Originally published 5/5/21 - Updated 11/4/22
According to a Pew Research study, millennials currently make up the largest generation in the labor force, representing one in every three individuals in the labor force. Consequently, you as a professional in charge of finding the right candidates for your business need to understand and acquiesce to the particular idiosyncrasies and preferences of the millennial employee.
Successfully recruiting millennials isn't difficult... it just requires a different set of strategies. Here's how:
It's About More Than Compensation
“Money, money, money, money... money,” isn’t exactly the theme song of the millennial generation. As a group, this generation wants to make a difference in the world around them. This in turn leads them to place greater importance on factors other than income in terms of job attractiveness. Here are a few factors the average millennial will consider in addition to compensation:
Upward Mobility via Career-Pathing
Millennials want more than to start and retire in the same job. Most of them have the desire to build a career. Therefore, career pathing is important when approaching a millennial about a job. Of course, it’s important to note that career pathing doesn’t necessarily mean a millennial will want to stay with one company forever. In fact, according to a Glassdoor survey, some 66% of millennials thought about leaving their current organization in 2020. This means that as a business owner you need to offer career advancement to perhaps keep them in one place for longer. If you don’t give them the option of growing within your company, they probably won’t stick around too long.
Community Involvement and Social Responsibility
As mentioned above, millennials want to make a difference in their lives. Therefore, they want to work for companies that have the same passion for community involvement and social responsibility. A Deloitte survey found that some 83% of millennials surveyed felt a business should go beyond making a profit and should make a positive impact on society. The company culture is also of immense importance to millennials, so a company should have a healthy working environment to attract today’s millennials.
Benefits Package
Again millennials want more than a job. They want to make a difference, they want to have a long-term approach to their career, and they want benefits. In fact, even more so than monetary compensation, millennials will often say that benefits are more important than actual monetary compensation. Recruiters are smart to ask millennials not only how much they need to make but what other benefits might be even more desirable.
For example, while money is still important to be sure, obviously, millennials still have bills to pay, but they also value other benefits as well. The most often desired benefits according to a ManpowerGroup survey included wanting job security [87%), wanting built-in or offered time off [86%], working with great people, a good, emotionally healthy working environment [80%], and flexible working hours to allow for alternative working days, no 8-5 requirement [79%].
Furthermore, a Glassdoor survey found that 90% of all millennials surveyed stated they would prefer benefits to a salary increase. These stats all show the paradigm shift away from desiring money alone and showcase the immense value of benefits to a millennial.
Tech-Savvy Recruitment Tactics
When attempting to interest millennials, meet them where they are in the world. They are tech-savvy, so use the following tools to interest millennials in your job opening:
- Social media
- Video
- Digital content
Help Them Succeed
Offer millennials the following to interest them in your company:
- Listen: Give them a voice, listen and respond to what they say they want in a job/career.
- Mentorship: Provide personal and skills development.
- Feedback: Give regular evaluations and feedback. This means year-end evals aren’t enough any longer.
Thankfully, by implementing the above information into your recruitment strategy, you can successfully attract the elusive millennial to your company.
While the standard way to recruitment doesn’t exactly entice this generation, the information above will most certainly help. If you need more direction or don’t know how to enact the tips listed above, contact TPC and let us help you do just that.
