Job Rotation’s Appeal to GenZ with Special Guest Eli Fernandez

[00:00:07] And welcome to another Gen Z episode of HR and Payroll 2.0. I'm Julie Fernandez and I'm joined today by another special Gen Z guest, Elias. Welcome to the podcast, Eli. Eli. Eli. Eli. Hi, thank you so much for having me. Also, my mother. As another little side note. Eli. Just in case you slip up and don't call me Julie and call me mom throughout. Eli. Eli. Thank you, Julie. It feels weird. We'll run with it.

[00:00:37] Yeah, right? We're just going to go with it. All right? So Eli, let's start out with when did you graduate college and at that time, what did you think you wanted to do? Eli. Yeah, so I graduated in the spring of 23 and I pursued a major in finance. I got my bachelor's in finance and that's pretty much where I wanted to go.

[00:01:02] I knew early on in college that I wanted to definitely go the business route. It was really interesting to me. You know, you lived the whole business life too. So it was always just really neat hearing you talk about the things you were talking about, you know, over the phone with clients and with your coworkers and stuff. So just early spark right away. And I went to Western Michigan. They had a great business program there.

[00:01:30] I was very satisfied with my education there. The one thing I knew I did not want to do was to be a financial advisor.

[00:01:41] I knew that was not my calling. It really and maybe for selfish reasons. I don't know. I think working with people, especially people that may be in tough like financial positions and stuff like in my head, that would just like irk me a lot. I'd be like, what are you doing? Why are you doing this? So I knew that I just would not be a good fit for interacting with clients and stuff like that.

[00:02:09] So I decided probably around my junior year of college that I wanted to pursue corporate finance and work in more of a business setting where essentially being a financial planner advisor for a company instead of being one for an individual person. So that was kind of where I wanted to head. And right out of college, that's where I headed.

[00:02:34] Yeah, well, let's talk about that, right? Because folks are in that period of their life where you're finishing up a college and trying to find your first job. How did you job shop? So what did you do and what did you not do when you were trying to land that job? So what I did not do is spam, you know, resumes and stuff on LinkedIn and Indeed, because, you know, big misconception with my generation is that that's how you get a job.

[00:03:04] That is how you don't get a job. That's actually how you end up in pyramid schemes and all these other, you know, kind of somewhat sketchy jobs or, you know, jobs that maybe aren't putting up all the details right up front. And it's a great way for networking, you know, using those platforms and stuff.

[00:03:22] But I found that unless you're looking for like an hourly job with, you know, no particular requirements that that going that route, like like my peers were doing in college was just not the right move. Yeah. So what did you do instead? Yeah. So so I started exploring my natural network, my friends, parents of friends just, you know, talking around.

[00:03:45] And one of my best friends, his his dad was he's been working for Ford his whole life. And he was kind of poaching all of our friends and saying, you know, all right, when you graduate college, like, let's find a place for you at Ford. We'd love to have you, you know, just shoot me your resume. I'll proofread it and everything. So he was a great tool. And and yeah, I threw in my resume at Ford Motor.

[00:04:12] It was also close to home, right, because out of college, no one has the money to quite live on their own. So move back in with you guys. And and yeah, the the resume went through and and I had interviews and everything aligned pre-graduation date, which was awesome because I didn't have that that gap of, you know, being flustered. And oh, my gosh, I got to find a job. I graduated. Having that gap can be really stressful.

[00:04:37] So I got that in early on and I actually entered a rotational program at Ford called the the the career foundation program, which is specifically built for business and finance students that are pursuing a career at Ford. So so that's the rotation I'm in currently. I'm going to ask you a little bit more about that in a moment. But what I think is interesting about this whole route is, you know, in case folks can't tell, you're a pretty social bug.

[00:05:04] And not all of your in a good way, not all of your peers are. And so that networking that you did with your best friend's father and others, you know, maybe shockingly didn't involve me or your father in any way. Like you really networked on your own. And I know not everybody, you know, your age can is comfortable doing that or can do that.

[00:05:28] A lot of folks network through their parents circles. But in your case, you know, it was more than successful. And you were not shy about approaching adults and making those contacts and and doing it on your own. So, yeah, I think that's really like it was it was kind of a, you know, a growth thing for me at college. I I wasn't like close with my my friends, parents like that.

