This Is The One Thing You Should Never Say When Giving Feedback

There is a plethora of things that can be considered "cute."wo

A baby is cute. That guy you met your freshman year of college that you can't seem to get out of your mind is cute. Even those Facebook videos of little kittens running around are cute.

What's not cute is anything that has to do with profession.

A few months ago, I showed a friend an article that I had written. I spent days working on it, and I was extremely proud of what I had produced. I took a leap of faith and finally posted it, and decided to share my work with that friend. After reading it, the only thing that she was able to say was that it was "cute."

I don't think I have ever been more offended in my life.

I had worked a piece of myself into that article, and the fact that the only feedback that she was able to produce was "cute" was extremely disheartening.

Something that I take the time to create in a professional setting is not “cute” and should never be referred to as so. If I come to you as a young professional and show you work that I put my time and effort into, I expect you to be able to say something other than, “That's cute.”

There are exactly 171,476 words in the Oxford English Dictionary, of which there are plenty of adjectives one can use to describe something, such as engaging, compelling or even terrible. I think I would have been much less insulted if she said that it was terrible. At least then, I would have been able to alter any "cute" mistakes.

Saying something of mine is “cute” is one of most condescending things that you can say to me.

Let's just think about it for a moment.

Say you just spent hours or even days working on a project that you are proud of and when you show it to a friend, boss or colleague, all they are  able to say about it is that it's “cute.” I may not know you, but I'm almost positive that would not be the response you would be looking for.

Now let's look at the definition of cute. The dictionary defines the word cute as something that is “clever or cunning, especially in a self-seeking or superficial way.”

Older co-workers, family members and friends seem to love to use cute to describe anything that I do. I have always wondered just why they do that. Then it hit me. That same tone of voice when they say one of my works is "cute" is the same tone that they use when say something a child does is cute.

What is it about Gen-Y that makes it difficult for other generations to take us seriously?

Is it because we constantly check our phones that link us to hundreds of emails our employers send us at any given time of the day?

How about our addiction to the internet, which has allowed us to become the most tech-savvy generation?

Or maybe it's the lazy stereotype we can't seem to shake even though studies have found we are actually extremely hardworking.

Can someone explain it to me because I would really like to know.

Everything that college students do should not be taken lightly. As a student myself, I can say that we don't spend thousands and thousands of dollars and take on the emotional toll of college to be belittled. The fact that we have made the decision to spend four-plus years to better ourselves should be a hint that we are serious about our professions. With that being said, we do expect that others take us seriously as well.

We are serious about our work because we are determined achieve our goals. We are hardworking because we know what we want and we will do anything to get there.

So please, when it comes to my profession, leave the word “cute” out of it.