“The Times They Are a Changing”
Bob Dylan’s hit song may have been talking about the age of love where most of the baby boomer generation was born, but the lyrics are as true today as they were then. As baby boomers retire from the workforce and millennials take over, it becomes more important for businesses to find the right “fit” for their job vacancies. Baby boomers have a strong work ethic and are committed and loyal. They are a generation less interested in “meaningful” work as much as “bringing home the bacon.” They don’t mind punching a time clock. Millennials, on the other hand, want to make an impact on the world. Money is not as important in their career choice, as they look, instead, for meaning and purpose. They want work that makes them feel important.
Millennials are digital babies – they grew up with technology; whereas, baby boomers had to make the transition into the digital world. With this technical knowledge, millennials, as a whole, adapt faster, communicate more seamlessly, and understand the digital landscape much more fluidly than their older counterparts.
So What’s the Difference When Hiring Millennials?
Because of their creativity, their innovation, and their “out of the box” thinking, millennials need to be pre-screened more than other generations. Along with their unique perspective can sometimes come feelings of entitlement, impatience, or inflated self worth.
The age of millennials is one of “trophy kids.” The participation ribbons and consistent validation in their upbringing leaves most millennials with a sense of self far beyond other generations. Due to this, a high number of millennials will apply for positions for which they do not meet the qualifications simply because they believe they deserve it. Sometimes, qualifications are only part of it, and a strong minded, quick learning individual could fill a position that is not within their wheelhouse of expertise. However, when relying on job boards to capture resumes in this day and age, you could find yourself sifting through a pile of resumes from candidates who don’t meet the needs of your team.
Trendsetters or Flight Risk?
The millennial age is one of trendsetters and trend jumpers where longevity and staying power is not a trait that is easily found. In the working landscape nowadays, this isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes a person can come in and shake things up enough to get the ball rolling and there isn’t a need for them to stay for the long run. But do you know for sure whether the person you’re hiring is flighty or innovative? Do you wish you could know before you hired someone that they were going to be there for the length of time that was needed for your team? This is where a good, knowledgeable, experienced recruiting service can come in handy. They will know the right questions to ask to determine if a candidate is the best fit, as well as whether or not they are a flight risk.
Cost of the New Age
When pre-screening candidates, one of the most important discussions to be had is salary expectations. Whether a true altruistic millennial or not, at the end of the day, money is a driving factor for anyone. Finding the perfect fit means nothing if you can’t find the perfect payscale in which to place them on your team. Recruiters have an added benefit of being able to have the budgetary discussion with the hiring team AND conducting the salary expectation side of the conversation with the applicants. This will ensure that you get a top notch hire for the right price.
Pre-Screening Vs. Freshly Picked
Classifieds in the newspaper (even in their prime before the internet) never held much merit for companies looking for top dollar executives. In the digital age, job boards may be quick and sometimes easy or seem less expensive at first; but at the end of the day, a fresh pick from a job board with no pre-screening can wind up costing you wasted time in multiple interviews, wasted money in either having to keep the job posted for a long period of time while searching for the right candidate or in wasted payroll because you hired the wrong fit. It can become increasingly frustrating and difficult when sifting through the barrage of millennial applicants who may or may not have what it takes to meet your needs. Therefore, pre-screening done by professional recruiters will always result in better candidates than a fresh pick from a job board.