[00:05:56] But I I soon came to realize that they love talking about opportunities. They love talking about, you know, potentially helping you find a career or helping you grow. And when I brought it up to I spoke with, you know, multiple friends and their parents and they were just ecstatic to to talk to me about that.

[00:06:18] And so I think, you know, moving forward, I have, you know, younger stepbrother that's graduating college here in a minute and and just encouraging him and my younger peers that are in that phase of their life to really just like make that first step and reach out because they want to talk to you. They want to find out, you know, where where your head's going and where you want to be. And and, you know, if you're close with their children, they're going to help you get there.

[00:06:45] And I think that that's a really important tool to tap into that is oftentimes overlooked. Yeah, for sure. And I know I've talked to you about maybe then having a follow up conversation with the parent that is kind of shepherding all these kids into his work environment. And I think that would be a really cool episode for the future. And it sounds like he's probably a gamer for doing something like that. Oh, yeah. He'd love to. He loves talking about his job.

[00:07:13] He loves Ford with his whole heart. You know, I make a joke that he loves it more than his family. But no, he's he's a dedicated guy. He loves what he does. And and he'll take any opportunity really to to try and bring in a younger crowd, bring in new ideas. You know, he's always looking for, you know, younger college people and stuff. So I think he would he would be a hoot on this show is a really, really social guy, really, you know, just ecstatic to talk to people.

[00:07:43] So, yeah. So note for generations that are not Gen Z that are looking for this like like these younger generations appreciate that and are open to it. And it might be one of the best ways that our generations can actually bring in good young talent. Absolutely. Eli, I want to ask you because I know there's a big contrast between you joining a big company and your brother who's been on joining a small company.

[00:08:09] And in fact, when I talked to your brother in an earlier episode, he was comparing offers, you know, and like, what's this and what's that? And I think you kind of once and done it, found something. One shot at it. Yeah. So what what you know, when you're thinking about that, what what were you thinking about joining a big company versus what you just seen your brother do and join something that was smaller?

[00:08:34] Yeah. So I think for me, my biggest concern being one of Julie Fernandez's children was really playing it conservative and getting really, you know, just security was was the main thing. Right. And right out of college, that's the best thing you can ask for. You haven't proven yourself yet as an asset to any company. You know, you're relatively more disposable than the veterans who have been at companies for 10, 15, 20 years.

[00:09:03] So for me, the main thing that I was looking for was, you know, where's a company where where I can, you know, have a secure job and where the benefits are are solidified and there's, you know, comprehensive programs around everything. You know, your your your bonuses like the structure is there. The infrastructure is there for you to have a successful career.

[00:09:28] And although it may not be as lucrative as some other smaller companies that may be entice you with higher base pay or stock options or things like that, I was really just looking for, you know, right out of college to get a good job at, you know, a larger company. I'll get to learn a lot of things. I'll be able to expand my network unlike any, you know, job at a smaller company would be able to do.

[00:09:52] And although it's not as personal, I do think that I meet, you know, like so many people every single week. I'm meeting new people. I'm connecting with new people. And and yeah, I just I think that the security aspect of it and and just understanding that I would have an amazing company to throw on my resume for future employers was also appealing. So I think that was probably my approach looking at Ford.

[00:10:22] Awesome. You probably listen to me more than your brother did, I suppose. Maybe, maybe we each go our own routes. That's right. You're each your own individuals. Hey, so tell me talk to me a little bit about working from home. I happen to know that's how, you know, you started out and and then we'll morph into the conversation around what changed and, you know, how you're working now. What how was the climate when you first joined and what was going on? Yeah.

[00:10:50] So my first six months of the rotation there, what pretty much everyone was working from home. I tried to really encourage myself to go into the office. And that was very difficult because none of my peers were at the office. None of my supervisors were at the office. Everyone was at home. And that happened for probably the first six months, which really, I think, stunted my learning curve.

