Staff resourcing remains a key issue for businesses, with many finding it particularly hard to engage with young adults who are fresh out of school and college. This means a lot of businesses do not have a reliable stream of fresh talent at a junior level, whilst many young adults are also struggling to get into the job market.

This article shares highlights from the session where guest speakers, listed below, joined Gareth John to look at some recent research into the rapid changes in ‘what makes young adults tick’. As well as considering how employers need to change their Employer Value Proposition to appeal to individuals currently leaving education. The session also gave tips on how to grab the attention of prospective candidates, how to attract them to your brand, and what to expect from them in the recruitment and assessment process.

Speakers and panelists

• • Jordan Holder, Operational Careers Hub Lead at New Anglia LEP
  • Colin Yoshioka-Smith, Head of People & Talent at Flinder
  • Maisie Poskitt, Head of Amazing at BHP, Chartered Accountants
  • Lorraine Twist, Director – Professional Services UK&I at Hays
  • Zoe Wells, Senior Early Careers Executive at ICAEW
  • Steve Thompson, Chief Operating Officer, Form the Future
  • Adele Carnera, HR, Talent Acquisition & Apprenticeship Specialist Consultant

The session was made up of three different topics:

1. The mindset of young adults including any research/reports into what motivates them – how employers need to change their Employer Value Proposition
2. Engaging with young adults and grabbing their attention and attracting them to your brand
3. What to expect from young adults in your recruitment and assessment process

You can watch the recordings on each topic by clicking the buttons below.

The mindset of young adults

• Young adults generally have the mentality that they work to live not live to work, they value free time over financial reward
• They prefer a less structured approach to work hours with options for flexibility
• The success of a business is still important to young adults but so is working with purpose. There is now a lot more focus on the brand and whether they can resonate with the company and whether their personal values align. Commitment to sustainability, mental health, and diversity/ equality are particularly important
• A lot of young adults still see job security and career development as important but may be more focused on broadening skills in their role rather than traditional liner progression
• Culture and well-being are a priority

Employers can:

• Create workplace benefits that make the company stand out against the competition. This could be something as small as ‘dog days’ in the office
• Companies should sell themselves in one thing that aligns with their values so to attract the right type of people that will fit their culture
• Be flexible with hybrid working and hours, allow flexible desk booking options, but give reasons for staff to still want to come into the office on their own accord
• Provide mentors that young people can relate to and feel comfortable asking questions to
• Engage with students through topics they are interested in, for example, sustainability in different sectors
• There is a lot of competition out there and it is easier for young adults to compare companies. Be more creative with the way you engage such as having enterprise advisors that engage directly with schools on a regular basis
• Parents are still the biggest influencers when it comes to young people’s career paths, try to also get in front and educate them
• Appreciate that there will be differences in aspirations and needs between age groups

Engaging with young adults and grabbing their attention/ attracting them to your brand

• Share salaries, explain acronyms, and be authentic and approachable on job vacancies. Do not make the role look too unachievable
• Be proactive with reaching out, it takes 3-10 touchpoints to get engagement. Make the careers page accessible as well as viewable on mobile
• Make the journey from advertising a role to job offer as seamless and easy as possible
• Understand your target audience and produce content that will interest and engage with them
• Use social media to show the brand and what it is like to work there, including video content. Use social media to make a presence known through organic and authentic posting rather than a hard sell, being too polished can be a barrier to getting content out. Use employees that are relatable to the roles you are recruiting, rather than the CEO
• Young people want to hear your view on controversial topics, talk about them
• Get school and college students into the workplace to immerse them in the culture and environment
• Give people a date and when they will hear back, reply to everyone, and make it personal and clear there is someone behind the computer that is there to help them
• Try to get candidates in face-to-face and for them to meet the team as much as possible before they start
• During onboarding, provide a ‘pre-work website’ with tours of the office, information about the firm, contacts, and resources to help candidates get ready for their first day. Provide contact with a buddy and line manager

What to expect from young adults in your recruitment and assessment process

• Young adults are less prepared for the traditional working environment than in the past, therefore they may need help through the recruitment process
• Review entry requirements. Reconsider whether parts of the process are creating barriers to entry, including long assessment centres, CVs, and cover letters
• Consider the pace of your recruitment process as young adults are used to having access to information instantly. Therefore, shorter processes are needed to keep candidate’s attention and give them less opportunity to loose interest
• Be clear, honest, and authentic with the information you share so young adults understand what is expected of them. For example, what to wear. Be authentic with them and they will likely be authentic with you
• Make use of technology as a lot of the younger generation are more comfortable using it. Utilise video interviews and allow candidates to practice or have a second go
• Face-to-face interactions are more valuable for making personal connections than online so get candidates to meet staff as much as possible
• Do not be shocked by candidates wanting a less linear approach to their careers. Be clear about how your company can help with this, as well as the sense of purpose they will have in their role
• Train managers to be more understanding of young adults entering work. Check logic and relevance to ensure you are not just doing something because you have always done it that way

Useful Resources

• First Intuition Insights – TheTalentPeople & GetMyFirstJob
• Employer profiles are proving a huge deciding factor for candidates searching for opportunities in the sector
• Student Beans Youth Trends Survey
• Contextual recruitment
• Recording of insider top tips – supercharge your student recruitment and retention
• Onside Youth research 2022
• What do graduates want? 2022/23 research
• What workers want research 2022
• Report titled ‘Attract Gen Z’
• Guide to Managing Generation Z
• Channel 4 Instagram discussion of “is Gen Z the least resilient generation?”

Find all of First Intuition’s events here.