After 11 years of running our 40 Under 40 recognition program honoring talented young people working in dealerships — and asking them about their early careers — we had some questions of a different sort.

What are they seeking from their employers in the area of professional development? What factors are most important to them in creating job satisfaction? How important is diversity, equity and inclusion to them and their employers?

And how good is the auto retail sector in general in laying out defined career paths and offering professional development opportunities for younger employees working in dealerships?

We’ll be writing about our findings in the next week and talking about these topics Wednesday, July 6, with a couple of past 40 Under 40 honorees in a LinkedIn Live session in advance of next week’s announcement of the 2022 honorees.

The vast majority of respondents to our survey so far are still working in dealerships.

And most of them still work at the dealership group where they were employed when they received the 40 Under 40 honor. Around half of that group say they’ve gained more responsibility and/or been promoted since being honored.

It’s important to point out that that percentage is skewed downward because a big portion of that batch of respondents is made up of the 2022 honorees being revealed July 11. If you consider just the responses from 40 Under 40 honorees from previous years, well more than half reported getting promotions or more responsibility.

Of those who reported having left the dealership group where they worked at the time of their honor, virtually all said they’d moved on to positions with more influence and responsibility.

After 11 years of 40 Under 40 — and 10 years running our Best Dealerships To Work For program — we at Automotive News know how important a clear career path is to talent retention and employee satisfaction.

The vast majority of 40 Under 40 honorees responding to our survey indicated that they have a defined career path and are progressing in their personal and professional development at their companies. I’ll note that providing a career path is more than just laying out a succession of likely job titles. Employees need other kinds of support — training and mentoring, for instance — to help them climb that career ladder.

The 40 Under 40 honorees who responded to our survey say they’re generally getting that support. They also say becoming an honoree provided valuable outcomes to them such as professional recognition and, for some, opening doors to speak at industry events. Just more than two-thirds of initial survey respondents said getting the 40 Under 40 recognition helped their careers.

“It’s given me the confidence to ask for certain benefits,” one respondent wrote. “The honor was more proof to myself that I’m really good at my job and I have the talent/drive to advance in the company.”

Another respondent wrote that the achievement has been a huge career booster, “including nationwide recognition and opportunities.”

“I have been given more opportunities to speak on stages that I would have never been invited to participate in,” the respondent wrote.

Yet another respondent, from one of the early classes of 40 Under 40 honorees, said the recognition “opened many doors for me and put me on the map in retail automotive.” It ultimately led to a new position as a high-level industry executive that “would not have happened without that first spark to the flame,” the person wrote.

Many are trying to pay such benefits forward.

About half of the initial respondents said they’ve nominated or recommended colleagues or co-workers for the honor. As retail editor of Automotive News, it was especially gratifying to see this. I’ve often encouraged past honorees to tell us who we should be considering in future years. They are on the front lines of automotive retailing, and they know how to spot talent.

Survey respondents also gave us ideas about how to improve the program — perhaps providing more mentoring to applicants on how to recount their accomplishments or creating more opportunities for the 40 Under 40 honorees to network with one another.

We’ll take those ideas to heart as we look to improve this program’s influence in and service to the industry.