With all this talk on engaging Millennials in the workplace, take a lesson from Microsoft® on what NOT to do!
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According to Mashable.com, an e-mail from a Microsoft University Recruiter was sent out to interns inviting them to Microsoft’s Internapalooza afterparty, with the opening line, “Hey Bae Intern! <3”
As Stan Schroeder— senior editor at Mashable—puts it, “The e-mail is chock full of youngspeak which feels oddly out of place.” On top of the “youngspeak,” the e-mail comes across as really unprofessional. Not only does it reference ‘bae’ (not Bacon And Eggs), but it also mentions “hella noms, lots of dranks, the best beats … and the Yammer beer pong table.” The e-mail closes with “Hell yes to getting lit on a Monday night.”
So, to break it down for you, “hella noms” means lots of food, “dranks” is obviously drinks, and “getting lit” pretty much means getting wasted. So, basically Microsoft just opened the door to allowing its employees to get drunk on a work night … although this could potentially open the flood gates to Family and Medical Leave Act abuse! The Register hysterically breaks the full e-mail down here, it’s worth reading so you’re hip to the lingo!
The Register also received an e-mail from Microsoft, in response to the “Hey Bae” e-mail. Microsoft says the original e-mail was “poorly worded and not in keeping with [Microsoft’s] values as a company.” The company will also be looking into how this all happened.
Employers, recruiters, and HR professionals, let this be a lesson! Do not try to attract the Millennial generation with “hip lingo.” It comes across as unprofessional … and it makes you sound like an out-of-touch parent trying to act cool.