[00:11:15] Um, but then I want to say late 2023, maybe very beginning of 24, Ford had announced that they want people to be in the office at least three days a week. Um, so that really helped, you know, started coming in, meeting all the people that I've been seeing on WebEx calls and and Teams chats and everything. And, uh, and I could really start to see my learning pick up.

[00:11:38] Um, so I think that, you know, working from home, although I still do it now, the occasional like Mondays and Fridays, I'll typically do from home because that's what most people do. Um, I really do believe in the value of being in person and, um, you know, interacting with your coworkers. I think it increases, uh, productivity like infinitely.

[00:11:59] And I really started to see that with my deliverables and everything, like being able to walk up to my supervisor and ask their opinion right away instead of, you know, waiting maybe an hour or so just communicating through chat or Outlook or whatever it may be. Um, so yeah, I think I love where we're at now where I can interact with my coworkers and my supervisors almost on a daily basis. Yeah. So, so very interesting. You know, everybody, like you said, everybody's style is different.

[00:12:27] And, uh, you, you and your brother did the earliest of our Gen Z podcasts. It's, it's on the stack for anyone looking for it, where you use chat GPT to interview about your first jobs. And there was a stark difference and you were still in those doom and gloom days at the time. So it's actually pretty funny to listen to in hindsight, if anyone is interested in kind of hearing the point of view at that very moment on going into an office where there's nobody there. Nobody. Yeah.

[00:12:56] It was, it was, it was ghost town. Like seriously. I mean, I would go in and it's like an open desk concept. So we would have this floor that we could sit wherever. And I think there was maybe like 10 people on the whole floor, none of which were on my team. It was all, you know, other people. And so I was just sitting there alone in an office, like doing the same thing, doing the WebEx stuff, except I had to drive 45 minutes into work. So I was like, screw this. I'm not going to do this anymore.

[00:13:25] So then I did eventually just start working from home more often. Um, but yeah, now I, I love going into the office. Yeah. Okay, cool. Well that everybody will be different, but that's certainly one take right on the impact that has on, on someone starting their career. Mm-hmm. So, Hey, let's get back to the whole idea of the intern program, because I think I understand that that's really the vehicle that Ford uses and it has rotations and some other stuff. Right.

[00:13:52] And that's how they basically bring in new hires that are just graduating and starting their career. Right. Yep. Exactly. So, so Ford's, um, CFP, uh, program, the one that I'm in is specifically designed to, to take college graduates and really get them a, a well-rounded understanding of how Ford, uh, works, you know, in all facets of the company.

[00:14:17] So there are three main, I guess, rotations they want you to hit. Um, one is in like corporate finance and forecasting. Um, one is in product development and then the last one is in like a controller's office for a plant.

[00:14:33] So you really, you get to pretty much, you know, have product development, plant finance and forecast, and you get really a good array of all the different aspects of, you know, from, from start to finish what that looks like. And the purpose of that, you know, it's a three year rotation. You do one year at each. And the purpose of that is right out of college. You know, you don't have any experience, right?

[00:14:58] I'm not going to lie and say that I knew what I was doing in those first, you know, six months to a year of my job. And I would have been, you know, totally screwed if, if they, uh, asked me to like, Hey, can you forecast this thing? And I'd be like, I don't even know how to start. Like, where do I even begin? Um, but now having, you know, a whole rotation under my belt, moving on to my second, I'm going to be far more successful at this next rotation than my last and my next than this one.

[00:15:27] And then ultimately at the end of that rotation, you're very knowledgeable on all the systems, you understand all the processes and you're, you know, infinitely more, um, desirable than, than someone that just popped out of college. Right. You, you spend three years with them and you've become an asset.

[00:15:46] And I think that that's a really great take on hiring, um, you know, getting your employees prepared and building a program that really focuses in on let's teach these people, um, our systems and our processes. And then, and then, you know, let them loose into, into our company to, to really initiate change. Um, so I, I like the way that it's structured. I, you know, I wouldn't leave it for anything right now. Someone could come in with a juicy offer.

[00:16:16] I'm finishing this thing till the end. And, uh, and I'm really looking forward to this rotation in my next. I want to take a break real quick, just to let you know about a new show. We've just added to the network up next at work hosted by Jean and Kate Akil of the Devin group. Fantastic show. If you're looking for something that pushes the norm, pushes the boundaries, has some really spirited conversations.

