Gen Z is extremely different than millennials which had remained the hot button topic for recruiters since a long period of time. There has now been a shift in buzzwords and it’s almost like the entire recruiting and staffing scenario has to keep up with it. While millennials grew up during a time when globalization was happening at a faster pace, generation Z aka Gen Z grew up as digital natives in an era where social media took over everything. These are the kind of people who never walk into a post office but get all their necessary work done via phone. Gen Z is loosely defined as these set of people who were born between 1996-2010 and as of 2020, this population is between 10-25 years of age. About 24% of the workforce today is made up of them. Social media recruiting & Artificial Intelligence has been transforming the entire hiring process and thereby crucial and perfect for such candidates who are difficult but have hidden potential & need to go through further screening. They are radically different from the millennials and thereby the tricks and strategies which recruiters were primarily following for the latter might not work right now. To help you understand more about their traits and how to use social media (the one thing they mostly rely on), here are 5 ways by which you can attract and recruit them.
Top 5 Ways To Attract The New Generation Of Workers This 2020
To help you get a deeper insight into hiring Gen Z, here are some key steps that you, as a recruiter, need to take into consideration.
1. Reboot Your Social Media Presence
Photo by dole777 on Unsplash The first step that you need to follow as a recruiter or as a recruitment entrepreneur is to use social media as a major branding tool. Organizations and recruitment agencies can leverage the usage of technology and an Applicant Tracking System to their advantage because Gen Z is extremely tech-savvy. They grew up watching Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram & Snapchat turn into business giants. No wonder why they can always be found via these networks. So reboot your social media presence to attract these candidates. For instance, when you’re using your company’s career page for employee branding, start using video testimonials than long written text. According to a recent survey of 12,000 Gen Z teens conducted by Dell Technologies, 91% have revealed that technology would influence their job choices if faced with similar employment offers. Thereby, understand the power of social media to attract these candidates. Use Instagram, Facebook & Snapchat for employer branding. Apart from that, you can also consider starting a YouTube channel for sharing your company’s achievements, employee experiences and so on.
2. Usage Of Recruiter Chatbots
Photo by Markus Petritz on Unsplash Emails are outdated for Gen Z. This is the generation that will instantly reply to a chatbot notification rather than an email. To build your candidate pool and sales funnel, start using recruiter chatbots. They have grown up in a culture where the idea of waiting has become a thing of the past and with the rapid advancement in technology, queues have also become obsolete. Be it any movie theatre, banks, restaurants, you name it, everything has shifted online and grown up in this culture, it is obvious for them to develop a very short attention span. Therefore, recruiters need to keep this in mind while hiring. Social media recruiting is all about adapting to the traits that Gen Z showcase. They are a firm believer of the idea of being always on and prompt. They would expect you to be the same as well. Again, this is where recruiter chatbots will come to your rescue in attracting them.
3. Cater To Their Basic Needs
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash Cool office perks have become a thing of the past. What these digital natives are more attracted towards nowadays is basic financial stability, good health coverage, clear career opportunities and so on. Ping pong tables, pool tables, nap pods and such flashy perks have become obsolete for them. Once a company starts offering them student loan repayment schemes, a proper compensation package, basic health insurance and so on, they will flow more towards them than the rest. Therefore, always remember that catering to their basic needs is a smart recruiting tactic that a company’s Human Resources can be using.
4. Focus On Candidate Experience
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash Gen Z values an experience more than anything. If a recruiter is giving them a hard time or a pathetic interview experience, they wouldn’t be a major fan about it. Make candidate experience your top priority by addressing small things like- informing candidates about their job application progress. Provide every bit of information to these people. Do not call or reach to candidates for irrelevant job offers. Make sure the job that you’re offering to a specific candidate is relevant to them. This can be achieved if proper social media research is done from where you can easily gather information about their likes, dislikes and job preferences.
5. Provide Them Independence & Flexibility
Photo by Akson on Unsplash The way Generation Z works showcases how much they love independence and authority. The internet has given them access to a wide range of knowledge and they would rather Google things than ask superiors for advice. As per Forbes, half of Gen Z prefers flexibility as a preference in their work experience. They view a healthy work-life balance as a priority and would any day quit a basic 9-5 job to embrace an opportunity that allows them to be more flexible. Therefore, to attract these candidates you need to make sure that both in the job description and while the ongoing interview and screening process, you mention how much the concerned company is flexible with regards to work and other career opportunities. They also love adventure and is somehow addicted to the adrenaline rush. So to make a company, that you’re hiring for, look more attractive, you will have to speak their tech-savvy language as well. Access to information is what Gen Z has always experienced. They believe in making informed choices and are also more inclined towards visual sources. Apart from practising the above, if recruiters understand the fact that these digital natives are by characteristic more competitive than the millennials, then social media can be strategically blended in a recruiter’s marketing strategy to attract and hire such candidates.
