From building an excellent reputation through reviews to providing good coverage for mental health services, here are insights from executives and HR professionals into the best practices for recruiting Gen Z.
Maintain Your Brand Reputation
Gen Z candidates really do their homework when applying for a job, at least in learning all there is to know about your brand reputation. They seek reviews that may or may not steer them toward the job, so the best thing you can do is to build an excellent reputation and do your best to maintain it. It’s like when buying online—even one bad 1/10 review might be enough for someone to go look elsewhere.
Natalia Brzezinska
Marketing and Outreach Manager, ePassportPhoto
Prioritize Employer Authenticity and Purpose
Prioritize employed authenticity and purpose. Gen Z is drawn to companies that align with their own values and beliefs, so it’s important to communicate a clear mission and values that align with those of Gen Z employees. It might be helpful to showcase company culture and employee experiences through social media and other relevant platforms to show an authentic employer brand.
Brenton Thomas
CEO, Twibi Digital Marketing Agency
Recruit Gen Z via Social Media
A key to recruiting Gen Z employees is to embrace technology and provide flexible work arrangements. Gen Z is the first fully digital generation, having grown up using technology daily. Therefore, leveraging technology platforms that resonate with Gen Z is essential to attract them to your company.
It would be best to use social media and digital marketing to reach out to candidates where they are most active online. Gen Z values flexibility, so offer remote work, flexible schedules, and opportunities for part-time or gig jobs where possible.
David Watkins
Director of Product Management, EthOS
Understand Their Values, Preferences, and Work Expectations
To attract and recruit Gen Z employees, companies need to understand their values, preferences, and work expectations. Be genuine and transparent: Gen Z employees value this in the workplace.
Be honest about your company’s mission, culture, and values. Emphasize opportunities for growth and development: Gen Z employees are interested in continuous learning and development. Highlight your company’s training and development programs, mentoring opportunities, and career advancement paths.
Leverage technology and social media: Gen Z employees are digital natives, and they expect companies to use technology and social media to recruit and engage with them. Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter to showcase your company culture and job opportunities.
Offer flexibility and work-life balance: Gen Z employees prioritize work-life balance and flexibility. Consider offering flexible work arrangements, remote work options, etc.
Lokee Lee
CEO, Everwallpaper
Make the Hiring Process Efficient
Recruiting Gen Z talent is all about ease of use and using technology. Reaching out via text message is an effective way of connecting with this demographic.
Gen Z talent is also more likely to complete a job application if it doesn’t require a login or password. Capturing the attention of Gen Z is easy, but your recruitment practices must be modern and efficient.
Brittney Simpson
HR Operations Manager, Walker Miller Energy Services
Keep in Mind, They Know What They Want from a Job
One of the more unique traits of the Gen Z professional is that they know what they want from a job, and they will hold their employer accountable for delivering on those expectations, or they will move on.
It’s important for organizations to understand this generational difference to inform their talent acquisition strategy. AI-driven assessments in the hiring process can help identify a candidate’s interests and skill sets and job potential for success to prevent discontentment later down the road and reduce turnover.
Job-relevant simulations give candidates a realistic preview of what a job entails, resulting in more effective hiring. Other areas where organizations can appeal to this younger generation’s employment wish lists include providing professional development opportunities, hiring for diversity, and creating a caring and engaging culture.
Eric Sydell
EVP of Innovation, Modern Hire
Offer Learning and Development Opportunities
For recruiting Gen Z employees, the best tip is to offer career growth. Younger employees are looking for new opportunities to learn and improve. They consider it essential to offer career growth in a work environment that encourages learning and development and offers employees the opportunity to gain new skills and expand their knowledge and expertise.
Karolina Kijowska
Head of People, US Visa Photo
Speak Their Language
One of the best ways to recruit Gen Z employees is to “speak the language” where they hang out. If they like to spend hours on TikTok, then you should be on TikTok, too. Start creating practical and inspiring content that speaks to the employees you want to recruit. When candidates see that you “get” them, they are more inclined to be interested in what you’re doing as a company.
Kelli Anderson
Career Coach, Resume Seed
Promote Socially Conscious Elements of Company Roles
Gen Z employees want to do impactful work that changes the community and the world. The best approach to recruiting these talented minds for your company is to promote the socially conscious element of the open roles in your organization.
Instead of promoting marketing roles as a key to growing company revenue, describe them as an opportunity to help your brand create more awareness of its CSR activities and overall brand mission to change lives in a community.
Liam Liu
Co-Founder and CMO, ParcelPanel
Use Technology to Your Advantage
For recruiting Gen Zers, you need to think outside of the box. Not only should you focus on providing them with competitive salaries and benefits, but you should also keep in mind that they value creative approaches.
To appeal to this tech-savvy generation, consider implementing digital tools such as video chat interviews or even innovative hiring experiences that go beyond a traditional hiring process. You don’t have to overthink it—just prepare yourself when you need to hire new people from the Generation Z group.
After all, if your recruitment process is boring, it’s unlikely that the most talented members of Generation Z will take you up on your job offer!
Colleen Sproull
Content Marketing Manager, Evinex
Build a Strong Core Values
Gen Z is the largest population in the world, making it necessary to understand how to recruit them. Their traits are highly skilled, educated, and resilient, and they put a high level of attention on social consciousness.
For this group, it is important to focus on building a diverse workforce that is supportive of LGBT and BIPOC communities. To attract this group, it is also necessary to be authentic and have strong core values, as Gen Zers want to work in a diverse culture whose morals are aligned with their own.
They want to be treated like a whole person, making it important to have things like work flexibility within their position. By creating a diverse company with strong values, flexibility, and a positive culture, companies can help attract this demographic.
Ben Bozzay
Founder, Tech Lockdown
Prioritize Mental Health in Your Cultural Norms, Policies, and Benefits
Gen Z cares about mental health and well-being in the workplace, so it’s vital to show candidates how your organization actively cultivates an environment that prioritizes this—or they’ll look elsewhere. You should be able to speak to how your values, organizational norms, and management styles enable employees to prioritize their well-being so they can do their best work. Provide specific examples of what this looks like day-to-day.
Make sure your benefits provide employees with a variety of options to care for their own mental health. Some examples include insurance plans that provide good coverage for mental health services, an employee help program (EAP), paid subscriptions to meditation and on-demand therapy apps, sabbatical leave policies, and flexible time off.
Alex Lahmeyer
Equitable Hiring Consultant, Boundless Arc
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