Seven Elements Young Professionals Search for When Choosing a Career
A conversation with Michael Lloyd, PCIA
I have done this podcast with Kim, our founding principal, and I thought it would be interesting to go to the other end of the spectrum and bring on one of our youngest, newest team members. Michael Lloyd joined us here at PCIA not long ago, and he came in with an idea for this episode that I thought was genuinely worth exploring.
Michael is 24. He got married in May, passed his insurance licensing exam the following Wednesday, and has been building his career here ever since. He is also, for what it is worth, married to a third-degree black belt and two-time national silver medalist in taekwondo. So between the two of them, they are a force to be reckoned with.
The topic he brought to the table is one I think applies well beyond our industry. For our eleventh episode of the Pro Concepts podcast, we talked through seven elements young professionals are looking for when they choose where to build their careers. Whether you run a law firm, a CPA practice, a design firm, or a technology company, understanding what this generation is weighing when they walk through your door is worth your attention.
1. Large company or small company: know which environment you are built for.
Michael had internship experience at both ends of the spectrum before he joined us, and what he found at the larger organization was a lot of freedom with very little structure. At 18, that sounded appealing. In practice, it left him feeling like he was wandering around without direction.
The smaller setting was different. People knew his name. Relationships formed. He could see where his work connected to the bigger picture. When he was interviewing here, he was asking the right questions to understand what kind of place PCIA actually was, not just what the job description said.
I came out of college and worked for two large companies before landing where I did, and I felt the same thing. In a smaller or mid-size firm, you become an intricate part of the operation. You learn faster, you learn more, and frankly, you matter in a way that is harder to achieve when you are one of thousands.
2. Room to be your true creative self.
Young professionals are not looking to check boxes. They want to contribute in ways that reflect who they actually are.
Michael has a strong eye for design and presentation. Early on, we gave him ownership of a pitch deck for a prospective client. Not a template to fill in, but a real creative challenge to make something fresh and compelling. He took it seriously. He was proud of it. That kind of ownership is what keeps people engaged, and it costs nothing to offer.
3. Direct relationships with clients.
One of the things Michael pointed out about his role here is that when a client calls our main number and hits zero, they get a real person who knows them, knows their account, and can get them where they need to go in seconds. No hold music. No automated menus. No voicemail maze.
That kind of client-facing responsibility, even early in a career, matters to young professionals more than most employers realize. It signals trust. It signals that the work they are doing is real and consequential. Michael takes that seriously, and our clients can feel it.
4. Access to the whole team, including leadership.
At a lot of companies, the owner is a name on the wall or a face on a Zoom call once a quarter. Michael comes in, and we talk every day. He takes two steps and he is talking to Theresa. A few more and he has Katherine or May on the phone.
That kind of access is not just nice to have. It accelerates development in a way that no training program can replicate. When you can ask anyone on the team anything, and when everyone on the team is genuinely invested in your growth, you learn what would otherwise take years in a fraction of the time. Michael said it well: everybody cares about what you are doing, not just because it affects their own work, but because they actually want you to succeed.
5. A clear opportunity to grow.
Young professionals want to know there is a path, even if it is not perfectly mapped out. Michael came in as an account manager because it is the right place to learn the business from the ground up. From day one, though, the conversation included where that role could lead, what other parts of the agency he might grow into, and what his strengths pointed toward.
He has a background in training and coaching that fits naturally with some of the work we do with our clients around professional development. That might become part of his path here. The point is that the conversation happened early, and it has continued. Young professionals are not just evaluating the job in front of them. They are evaluating whether the organization will invest in where they are going.
6. Location and commute.
This one is practical, but it is real. We spent close to 20 years with our office in Ann Arbor while most of our team lived up in the Brighton area. When we finally built our own building and moved, the difference was immediate. People got two hours of their days back. Sleep improved. Family time increased. It changed everything.
Michael lives in Howell and drives about 15 minutes to the office. He has done the hour-long commutes before, and he knew going in that it was not something he wanted long term. Studies consistently show that younger professionals weigh commute time more heavily than previous generations did. If you want to attract and keep this talent pool, it is worth factoring into how you think about where your business operates.
7. A culture that encourages time away from work.
This is not about people wanting to work less. It is about working somewhere that understands life exists outside the office, and that time to recharge actually makes people better at their jobs.
We offer unlimited PTO here, and what Michael observed is exactly what I have seen too: nobody abuses it, because the culture does not invite abuse. What it does instead is build trust. When someone on the team has a child's game or a family commitment, the expectation is that they go. We cover for each other, and the work still gets done.
Michael mentioned that his dad, despite a long commute, made it to every one of his sporting events from seventh grade on. That stayed with him. He is not going to be the parent who misses those moments, and he chose a place that would not ask him to.
What I found most valuable about this conversation was the reminder that the fundamentals have not changed all that much. Young professionals want to do meaningful work, be known as individuals, have access to people who will invest in them, and build something with room to grow. The context is different, and the expectations around flexibility and culture are higher than they used to be. But at the core, they want what anyone wants from a career worth having.
If you are building a team and wondering why you are losing people before they hit their stride, these seven elements are a good place to start the conversation.
To reach PCIA, visit pciaonline.com or call 800-969-4041.