[00:16:43] Google up next at work, Jean and Kate Akil from the Devin group. Yeah.

[00:16:50] And that's a, that's an interesting point, Eli, because didn't you at, at one point in time, actually through your connections and the people that you were talking to and learning how to meet and interact with folks in different departments and in different roles, actually have an opportunity to consider jumping out of the program and, you know, prematurely getting into the, I'm a hired, I'm, I'm actually hired into a permanent job. Like, yeah, yeah, that opportunity. Yeah.

[00:17:17] That opportunity came, um, you know, probably third quarter late last year. Um, talking in quarters, like a finance, probably came in late last year. Um, and I had the opportunity to pretty much jump ship on the rotation and to move down to one of the new battery plants, um, because they're, you know, working on hiring and everything. And it was a really, really cool opportunity.

[00:17:42] Um, you know, I would have had to leave state and there were a lot of things to consider, but ultimately I, I spoke very openly with my, um, my supervisors, my bosses. And, you know, came to the conclusion that it's more important for me to finish this rotation. I'm, I'm very, you know, start to finish kind of guy.

[00:18:03] And so I was really battling with this and I, I was speaking with them and they said, yeah, you know, I think the right move for you is to, to see this thing through to the end, you know, learn whatever you can get the most that you can out of it. And then you can go wherever you want. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I think maybe what's interesting is now you're just starting your second rotation and it actually has a link to that, you know, EV electric vehicle program in some way.

[00:18:30] So it's different role, but you'll get some exposure in the intern program, right? Yeah. Yeah. My, my first rotation, um, was in commercial, um, software services for, for Ford. And, uh, and that was super neat. That was the, the finance forecasting, you know, it was kind of more corporate big picture, uh, work, which was really tough as a first rotation. I think like, you know, if you start with the micro and then grow into the macro, it makes more sense.

[00:18:59] I started right there and I was like, what does this even, what are we selling here? There's subscriptions. Like, what, what are we depreciating? It's a, it's a subscription. Like the, a lot of it just wasn't clicking. You know, you can't see a vehicle roll off the lot and you're like, okay, there's a, you know, a $15,000 investment that we're going to make X amount off of. It's like, you're working with all these kind of obscure cloud and data costs and everything. So it was really tough.

[00:19:24] But as I started to learn and, and really understand what I was doing now, my next rotation is in product development for, you know, for software for Ford model vehicles. So I kind of have like a little bit of understanding on, on what they're trying to achieve, um, what, you know, the, the different cost pillars for the products that we're developing are. And I think it really helped me fundamentally, uh, grasp the work that I'm doing in this next rotation.

[00:19:52] Um, so they're designing it super well. They, they know where I was, they know where I'm going. Um, there's a whole committee that, that orchestrates the, you know, there are like 200 and change of us just kind of moving around these positions and, uh, and they're, they're doing a really good job making sure that it's all cohesive and, and kind of flows together. Yeah. Awesome. You know, I'm just curious among your friends group, right. And others, your age, do, do a lot of folks have opportunities like this that are that structured?

[00:20:21] Are you finding, you know, I'll say kids, I'm sorry, everybody like young adults, like you guys, are you finding you guys, you know, ending up in a role and it's just like, I'm in a role and now you either like it or you don't. And if you don't, what the heck do I do? I have to go somewhere else. I mean, um, what, what are you seeing from among your friends group of, of people? Yeah. For, for the most part, you know, I see people getting into, um, like just full-time jobs right off the bat.

[00:20:49] Um, some of them, honestly, because their entry-level positions are like, you know, they're on hourly rates. They're, you know, they're getting overtime, things like that. And, and it's just a little bit of a different structure. But I also, a lot of my friends also work at Ford because we had that same, you know, poaching dad who was just like, how can I apply your skills to Ford Motor Company? And he was like grabbing all of us.

