Attracting millennials to your company is important.
The millennial generation is the most recent to join the workforce, but they are also the largest generation in the workforce. This means that, if your job advertising efforts are not in line with millennial values, you are failing to appeal to around half of the people who see your open job.
Apart from sheer numbers, millennials have the advantage of being recent graduates, which is important in knowledge-based industries like tech, where cutting-edge knowledge drives the success of companies.
Millennials have different desires for their job than previous generations, but these desires aren’t a mystery. Attracting millennials may require a shift in strategy, but companies across all industries are making this shift successfully and you can too.
Recruiting Millennial Generation
Recruiting the millennial generation requires a different strategy than recruiting from previous generations.
Here are some statistics to give you some insight into the millennial mindset:
- 87% of millennials say professional development or career growth opportunities are very important to them in a job.
- 72% of millennials want to be their own boss.
- 88% of millennials prefer a collaborative work environment to a competitive one.
- 64% of millennials say it’s a priority to make the world a better place.
Here are some other factors that are important to be aware of when recruiting millennials:
Millennials are digital natives
Millennials are the first digital natives, meaning that they grew up using technology that people in previous generations got access to decades into their life. While this means greater tech proficiency, it also means that millennials have much higher standards for digital media and any company’s online presence.
Millennials have strong values
Millennials have strong values and they are not willing to compromise those values when choosing a new job. When evaluating a job opportunity, millennials will research the company in question to learn more about this company’s employer brand and how they act as a corporate citizen.
Innovative and Creative Recruitment Methods for Millennials
When recruiting millennials, it is crucial to differentiate both your company and your job opportunity from competitors with similar jobs to offer.
Here are some of the most important recruitment factors to consider when trying to attract more millennials to your company:
Offer a Unique Job Opportunity
Millennials don’t want a job, they want their dream job. That being said, millennials will be interested in a job opportunity if:
- It is a job opportunity at a company that shares their values.
- There is interesting work to do.
- There are friendly people to work with.
- There is a supportive work environment.
- There are opportunities for career growth.
- The job offers a healthy work/life balance.
- The job offers opportunities for skill development and learning.
You should also differentiate the job by describing your opportunity in a unique way and sharing some of your company’s personality in the job description.
Use Social Media and Curate Online Presence/Employer Brand
Millennials are more active on social media than other generations and will research your company on at least one social media platform. In fact, 86% of working people who are in their first decade of employment will use social media to look for jobs and research employers.
Be sure that all content on your social media profiles is in-line with your employer brand and that these profiles are updated regularly with stories from your company’s employees.
Millennials will trust the opinions of your employees more than the blurb on your “about us” page, so encourage employees to share positive work experiences on social media and on Glassdoor.
Unique Recruiting Ideas for Millennials
When recruiting millennials to your company, using tactics that stand out as unique can help get the interest of people from this younger, more visually oriented generation.
Fun video/visual content
Creating fun video and visual content is a great way to get the attention of millennials.
Be warned, however, that many companies have been trying to appeal to millennials and failing miserably. Run your fun content by some actual millennials before posting, to be sure that your efforts will help, not hurt your chances of recruiting them.
Connect with causes
Millennials care deeply about social issues and charitable causes, and increasing visibility of your company’s work with these causes is a great way to build popularity with this age group.
Hold contests and challenges
Sponsoring contests and challenges engages the minds of millennials and makes your company seem like a fun, innovative place to work.
These contests can put you into contact with a great number of talented minds and, even if they are still in school, you should network with the bright entrants to your company’s contest.
Hiring Millennials - What You Need to Know
When you’re intent on hiring a millennial candidate, there are a few things you need to know about them and expect from them once they’ve started the job:
Millennials want recognition
Though independent, millennials want recognition for the work that they do and feedback on this work.
Millennials are loyal to themselves
Though less likely to “job hop” than other generations, millennials are career minded and are planning their next move years in advance. In fact, 2 in 3 millennials expect to have a new job by 2020. By offering training and career development resources, you can help guide millennial talent to make their next job be a job in your company.
Millennials want to learn and progress
Millennials want to improve their skills continuously and to see their hard work translate into progress in their career. If you plan to hire a millennial for a job that has little chance of growth or advancement, their engagement levels may drop over time if they aren’t given chances to learn new skills or progress to a more advanced role.
Millennials value transparency
Millennials have a great deal of respect for people and companies that act transparently and don’t put on phony fronts. 87% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 28 agreed with the statement, “I appreciate it when companies make it clear what values they stand for.”
For example, if your company is a formal, no-frills business, then you should be transparent about this fact and not try to make things more “hip” to try and appeal to millennials, as this will do just the opposite.
