Chris Martinez is an Associate Director of Product Marketing at Seramount.
Topics
Future of Work
Recruiting the right-fit candidates for open roles has never been an easy task for employers. Finding early-stage talent among fresh college graduates has long been a challenge—and with Gen Z, there’s as much uncertainty as there is potential for growth and greatness. Seramount’s report “Gen Z Decoded: New Data on How Your Youngest Employees Want to Experience Work” digs into the disconnects between generations at work—you can read more about the methodology in the report and at the end of this post.
Gen Z, the current generation of early-stage talent, has a lot to share beyond the work they put in at the office (or hybrid or remote work). Their feedback and examples can also help define what recruiting could look like for future generations of digital-native talent. Technology will lead the way forward for this generation and the next, especially with recruiting. Tools such as Forage can help talent acquisition teams scale their candidate searches and target the best-fit people for open roles.
Forage bridges the gap between education and career success by offering job simulations designed by leading companies. These simulations highlight real-world skills needed for specific roles, giving participants a glimpse into the company and an understanding of daily responsibilities. By incorporating technology such as Forage into early talent recruitment plans, organizations can better prepare the next generation of talent for success in their careers.
Companies are struggling with an expectation gap between what early-stage employees need to know at work and the skills they have when coming into their new roles. Early-stage talent faces their own confusion as they enter the workforce: college courses don’t always offer the practical, hands-on career skills they’re expected to demonstrate in their new roles, and up to 85% of students will switch majors before they graduate, according to an EAB report. It’s difficult for employers to get the most out of their recruiting strategies and programs with so much uncertainty clouding every step for employers finding and developing the best talent.
Here, we answer three of the most commonly asked questions about Gen Z that can guide organizations as they attempt to bridge the great disconnect between college and career for the next generation of talent.
What motivates Gen Z to work hard?
Thirty-five percent say they want to further develop their skills.
“Wanting to perform well for their direct supervisor” is one of the biggest workplace motivators for Gen Z, second only to earning a raise or a bonus and ahead of the desire for advancement, at 44%. Another frequent answer to this question is “wanting to further develop my skills”—35% of respondents listed this as key.
In a recent Business Insider article, Tim Paradis shared his experience participating in a Forage job simulation with BCG, a leading consulting group in the United States. He pointed out that while his two-part brainstorm task (a portion of the simulation) didn’t produce the same results as someone with typical experience at a consulting company, he enjoyed the exercise.
The job simulation provided more value for Tim beyond just a pass/fail assessment of his current skills. Forage also offered the option to share the results of the job simulation with BCG to signal his interest to recruiters, suggested text to add to his résumé about completing the strategy consulting job simulation, and shared tips for using the simulation experience to help answer the question “Why are you interested in this role?”
Job simulations through Forage are a low-risk, entirely free way for students to explore career options that are right for each individual job seeker. Developing skills and learning new things require vulnerability on the part of the learner, and companies can help reduce uncertainty about future career decisions by offering this glimpse into what a day in the life at a consulting company like BCG really looks like.
What are Gen Z’s biggest career goals?
One-third say they want to advance to senior and leadership positions.
Our results found that most professional Gen Z employees want to stay in those roles and even ascend to the top of the organizational ladder. Gen Z not only wants to make their career dreams happen, but they also believe it will happen. Thirty-six percent believe they will reach a more senior level at their company, and 33% believe they will advance to a leadership position.
The drive to climb the corporate ladder comes with a big caveat: Gen Z is willing to put in the work to get to the top but not at the expense of their work/life balance. The boundaries between being on the clock and off the clock rank as the second most important factor when looking for a job for both Gen Z and non-Gen Z participants, behind only salary. One Gen Z participant wrote, “The work can be challenging, but the culture should support work/life balance to prevent burnout.” Another wrote: “People have a life outside of work and things come up. Being supportive is key.”
How much longer does Gen Z intend to work at their current company?
Thirty-four percent intend to stay for less than three years.
Is Gen Z truly a flight risk? It depends on whom you ask. We found that while an equal percentage (9%) of Gen Z and non-Gen Z plan to stay at their current organizations for less than one year, a larger percentage (34%) of Gen Z plans to stay for one to less than three years, and the inverse is true for the five or more years option. Only 28% of Gen Z employees see themselves staying at their organizations for five or more years, compared with 57% of non-Gen Z employees.
Building loyalty with Gen Z employees starts at the cultural level. Gen Z participants in our study were aware of their cohort’s “job hopper” stereotype: One wrote about being perceived as having “no loyalty since we would leave if not treated right.” But as this comment suggests, many Gen Z employees see changing jobs as a necessary step to maintain their own professional satisfaction and mental health. Another shared, “We switch jobs a lot because we can’t stay in one place, but many times it might be due to a toxic workplace or bad manager.”
Discover a fresh approach to help Gen Z thrive and grow their skills
Despite some key differences, Gen Z employees desire from the workplace many of the same things that their older peers want. Skills development, flexible work arrangements, authenticity at work, and advancement opportunities are key to retaining employees of all ages.
Bridging the gap for early-stage employees is a tough task. Companies can help prep their best-fit candidates for a successful career path through job simulations, such as the ones offered by Forage. These job simulations are designed to give college students and others who are just starting out in their careers a sense of what they would be doing if they landed a job in an industry such as consulting, manufacturing, or finance. Job simulations are also a great way to explore hands-on skills in coding or laboratory research.
Contact us via our Forage Solutions webpage to learn more about Forage and to learn how job simulations can help connect your organization to a wider network of next-generation talent.
Methodology
Seramount’s Research team held eight one-hour Employee Voice Sessions between September and December 2023, including four sessions specifically designated for Gen Z employees (defined as those born in 1997 or later) and four sessions designated for older, non-Gen Z employees.
Twenty-one companies that were members of Seramount’s Chief Diversity Officer Collaborative participated, from industries including consumer products, education, financial services, health care, media, pharmaceutical, professional services, and science and technology. These employees represent a mix of gender, race/ethnicity, tenure, job level, and other demographics.
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