Are You Ready to Recruit Gen Z?
If you are a Washington, D.C. company looking for new marketing talent, you should be!
Over the last few years, it seems like everything we heard was about Millennials, which seems fitting for a group dubbed “Generation Me.” As Millennials entered the workforce en masse, employers braced for the shake-up. There were certainly bumps and bruises along the way, but organizations across the D.C. metro area have adapted and embraced their newest marketers. But just as things are starting to take shape, the next generation is already on the horizon. Is your marketing or communications organization ready for Gen Z?
Who is Generation Z?
Generation Z are those born in the mid-1990s and beyond—and it’s estimated that this generation makes up ~38% of the global workforce, and will make up as much as 58% by 2030. Whereas Millennials remember a time without screens, Zoomers are true digital natives. They have never known a day without technology at their fingertips. Social media has always existed in their world. To them, Facebook is out and Snapchat is in.
They are cord-cutters who reject traditional media in favor of digital everything. They also value more authentic interactions. Whereas Millennials favor picture-perfect, edited depictions of their lives, Generation Z prefers more genuine, real-time sharing.
What Does This Mean for Employers?
Luckily, there is still time to figure this out. Many members of Generation Z are still in grade school, after all. The oldest members are just barely reaching the workplace at age 19 or 20. Each generational shift brings change, but don’t let that intimidate your organization. With change comes progress and innovation, and Generation Z may be the most innovative yet.
Thanks to their early adoption of technology, they know how to harness technology to gain information quickly. Impatience may be the downside of this digital appetite, but this also makes them more self-reliant and efficient. This ability to self-educate will be a welcome trait in most workplaces.
Multi-taskers to the core, they will be able to process multiple pieces of information at a rapid pace. Although independent and entrepreneurial, they are more pragmatic and risk-averse than Millennials. As is common with each upcoming generation, they will also be more educated and diverse than previous generations.
The Bottom Line
Don’t panic! It’s never a good idea to focus so much on generational stereotypes that you miss the person. One size does not fit all when it comes to hiring and fostering talented workers. It’s important to not make judgments based on someone’s age, but to evaluate candidates based on their own personal experiences.
As all great companies know, the key to great employees is treating each person as an individual – embracing their strengths, unveiling their potential and supporting their success.
Today’s multi-generational workplace poses both opportunities and challenges for D.C. area companies. Let TorchLight help guide you through the hiring strategies that will appeal to the top candidates in all generations of your workforce.
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