Left. Left. Right. match. This is how many young people view the job search today. In the world of instant communication and ephemeral stories, it should not be surprising that immediacy has moved into the world of work. What started with Millennials and a flirtation with work flexibility a few years ago, Today it is establishing itself as the new normal for Generation Z, those born between 1995 and 2000.. They are today the young workforce that sets an agenda that companies seek to understand and attend to. This context creates a series of challenges for employer brands, which could be summarized in three areas: flexibility, open culture, and talent attraction and retention.
The flexible schedules and a dress code more relaxed than in previous decades, are perhaps the most tangible indicators of this change. But the phenomenon is much deeper than that. For the Tinder Generationhe home office It is the day-to-day default. Why be forced to go in person to the same place, five days a week, to do the same thing that you can do from your home or from anywhere on the planet with an internet connection? The same world that today allows us to scroll through an infinite reality on social networks from our cell phone, gives this new generation an independence that previous generations only dared to dream of. Or perhaps, they never contemplated.
(More: Find out which soft skills companies are most in demand).
Emboldened by a paradigm shift in which presence is no longer synonymous with productivity and careers, young people are looking for remote jobs, to be masters of their time and not to be limited to a geographic area. These flexible formats that were an exceptional and limited benefit in another time, have now been adopted by companies as a competitive advantage to attract talents seeking to match these proposals. In open cultures like Red Hat’s there are practices in which post-pandemic presence It is encouraged, but not imposed. This builds a more aspirational brand for this segment.
Employment
In terms of culture, the changes that companies are making to win over applicants involve moving from words to concrete action. It is no longer enough to ‘sell’ the concept of organizational culture, the Tinder generation demands that it be evidenced in cases and testimonies. They don’t have time for trite speeches or corporate catfishing, they want to see the practical results of that culture. When a company talks about diversity and inclusion, they expect to see it in concrete practices. For example, bosses become leaders who create dialogue environments to listen to ideas regardless of who comes from and their hierarchy. And just as in apps, companies have little time to show these and other virtues before the applicant moves on to the next option.
(More: Changing jobs: how to do it without generating a lot of trauma and be successful?).
Referral programs have grown in companies in all sectors. The truth is that through them it is not only the company that ensures that it receives candidates filtered by employees already hired and tested, but also the candidates are guaranteed to verify that the benefits that the company positions are real. It is no longer just the employing firm that asks for references about the candidate, now it is also the applicant who wants to have references from the company to ensure that the proposal will meet expectations.
Finally, there is much debate between generations about the stability of young people in jobs. Not much more than a decade ago, staying in a company for a short time was seen as a lack of commitment. Born in the world of connectivity, immediacy and the era of Googlethis new generation is more willing to take risks such as leaving a job in which they do not feel comfortable, even if they do not have a support network. The equation was reversed: they feel proud of being accepted by different companies and going through all of them in a few years.. “I’m here for a good time, not a long time”. New generations prioritize having experiences over stability and, in essence, that can only be achieved if you keep moving. Previously, a lifelong career in a company was synonymous with perseverance, loyalty and effort. Today, young people see work as an accumulation of experiences to achieve a goal: travel, enjoy, live life.
Employment
In the midst of the maelstrom of left, right and match, Companies are not exempt from ghosting – a term applied to when a member of the relationship disappears and stops responding.. What previously happened unilaterally on the part of the recruiters, now also happens on the part of the candidates. The companies chose them, now they are the ones who have to choose the companies. This doesn’t come without challenges for young people, of course. As companies increasingly adopt the hybrid model and understand that presence is no longer a condition for productivity, this generation must accept a certain degree of consensus. It generally translates into hybrid work, a format that reserves for in-person tasks and relationships that can only be done in person.
(Keep reading: The remote jobs with the greatest demand from companies).
Just as the trance of moving from left to right and from top to bottom on a screen has become the graphic representation of modern connections, it is important not to lose the face-to-face, but intelligent, instances that give human and emotional support to the labor sphere. This is where the value of a strong, differential and competitive culture of a company can grow, be sustained or completely sink.
How to attract young talents? What to do to make them choose to stay? Perhaps these answers are not within a finger’s reach, but it is clear that today is the starting point.
ANDRES INDAVEREA
Marketing Communications Manager for Latin America at Red Hat
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