[00:21:15] So a few of my friends ended up in similar rotations, like I am there, engineering rotations, things like that. Um, but yeah, for the most part, you know, I see my friends trickling into full-time like career jobs and stuff. And honestly, we're still early on in our careers. You know, we've only been graduated for, you know, coming up on two years. Um, so I haven't had a lot of, you know, oh, I hate my job, blah, blah, blah. Like you're in the honeymoon phase with your job still.

[00:21:43] There's no, you haven't had time to, to really grow, to, to dislike it so much to leave. But, um, I do, you know, hear little things here and there about what they like, what they don't like. And it's interesting to see them kind of work through those things because I know at the end of the day, they're going to have a decision to make that I don't necessarily have to make because I'm essentially a contracted employee. And at the end of my term, you know, it's either job offer or not.

[00:22:11] And, and if not, then I'll find something else. Um, yeah, but I, I guess I have a little bit of, um, security, um, through that. So, yeah, so yeah, I feel like it would be a different conversation, you know, two years from now, um, when they start kind of churning off to other jobs. Yeah. Yeah. Well, as an HR person, you know, you said something just a few minutes back that I think would make a lot of HR people's, you know, eyes light up. And that is I'm in it.

[00:22:38] I, I had this point where I could decide whether I bail or not and, you know, I'm in it for the experience and that's going to keep me there at least through, you know, I think it's a three year rotation, right? But the first rotation wasn't exactly a year. So three isn't five, but, but there's one way to hang on to somebody, you know, a young worker who then still has something to look forward to after that. Yeah. I mean, yeah, you're, you're, you're pulling, you know, these kids, I'm going to call them kids too.

[00:23:07] You know what? I graduated, I did my tenure, they're kids, these kids coming out of college and, uh, and you, and, you know, for the past four years, typically four years, you know, they're in learning mode and they're all about learning and growing their, their education and their understanding of, of their area of study.

[00:23:25] And if you come up and offer them, you know, here's an opportunity to continue learning when you're already in that mindset to continue learning and also make, you know, a salary doing so. Um, I think that, that, you know, these, these college students would jump at that opportunity because they're, you know, maybe feeling a little bit, not so confident in themselves and their ability to apply what they've learned on textbook in the workforce. Yeah.

[00:23:53] And it's really scary. I was there too. Like I was terrified for my first day at work. Um, because I'm like, I, I, you know, I learned the textbook, you know, definitions of everything and, and, but I haven't been able to apply it anywhere. I haven't been able to apply my, you know, my Excel classes, my forecasting classes, like now is the big leagues. I got to figure it out. And I think having that, that incremental structure of like, we're going to walk you through this.

[00:24:19] We're going to make sure that there are safeguards in place to where you can't make, you know, major errors. And it's like, it's impossible to biff it that hard. Like they're making sure they understand that we're, you know, fresh out of college. They're not going to give us the key to the gate, right? Like we're, we're getting tons of checks on our work and it's really great to have that, that fostering kind of overview of your work.

[00:24:44] So, yeah, I think that that's, that's definitely a great thing that I wish more companies did. And there are tons of companies that do. Um, but you know, seeing where my friends end up and stuff, I'm like, man, if only your company offered some, something like this, you know, you'd be less stressed. You'd be, you know, kind of more confident in your abilities and everything. So, so yeah, that's, it's a really great thing what they're doing here.

[00:25:09] Awesome. Well, so, you know, without getting any into anything like super personal to you or whatever, you've now been through performance review, right? Things like performance review and, and, and, and bonus and merit types of stuff. And I'm just conscious of the fact that in a big company like Ford going kind of the conservative route, as you put it, is probably a very different experience than what Nico has been going through your brother in the prior episode.

[00:25:35] So what's your, what's been your experience with some of that? Is it, you know, useful? Is, can anybody evaluate your performance? So yeah, you know, I listened to Nico's episode and it sounded like there were just a lot of changes going around, right? Like they were switching health insurance coverage. They were doing all these different, you know, maybe you, maybe we're not doing a match this year because we're, you know, undergoing some other stuff and whatever.

[00:26:03] Um, I have found that I'm, I'm very, very content with my benefits package. I think it's both competitive, but also conservative. Um, and I just know that, you know, when reelection time comes around and I've got to, you know, select my stuff, like it's all the same thing. There's nothing new. There's nothing really huge happening. If anything really big is happening, they like, they make sure, you know, they're sending you emails, emails, emails.

