Q: There are numerous books on hiring, managing and motivating millennials, but I am not going to read them. I see this generation in action when I shop, go to restaurants or need service at a business. What I see so far are 20-somethings who feel it's OK to finish their personal calls while a customer or client is waiting to be helped. I don't need a book to tell me millennials are lacking in manners, vocabulary and conversational skills. Maybe these authors should write books asking why baby boomers made such bad parents.

A: While everyone has probably heard the expression, "no problem" instead of "I'd be happy to help," it won't serve anyone to negatively stereotype an entire generation. To assure you that all millennials are not lazy and unmotivated because of their age, I interviewed Mark Ternstrom, senior director for the Chicago consulting group at Robert Half. Ternstrom, a 28-year-old college graduate with a degree in finance and economics broke many records in a meteoric rise at the nationwide consulting company. He is not from the Ivy League born with parental connections, or even from the top 10. What he accomplished stemmed from serious work ethics, high energy, and the attitude of "if I want something, I have to work for it and prove myself."

Ternstrom was one of the first people to be hired fresh out of college at Robert Half. The company standard was to hire only those with 5 to 10 years of accounting and business experience. The company wanted accounting professionals who did not want to practice accounting, but felt that only these professionals were capable of understanding the business and working with clients. Ternstrom answered a job advertisement for Robert Half whose client wanted an entry-level financial analyst. In the interview, Mark wanted to know what this woman's job entailed, and he wasn't afraid to ask. As a comfortable and confident conversationalist, he asked this hiring manager, "Can you make good money?" She described her path up the corporate ladder as a manager and told him most people make $100,000 in the first year.

After saying he would think about the financial analyst job, he went home and researched the hiring field. He found the industry to be high paying and growing. He also had a list of values he wanted met: the potential for making money and a corporate culture of collaboration and transparency. He also researched the CEO of Robert Half and admired the man for turning a $12 million company into a $5 billion company.

He contacted the manager and said he didn't want the entry-level job, but instead wanted to be a staffing manager for Robert Half. He promised if he didn't do better within 60 days than anyone else just starting in that position, the company could fire him. The lackadaisical and entitled frame of mind normally applied to millennials doesn't exist in Mark. This is why stereotyping can be so debilitating, not just to individuals in the job market, but to companies that want to succeed. Ternstrom was hungry to work hard, and his confidence was not arrogance. He told the hiring manager, "I haven't always been first place, but I've been second." His path has taken him from a top producing staffing manager to division director to branch manager to assistant vice president branch manager. He's now senior director, selling the highest-level product at Robert Half. He recruits numerous millennials, but all must be hungry, motivated, innovative and able to see the big picture. They must have that spark. It doesn't sound like the millennials described as a generation, but Ternstrom reaches into his extensive network and finds the best.

His take on millennials (if one must stereotype) is that they like working in small teams because they can accomplish more in a faster amount of time. Out of 27 of his new hires, 19 have stayed and done exceptionally well, while five were stolen by competitors — not a bad recruiting record for a millennial.

Email your questions to workplace expert Lindsey Novak at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter@The LindseyNovak. To find out more about Lindsey Novak and to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.