By Gabrielle Jackson Bosché of The Millennial Solution
If 50 percent of your employees aren’t Millennials, they soon will be.
According to recent surveys, one out of every three fully employed adults in the United States is a Millennial. By 2025, Millennials will make up nearly 65 percent of the workforce.
Millennials are a new generation. They have more degrees per capita than any other age cohort, and yet would rather text their boss than walk down the hall to ask a question. Millennials have instant access to information nearly anywhere, and yet 1 percent has taken their parent on a job interview.
Discover the best Millennial candidate for the job using these three expert-developed strategies.
- Make Your Website Millennial and Mobile Friendly
Millennials admit using their phones more than their laptops for things like banking, retail purchases and research. If your company’s hiring platform is not optimized for mobile and tablet use, you are seriously limiting the quality and quantity of your candidates.
An exceptional twenty-something job candidate will do their digital due-diligence. Your company’s landing page may be the only thing a Millennial sees about your work. Within seconds, they are evaluating website design, graphics, usability and social media integration.
In the Millennial mind, an outdated website is an outdated company.
Young hires want to be a part of a company that is building something, not moving backwards. Marriott Corporation does a great job of this. They ditched the stuff stuffy jobs board, and how features selfies from employees around the world.
Your website is your first date with a Millennial job prospect. Take it seriously. Put time into designing engaging and photogenic webpages. Ensure the user interface is friendly and modern. Allow prospects to read stories of current employees or submit a question for a hiring manager to answer.
2. Ask Questions About What Makes Them Tick
In my book 5 Millennial Myths, I discuss how Millennials are an overeducated under-experienced generation. College was a priority for our parents and us. Now on the other side of the university bubble, less than half admit that a degree has been very useful in their career according to a Pew Study.
The Millennial job prospect in front of you may have an impressive educational pedigree. An IVY league education does not guarantee success in business or in life. Focus on attitude over alma mater.
Ask questions that let potential employees expound on projects they have worked on in the past. Understand the role they played on the team. Were they the strategist, the dreamer, the doer or the supervisor?
Too many job interviews are conducted without discovering the motivating force behind employees. Take the time to learn what part of the organization’s mission most inspires them. Ask about the specifics of the job they would be most proud of. For a list of questions to ask in your next Millennial job interview, click here.
3. Be Picky About Where You Hire From
Job fairs are a thing of the past. Hiring sites result in a flood of applications– usually from unqualified candidates. Referrals still rule the day in the world of hiring. But what if your network is void of Millennial talent?
As a hiring manager you’re don’t have time to wade through unnecessary resumes. Go straight to the source.
If you are looking for an entry-level candidate fresh from undergrad, contact three professors at your local university. Department heads are generally strapped for time. Go directly to professors teaching courses relevant to your company’s work.
LinkedIn is an efficient tool to identify Millennial prospects with more work experience. However, Millennials have been slow adopters to LinkedIn. Some effectively utilize posts and updates, while others copy and past their resume to their profile and think that’s sufficient. Look for engaged Millennials who are reposting industry-relevant articles and providing meaningful commentary.
Don’t be afraid to use social media. Millennials admit to collecting their daily news from Twitter and Facebook. Utilize these platforms to advertise that you’re hiring. Use message-targeting on Facebook to boost posts and put them in front of your key demographic. An accounting firm looking for a new account executive could target 24-32 years olds who likes Cross Fit, Morning Joe on MSNBC, and Inc. Magazine.
Millennials are a generation eager to be taken seriously. They are ready to put their passion and degree to work and want to know that their job matters.
Get in front of the Millennial hiring curve by preparing today to hire and inspire the best and brightest of this young generation.
Contributed by Gabrielle Jackson Bosché, author of 5 Millennial Myths: The Handbook For Managing and Motivating Millennials. She is the Founder and CEO of The Millennial Solution, providing generational diversity training and is an internationally acclaimed speaker. Her work has been featured in Washington Post, Bloomberg Radio, TIME.com, and Business Insider. Follow her @saysgabrielle.