[00:26:31] They're like, here's this new, you know, health, like here's this new health insurance provider we're going with or something. That's never happened. They're always the same exact benefits every single year. And you can just reallocate your dollars. However you want to, you know, if you want to contribute more to retirement, so be it like there's nothing changing. And for me that, that brings me a lot of peace, um, peace of mind, just knowing that the benefits I have this year are going to be the same that I'm going to have, you know, three years from now, four years from now.

[00:27:01] And there's not going to be anything super crazy happening where they're going to drop off their contributions or they're going to do anything like that. So, um, yeah, I think that's probably. So for you, that's a plus, right? You didn't have to worry about big swings when one way or another with the choices that you made.

[00:27:17] Yeah. Yeah. That, and you know, we use, um, we use a light and I love how interactive it is, how, um, you know, you can really break down like everything. And, and I love the, just the, the, how easy it is to use and to navigate and everything. It's very user friendly. Um, and so I've, I've really enjoyed having that visibility into my benefits and really being able to look into it and not have to reach out to an HR person and be like, what the heck's going on?

[00:27:47] How do I access my stuff? You know, it's all there. It's all ready to use. This is not a sponsorship. I just, I like, I like what the system that we've chosen is really, really nice. I didn't know you even knew who did your, so most people don't. And, uh, and so I have another, in some way you have an ounce of HR nerd in you, maybe. I'm thinking. Some of it shed it off from, uh, just from being raised by you, I guess.

[00:28:15] Yeah, I suppose. And we don't know what dangerous impacts we might impart to our, to our kids, right? Whether voluntary or involuntary. Right. All right. Well, listen, there's something that I really, I, I want it whenever we're talking shop, you know, you've had some pretty candid observations about working with boomers and Gen X's. And of course, boomers and Gen X's, you know, are, are not shy about making some generalizations about working with Gen Z's, right?

[00:28:43] That's part of why this whole series is kind of interesting to folks. And sometimes those stories start with homie doesn't know how to, and then there's some technology after that, right? And it just makes me bust a gut every time I listen to you, you know, talking about your experience working with older workforce generations. So like, I don't know, share something. Yeah.

[00:29:07] You know, this is consider this the, the, the call to war on, on Gen X or is, you know, trash in my generation here. Um, there is definitely a major technology gap that I am seeing with my coworkers, you know, with adjacent team members and everything. Where, you know, like they understand really, really well, big picture, what they're doing, you know, the, the deliverables that they need to send and everything.

[00:29:37] When it comes down to the practice of how to do it, that's where I think that it gets quite, um, antiquated and they're using, you know, I think I was, I was telling you in the car that, you know, they, they'll like use. They're, they'll try so hard to avoid any keyboard shortcuts and it bothers me because, because we work in Excel all day. I'm staring at Excel sheets for 10, 11 hours a day. It's all I do.

[00:30:03] And so, you know, naturally you got to learn the shortcuts to make your work easier. And every single time I hop on a call with an older, you know, man or woman who's, you know, ripping through an Excel sheet and it's just click and click and click and click. I'm like, please, I've got like six more meetings to get to. Can we just get through this? You know, control C, control V. That's like fundamental. You should know that.

[00:30:32] And, uh, and it's been frustrating working with them. I found that, that actually in opening up about it though, um, I have been able to, to almost become like somewhat of a teacher, you know, like they'll, they'll be open to feedback. If I see they're doing something, I'm like, Hey, by the way, did you know there was this like cool way to, to do that quicker? And then they're like, Oh my God. Yeah. I'll write that down and I'll use that moving forward and stuff, whether it's a new formula that maybe works better or something like that.

[00:31:01] Um, and that's only some of the time. Well, whether they actually, they probably write it down to humor you. Now, do they actually use it the next time around? I don't know. I am not sure, but they do write it down on pen and paper, which is already a red flag.

[00:31:16] I already know that that is like number one tell that you may not be implementing this technological, you know, change to your process as you're writing it down with a number two pencil on a piece of paper. Um, but no, it's been, you know, it's been difficult at times. Um, a lot of them are really stuck in their ways and like, well, this is the way that I've been doing it for, you know, 10 years. So I'm going to keep doing it that way. It's the way I know.

