Area business leaders were growing concerned enough last year that the Capital Region was gaining the reputation of being an “unhip” place for young professionals to work that they decide it was time to act.
To quell fears that they might feel lost in the workplace's turbulent sea, jump ship and head for markets in larger cities, the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce in April formed GenNext.
“For the young professionals themselves, they find each other,”
Chamber Senior Vice President Ann Wendth said of the 200-member GenNext. The group hosts networking forums and mentoring programs where young professionals can not only meet each other but also meet high-level business executives.
Almost 10 months after Gen-Next's creation, Chris Brantigan and Chris Macomber talk either on the phone or via e-mail almost daily, bouncing off each other ideas for their businesses.
UNUSUAL PAIR
The two make an unlikely pair. Brantigan, 28, is an operations sales manager for the Nationwide Equities Corp. mortgage company. Macomber, 21, is a biology student at Union College who will start working toward a medical degree at Albany Medical Center in September.
They may have attended the same college in Schenectady and high school in Albany, but the two connected through a new Gen-Next mentoring program that teams young professionals with college students.
Macomber recently established Exousia Health, a medical software company.
While Brantigan said he has limited knowledge in the medical field, he can help the Union senior by sharing his own entrepreneurial experiences.
“You're just not going to have that kind of support if you go to Chicago or New York. You'll be a small fish in a big pond,” said Brantigan, who is also the chairman of GenNext's mentoring program.
GenNext originated as a group that paired regional business executives with young professionals, hoping to make their transition into the workforce less daunting and easier to succeed in.
After pairing 45 executives and young professionals, GenNext extended its services to college students. Since October, the group has teamed 30 area students with young professionals.
The students, young professionals and executives usually keep in contact over the phone or Internet. Sometimes mentor executives let their students shadow them.
They all meet at GenNext's Executive Unplugged events, where a featured business leader fields questions from students and professionals.
Tracy Metzger, owner of the Albany-based TL Metzger & Associates, was the speaker at Feb. 7's unplugged event at the Capital Repertory Theater.
“It's nice to create a program where we can create a comfort zone where we can meet with these people,” Brantigan said. His executive mentor is Pamela Sawchuk, co-owner of the Sawchuk Brown Associates public relations firm in Albany.
For Macomber, GenNext has opened up possibilities that would not have been open to him if he stayed on the Union campus.
Taking Brantigan's advice about writing thank-you letters, for example, Macomber was able to land two more investors for his business. He is trying to raise $1 million to develop an integration engine that the health care industry can use to access electronic records.
For Brantigan, GenNext has made him more of an activist than an apologist for his generation, Generation X. He said by allowing young professionals to interact with executives, workers under 40 can better involve themselves in the business community.
“The more our voice is heard, the more it will go back to my goal of making my generation a factor than a variable, which it is considered,” he said, referring to the “X” in his generation's name.
ADVISORY ROLE
Since the group's formation, Brantigan said at least a dozen GenNext members have been asked to serve in advisory roles to local business committees, such as the Corporate Task Force for the Albany Institute of History and Art.
Wendth said the Albany-Colonie chamber plans to monitor GenNext's ability to retain young professionals in the Capital Region, but she said it is too early to gauge how successful the program has been.