Gen Z – do you have a recruitment strategy for them?

Each generation that is born, brings something completely different. Understanding and accepting this is important. Why? Because it tells us how we are growing and evolving, as well as predicting what might come next. New paradigms mean new strategies and with millennials as the globalization era, generation Z is the digital era. With many parts of life accessible via online methods, it would likely be a waste of effort and resources to force keeping old-fashioned ones.

It’s not just the ease of having online access to everything for this generation, but the environmental awareness that comes with it. Removing paper filing and records keeps companies more conscious on their waste impact, as well as the bonus of being able to access your business anywhere, at any time, by anyone you wish with the convenience of a shared online space.

Who is Generation Z?

Generation Z is roughly people who were born between 1996 to 2010. This age group is ranged between 11 to 25 years, meaning they are already in various workforce industries, and exactly why companies need to start thinking about their strategy for recruiting this generation – they have probably learnt to swipe before they can speak…

So, let’s go through some of the characteristics that Gen Z has:

Their social media habits differ from previous generations – even millennials. For example, on average, Gen Z uses their smartphones 15.4 hours per week—more than any other type of device.

They are the most diverse generation yet – They are very open to new ideas/concepts and have a strong sense of self-expression. Not something to be afraid of as an employer. This makes for a far more diverse range of new thoughts and practices that can be implemented by your business, opening up the potential to expand and appeal to future generations.

Not utilising platforms that have a far higher traffic than is achievable through paper CVs, could see you missing out on an opportunity to reach a vast number of potential candidates. These include social media site of which this generation are frequently connected to in one form or another.

Millennials were the ones that saw the birth of social media – however generation Z are the ones who came out of the womb using it. Statistics show that:

They spend an average of 15.4 hours a week on a smartphone

78% of people between the age group of 18 – 24 years use Snapchat

71% of people between the age group of 18 – 24 years use Instagram

95% of people between the age group of 18 – 24 years use YouTube

Gen Z people using Facebook dropped by 20% between 2015 to 2018. During the same duration, usage of snapchat and Instagram increased by 28% and 20% respectively.

While a few millennials used LinkedIn, statistics show how hardly any of Gen Z use the platform.

Why is recruiting Gen Z Different?

Recruitment generally speaking, is a combination of marketing and sales. You want to attract candidates and convert them into successful hires. When finding the right candidate, you look for the most relevant skill set.

Millennials go straight to job boards such as Indeed & CV library, making it easy for companies to post on these sites and follow up with emails to get the candidates attention. But… things are starting to change now. It shows that generation Z have a briefer attention span, preferring visual mediums, rather than text driven content. With how easy it is to have an abundance of information at your fingertips, it is no wonder that companies might be finding it harder to stand out in the sea of adverts, announcements, and articles.

Generation Z love for content to be right in front of them, which is why they like in-app notifications, push notifications and social media over email.

What changes can we make in recruitment for Generation Z?

Recruitment is very traditional – they rely on email, job boards and telephoning people. So how can we up our game? Here are a few strategies we could be using to recruit Gen Z:

Get a company YouTube Channel – remember they are a visual generation. Everyone’s time is valuable so avoiding big walls of text can be far less of a deterrent. On the channel, show the behind the scenes and the companies’ achievements, appealing to a more relaxed work environment.

Facebook Advertisement – Using ads that will crop up across all social media channels is a great way to recruit candidates. Also makes the process a lot quicker. Facebook can target certain audiences with the interests and skills that you want.

Make your website interactive – put on your website as many videos you can, over big lengthy text. Don’t forget as well, the longer someone stays on you website the higher your SEO will rank.

SMS text marketing – instead of emails, send follow up messages through text. This is the mobile generation after all.

Summary

Now that we have observed how generation Z use social media and technology, we can see how different they are… even from the generation just before! They look at the world differently, and that’s because they can see the world from just a touch of a button. So, get those visuals in place because with generation Z, if they can’t see you, they won’t use you.