[00:31:45] And, um, you know, it, it kind of bothers me that they're not, you know, maybe more open-minded because I'm always trying to be, and I know I'm not all the time, but I'm always trying to be more open-minded about their processes. And maybe they're doing things more by the book that, you know, here are how the desk procedures have it laid out. They're really sticking to it. Right. And, and I know that that's somewhere where I could grow, um, personally and professionally.

[00:32:11] And so there's, there's a really cool dynamic that goes back and forth, but it's really reliant on the recipient hearing and listening and being open to that feedback. And I feel like I'm maybe getting that half the time. Um, so, so yeah, I think, I think it's a good thing. I think that there's, there's a huge, you know, there's a lot you can learn from other generations.

[00:32:33] And I think that just because you have the experience and you have the years on us, um, you know, you can still learn a thing or two from, from my generation. We're not completely useless. Okay. We're getting, we're, we're trying to get there to, to really be, you know, valuable. But in the meantime, you know, we've got a couple of tricks up our sleeve that could make your, your job easier. Yeah.

[00:32:56] Well, and let's see if this holds true because so far, you know, my, my gut tells me that it's going to be a lot easier to, you know, kind of perpetuate this Gen Z series and, and have, um, kids. We'll just keep using the term kids that are young adults that are interested and open to coming on and doing a quick podcast. And, and, uh, and that isn't the same, that's not the same receptiveness that I get from folks in my own generation. Right.

[00:33:22] So we'll see, we'll see how quickly we can pile up a few of these and, and, uh, just keep, keep some of the series going. Yeah. I think we, we feel, uh, suppressed and maybe, you know, a bit, a bit like, you know, held under the water at times and any opportunity we get to be like, I know something. We're going to jump at it because we do know a thing, at least one, and we're going to share that with the world.

[00:33:46] And, uh, yeah, I think, you know, talking to my friends and stuff like an opportunity like this would be really, really neat. And, and they're super excited about it. Um, but yeah, I think, I think that's the, the general consensus from at least my inner circle. There you go. All right. Well, you're starting there. You're starting to represent March for your generation. I'm trying. So let's start. I got two more things just to wrap us up.

[00:34:14] The first thing I was going to ask is just tell folks what's next for you. Like, what are you looking forward to in the work, work wise in the workplace here? Yeah. So I, like I said before, I love the company that I work at. I think Ford's a great company to work at. Um, I have. I've kind of gotten, um, frustrated over the past almost two years, um, of, of working

[00:34:39] there with just how, I guess, like politicized and how, you know, formal and how everything is right. Everything's a structure. Everything's a procedure. Everything's, you got to follow this. You got to follow that. You got to get approvals. So what I've found is something that may traditionally only need to take a week, 10 days, ends up taking, you know, three months, six months, eight months. And, and that for me is really, really frustrating.

[00:35:07] And I see things going through approval chains and I'm pinging people almost every day. I'm like, please approve this. We need this. Please approve it. We need it. And it just takes so long. Um, and there's no way around it because, you know, the systems are set up to where you have to get X and Y approval. And that's just how it is. So I think, um, what, and, and it all depends, right? Every, anything can change, but I would like to, at some point in my career, um, try a smaller

[00:35:35] company like Nico's pursuing and just seeing what that environment's like where you, you can enact more change, um, on your own. Yeah. Right. Or maybe with the supervision of like one or two people and not have approval chains of 30, 40 people that need to send something through and really be able to, to, to make differences a lot quicker and, you know, maybe initiate new processes. Like if I want to start a new process now, it's quite difficult.

[00:36:04] Like you got to really write it out. It's got to be approved. You got, you know, internal controls comes in and they're like, what's going on? You're changing something. And, uh, it's just kind of a pain. And so like, I see areas where maybe some things could be improved. And I just wish that I could, um, just start it, right. Just go for it and show my boss, like, here's what we're going to do. And I think it's going to be great. And if you hate it, you can shut it down and we'll go back to the drawing board. Right. Right.

