Now your employer has gone and done it: made a Millennial the boss. It’s happening more and more these days; according to a recent survey by CareerBuilder, 38 percent of respondents work for a younger boss. While most of those workers get along well with their younger bosses, some don’t, citing young bosses who think they know more than their more-experienced staff, bosses who favor younger workers, and bosses who assume their mature staffers would be more comfortable on a typewriter than a tablet. So how can you jive with a younger boss if you were in the corporate world before your boss was even born?

• Learn to love technology. Don’t be the relic on the typewriter. Know your way around social media sites. Find out what “the Cloud” is and how to use it. Train on any computer programs (especially office staples like Microsoft Word and Excel) you aren’t 100 percent comfortable with. And most important, embrace quick ways of communicating, such as instant messaging and text messaging, because chances are your boss will favor communicating with you that way and will expect a response! Demonstrating a willingness to learn, not just new technology but new ideas or procedures, can take you far with a younger boss.
• Understand that they’re the boss for a reason. An employee’s date of birth doesn’t determine employment value. And where a younger boss may be wrong in assuming you’re technologically challenged, you may be wrong in assuming they’re experientially challenged. Try to remember, senior management saw something in your new boss—exceptional leadership qualities, brave new ideas—that made for management material. So trust that decision and do your best to see the strengths they saw.
• Be yourself. By this, we mean if you are older, don’t try to adopt an artificially youthful style to better relate to your younger boss. You’ll find plenty of ways to relate (shared interests, sense of humor, common goals) that don’t involve you squeezing into skinny jeans or being “down with the new lingo.” Instead of impressing with a hip new style, impress with your attitude and performance!
• Remember that they’re your boss, not your child. If you have a son or daughter roughly your boss’ age, it can be tough to resist parental impulses. Keep it professional—try not to let your constructive criticism turn into scolding, or your professional support turn into coddling. And never, ever say, “When I was your age . . .” unless you want to be reminded of other things your boss thinks happened when you were their age, like the dawn of the dinosaurs.

Having a younger boss can make for a tough adjustment, but it is only one transition of the many you will face in your career. A younger boss can encourage you to learn new approaches and technologies you might have otherwise overlooked, and to open yourself up to new possibilities. You will find your groove with your new boss soon enough, and may find you’re professionally better for it!