5 Tips to Appealing to Generational Differences in the Hiring Process

Anyone who has been employed in recent years have interacted with generations like Baby Boomers and Gen X — their wants, needs, and desires have inherently shaped work culture.

However, in 2016 Millennials became the largest generation in the workforce and Gen Z — who are just beginning to enter the job market — will become their predecessors.

For those doing hiring — especially those at small businesses who are competing for talent against the heavy hitters in their industries — this means that paying attention to the generational differences in the hiring process. Get it right the first time, and don’t lose money or time to turnover.

Identifying Generation Z and Millennial talent

The hiring process is really the process of finding the right candidate for the open roles at your company. If you’re going to entice Generation Z and Millennial talent, you’re going to have to be able to offer them jobs they’ll want and match their interests.

With Gen Z specifically, gone are the days of plain old business degrees explains Yello. This generation is increasingly seeking more meaningful work and that has begun to take the form of studying subjects like psychology in order to better understand humans and customers, or anthropology and other social sciences that give candidates an edge in understanding social systems.

Rethink how you write job descriptions

When crafting your job descriptions, stay away from seeking out talent that have narrow, traditional degrees and open the process up to broader qualifications.

Let younger candidates’ varied backgrounds shine, and you might find someone you didn’t know you were looking for.

Turn towards perks

“If you want someone younger than 28, give them perks like Kombucha,” says independent software developer Alexandre Baizeau in an interview regarding retention strategies.

As a full-time contract worker, Baizeau has a unique visibility into several of his clients’ recruiting and hiring cultures.

His takeaway: “If you want someone over 28 give them family plans, a 401(k) plan, and flexibility.”

What might sound like frivolous, food-focused nonsense perks are actually what companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and more use to attract the young talent that’s pounding down their doors.

For many in younger generations, perks like catered lunches, excellent medical benefits, flexible work policies, and the like matter.

Update your hiring strategies to boost retention

One way that younger generations are different from older ones is that they expect to hit the ground running, especially when it comes to making meaningful contributions to their new company.

Contrary to popular stereotypes, Gen Z and Millennials don’t like to sit around waiting to be useful. One of the ways that hiring teams can address this from the get-go — and boost retention in the process — is by ensuring that their onboarding process is informative, useful, and continuous.

Take integration into office culture seriously

Begin introducing younger new hires to their co-workers and managers as soon as possible and allow for their involvement in social activities.

Scheduling regular check-ins throughout the first 30, 60, and 90 days or so to ensure that your new hires are fitting in as hoped and that their expectations are being met can go a long way in their employee satisfaction.

It also gives you the chance to course-correct before a new hire quits out of what seems like the blue.