing maven, Tegan Addinsall, a senior marketing manager at Marketing Eye Melbourne came rushing through the front door of the office today with the biggest smile on her face. It was 7.30am in the morning, and although I was at work, I hadn't even put my makeup on and certainly hadn't finished my first cup of coffee.

"I love my job!" rejoiced Tegan. Indeed she does. Every day she enters work with the greatest smile on her face. She is incredibly smart, and knows her "stuff" better than most. Sometimes annoyingly, she laughs and smiles so much that I want to bump her over the head with a book, so she can come down to my level (not really!).

Marketing Eye Atlanta is looking for a new hire as a Marketing Executive; someone who has a few years experience, but not too much that they are stuck in their ways. We are seeking a person who fits our fun, innovative and clever culture, while still being academic and tactical enough to produce work of the highest level.

It's a tough gig to work at Marketing Eye Atlanta right now as our culture is so good - that no-one is prepared to have a new marketing recruit that doesn't fit to perfection. We are "googling" our way to fast growth by focusing on culture first and qualifications second, but at the of the day, it is critical  that a person who works with us has some common sense and understands most facets of marketing - the rest we teach.

In Atlanta, there are not many marketing positions on offer - and certainly none that offers the same opportunities as Marketing Eye unless you are working for a big global corporation. The reality is that there many highly qualified marketers from an academic perspective looking for positions, but most don't have any experience other than in sales or customer service. They simply have not been given the opportunity. 

As we go through the hundreds of resumes, it is apparent that there are either people who have Degrees and some with Masters in Marketing Degrees, or the alternative; people who have been VP's of Marketing in organizations such as Coca Cola and other Fortune 500 companies.