The Gen Z Basics Employers Need to Know

The Gen Z Basics Employers Need to Know Generation Z. Youve no doubt heard about them, but what should employers know about the new kids on the career block? For so long millennials have been the under the spotlight, for positive reasons and negative ones, too. When it comes to talent attraction and retention, we know its about getting in early and building lasting relationships. Thats why the real recruitment-savvy businesses are beginning to shift some focus from millennials to the quickly up coming cohort known as Generation Z, iGen and founders. What characterises  them? Well, theyre in school now, or just finishing up. They were born  post-1995  and have no recollection of a time before mobile devices. Various organisations and businesses have conducted research into what makes Gen Z tick. Obviously you cant go paint all individuals with the same brush, Things you have to do to get  them interested in your business: Get on social This is not supposed to be news to you, more so a reiteration  of what you already know. Recent global research by  Smart Insights  suggests Facebook is the most popular worldwide social media platform, with 1,590 million users. However The Centre for Generational Kinetics  has found that Instagram and Twitter  are in fact  more popular among iGen.  They also found that more of iGen than any other generation believes social media directly affects happiness, wellbeing and self esteem including dating prospects. Its clear that Gen Z is an online generation, so businesses wanting to  capture the early interest of budding professionals should  bring social engagement to the forefront of talent strategies. Go mobile Smartphones are important to iGen. The Centre for Generational Kinetics has found they expect to receive smartphones earlier than any other generation does. Simply having a compelling website and social media presence isnt enough.  Business that are recruiting need to make sure  job ads, application forms, company profiles, employee advocacy campaigns and marketing ventures are mobile-friendly, if they want to reach Gen Z. Offer control growth According to  Jobbios white paper  on Gen Z, entrepreneurship is important. They want to be entrepreneurial; they want to own what they are doing. Business with an agenda of attracting early stage professionals need to consider this when marketing opportunities how can more control be siphoned into positions? Hot Spots Movement Research Institute conducted another study  revealing almost a quarter of iGenners surveyed  preferred the idea of freelancing 23%! This same study, conducted across 31 countries, also revealed the vast majority of 14-18 year olds want multiple jobs in their lifetime, with only 10% wanting a job for life.  More than a third of those in the study want to move 4 or more times throughout their careers. This signals the importance of businesses offering dynamic positions and promoting internal mobility in order to retain younger professionals for longer. Be succinct powerful Gen Z are frequently reported to  have shorter attention spans than other generations, meaning they need to be kept entertained and interested, or theyll likely move on to the next opportunity in an instant. It goes further than that some say apparently you have just 8 seconds to capture their interest so its important to be succinct, powerful and snappy with recruitment marketing. This Marketing Week article is a really interesting read, and while it agrees that business would do well to  make messages relevant, clear and concise, it also debunks the short attention span claims, instead outlining iGens remarkable information navigation skills. Interesting. At the end of the day,  all individuals inside a generation are not the same. Personality differences, workplace preferences and extremes will always exist in any wide group of people pooled together by birthdate range. However, where research and evidence supports major generational trends, employers and recruitment marketers would be doing themselves a disservice not to  listen!