I had an interesting conversation the other day with The Prometheus Institute Founder Matt Harrison, who’s traveling around the country trying to excite Gen Y about the idea of becoming entrepreneurs. His project is called “People for the American Dream,” and his plan is to have a presence at job fairs so that the spirit of entrepreneurship is represented as Gen Yers figure out the next step in their careers. Our conversation had some interesting take-aways for corporate recruiters.

I asked Matt if he thought large corporations would be surprised to look across the isle and see him as part of the competition. “Yes, I think it will be weird,” he chuckled. But he went on to explain that his definition of entrepreneurship is pretty loose (on purpose), saying that newly created jobs that have never existed before within established entities give people the opportunity to build something from the ground up. OK – so that’s a pretty simple idea, but I don’t know that corporations are truly using this as a selling point (when appropriate) to the sometimes angsty Gen Yers who are looking for positions where they feel they can make a difference right off the bat.

With all of the research and buzz about how Gen Yers want their employers to act like parents, I asked Matt (a Gen Yer himself) if he thought entrepreneurial roles were the right fit for them. He said this is where Gen Y is sort of divided down the middle. “Yes, we have notoriously high expectations,” he said. “We’ve been raised in a prosperous environment. We believe we have certain talents and want to be able to express them.

“I think half of us are what I call ‘floaters’ and the other half are potential entrepreneurs. The floaters are who you hear about all of the time. They don’t want to work hard. They’re still living with their parents. They are going the safe route. Some of us want a syllabus even once we’re out of college, and when you have your own business, you don’t have that. But the other half has tremendous ambition and the desire to create value.”

There are a couple of traits Matt said Gen Yers share across the board. “We have a strong sense of social consciousness. We have an intuitive appreciation for technology, and are very confident about using it and coming up with new ideas for improving it.”

And for Gen Yers who feel like a recession is not the right time to start a business, Matt said, “This actually transcends all generations – people’s insecurities are pretty universal. People are afraid they’re not going to make money. They don’t know what their talents are. In the case of Gen Y, we don’t really understand yet how the market works. Anytime is a great time to start a business. Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson and Apple all started in a down market. You have to throw caution to the wind and get past the fear and live your dreams.”