[00:36:32] Finding that out next day instead of four months from now. And then be like, okay, back to the drawing board. So, um, so yeah, I think that's probably at some point going to be in my career. Um, you know, whether that's in the near term or the far term, I'm not sure. It kind of depends on what happens with Ford. You know, I've, I'm really content and satisfied with my job there. So I'm not going to be so quick as to say at the end of my three years, I'm out of here. Like I don't, I don't have a dislike for them.

[00:36:59] Actually, as, as, uh, you know, your mentor brings in a whole host of, you know, of, of young Gen Zs all over the place everywhere. You know, there's also the possibility that that's the influence that your generation has is to help figure out like, yeah, it's been, you know, it's been like this and there's, you know, it's kind of the difference. One of the key differences between large and small companies and, and does it have to be like that? Or, you know, is it through new softwares and different workflows and more, you know, you

[00:37:26] were telling me about just reclassing workers and categorizing them, you know, could be, could be just, you know, like an endless tailspin of, I think I got it done. Oh no, it went back to where it was. How did that happen? Part of that is because we are using the, uh, the ancient people soft. For those of you who don't know, that's essentially like reading Latin. It's, it's a dead language.

[00:37:52] It's very, you know, you'd see it in a antique store, but, um, it's, uh, it's really, you know, tough because I, I feel, and maybe this is my own bias that like having some understanding of the work that the finance team is doing is very important for our human resources counterparts. Um, and, and I've found that, you know, the more I talk to them and they're genuinely

[00:38:19] interested, the more I talk to them about what we're trying to achieve, it helps them so much with their job and what with, you know, enacting the changes that we're trying to implement. Um, so really just opening up the board, um, to speak to your counterparts that are in other divisions of the company, um, is super crucial. And, and I found, you know, a lot of my team members and even myself getting locked into this box where we're like, you know, I'm going to talk to the finance people.

[00:38:46] I'm going to talk to the finance people and like not opening up to marketing or HR or, you know, operations or anything like that. So, um, we're getting there. We are trying to enact some change in our, our department mappings and everything. And it's a, it's a slow walk, but, um, the, the more that we work with them and the more that we talk with them, they're really starting to put the pieces together and be like, okay, I understand what you guys are trying to achieve here. Let's get there.

[00:39:11] So, so Gen Zers everywhere, like be bold and open up those conversations because maybe some of us are, you know, a little stuck in our ways and, and don't do it as freely and as openly as we should be to make sure that we're, we're, uh, blending the lines of communication. All right, Eli. Well, thanks so much for jumping on the call. If Pete were here today, he would say, man, you're in finance. I think you should try payroll. Cause it is the coolest place to be.

[00:39:41] So that's for another day. It's for another day. You're going to bring me over to the dark side now. Yeah, we might bring you over to the dark side. But, um, but, uh, so I have to fit that in on Pete's behalf. Otherwise we usually wrap up with like, so how can people get ahold of you? Where can they find you? How can they reach you? And I was, I was, I hate to say it, I was looking in LinkedIn and I'm like, ah, my kid doesn't have a LinkedIn profile. Do you have one? Yeah. Of course.

[00:40:08] I've got the most legit LinkedIn profile you've ever seen. Really? I worked hard to get to that 500 plus connections that everyone's searches for. But yeah, I just, Elias Fernandez on LinkedIn. You didn't find it? I didn't find it. So we will because we'll put it in the show notes in case anybody wants to reach out and give Eli a shout or in case you're in his friends would network or not in his friends network. And you really want to kind of help shed some light on your own Gen Z experience.

[00:40:37] I'm on a mission now to bring more than my own two sons forward. All right. So, so you do have a LinkedIn. We're going to find it and I'm going to stick it in the show notes. And thank you so much for joining us today and sharing your experience and, and maybe helping me kick off and start a whole host of others, including your mentor, who's the biggest Ford recruiter ever without being an HR guy. Oh my gosh. Yeah.

[00:41:05] Give this man some bonus pay for real. He's, he's bringing in some young talent. But yeah, thank you so much for, for having me. It was a blast talking with you about all this. So thank you. All right. Take care.