What do early-career employees really need to grow—and stay? In this Leading Up episode, Jennifer Barnes from Celanese shares how organizations can empower Gen Z with purpose-driven onboarding, career mobility, and learning pathways that stick. 🎯 From internships and reverse mentoring to project ownership and AI exploration, Jennifer breaks down how to meet new talent where they are—and help them thrive. Timestamps 00:00 – Meet Jennifer Barnes, L&D leader at Celanese 01:30 – Internships as a long-term talent strategy 03:00 – Why in-person work still matters 05:00 – What Gen Z brings to the table (and teaches us!) 08:00 – How Gen Z chooses where to work 09:00 – Giving interns access to Udemy & learning paths 10:30 – Interns creating content for teams 12:00 – How to lead Gen Z: connection, not control 13:00 – Reverse mentoring and relationship-building 14:00 – Why onboarding is mission-critical 16:00 – Shaping culture after a company acquisition 17:00 – Should you ever say no to a job...