Hire the Best Gen Ys: Recruitment Tips

Recruiting Gen Ys: Branding Your Organization

Despite a slowdown in some industries and regions, many companies are eager to ensure a strong brand among Gen Ys in order to maintain a steady supply of labour and increase their ability to attract the best candidates.

Establishing a strong employer brand with Gen Ys is critical for several reasons:

• Gen Ys are loyal to their ‘pack’ –they seek employment opportunities where they already have friends working or they have been referred by a friend
• Gen Ys share information about everything – their perceptions of your organization as either a desirable or non-desirable place to work will be texted, tweeted or posted among Gen Ys’ networks. If your organization has a negative  reputation, your ability to recruit Gen Ys can be significantly impacted
• Gen Ys seek work that has meaning – your ability to communicate how their work will make a meaningful contribution at a team, departmental, organizational or community level is important in attracting this cohort to your organization

Communicating a Consistent Message with Gen Ys

Since Gen Ys will talk about what they think about your organization to their friends, it’s important that all recruitment team members communicate a consistent message. Seven core attributes will drive attraction and engagement of all employee groups, and should be included in your recruitment messaging as appropriate:

• Organizational stability
• Development opportunities
• Future career opportunities
• (financial and non-financial)
• Respect for employees, clients, communities in which you work
• Management style and approach
• collaborative work environment

An effective way to ensure a consistent approach is to conduct a workshop where your recruitment teams identify key messages and how to best position your employment brand. Everyone should be clear on how to communicate your organization’s mission, values and competencies. The emphasis should be placed on how your organization aligns with Gen Ys values of corporate social responsibility, innovation and creativity, collaborative work teams and problem solving. Ask recruitment teams to list anticipated questions and create a fact sheet with responses to FAQs that your ‘ambassadors’ can use as a reference tool.

Tips for communicating with Gen Y Candidates

When recruiting Gen Ys on campus and/or at job fairs, the following behaviours will be most effective in creating a strong first impression:

• Draw people in by smiling and engaging them in conversation
• Ask open ended questions
• Be prepared – know what you want to communicate about your brand  and how to say it
• Actively listen
• Discuss the skills and competencies required to be successful in your organization
• Communicate how the candidate can contribute to the success of your team / department / organization
• Allow candidates to ask specific questions and ‘peek behind the curtain’
• Be honest about your workplace culture
• Provide a timeline for next steps

Giselle Kovary

As president and co-founder of n-gen People Performance Inc., Giselle is dedicated to building strategies and programs that target, motivate and engage a multigenerational workforce. She is a sought after resource to industry leaders, having worked with 18 of the top Fortune 500 companies. Over 60,000 people globally have experienced an n-gen workshop or presentation. She has devoted more than fifteen years to researching the impact that generational differences have on organizational performance. Giselle has co-authored two books: Loyalty Unplugged: How to Get, Keep & Grow All Four Generations and Upgrade Now: 9 Advanced Leadership Skills. She has a Master’s degree in communication studies from the University of Windsor.