Generation Y (Recruiting Generations part 2)

Monday, 2. March 2020 Balkaninvest-Team Leave a comment

In the first part of recruiting generations, we have dealt more with the good old generation X. The generation was born between 1965 and 1980. They represented the majority of the working population for several years. Their motto is “working to survive”, true to this guideline, their careers and a balanced work-life are very important to them. Since they have experienced some catastrophes like those in Chernobyl and also rising unemployment, they are striving for security and prosperity. In addition, this generation is very educated, internally aligned and very purposeful. The most important challenge for them is the arrangement of professional and private life.

Advantage of generation X is that they have already gained a lot of experience and still have a few years in the professional world. For employers is it important to communicate with them openly and honestly, as well as to speak with authentic job adverts and social media pages.

In the second part of recruiting generation, we will go closer to the generation Y. The follower of the generation X do not make much effort in general. Things look different in the generation Y. The babies which born between 1980 and 1996 (baby boomers) have for some time presented the recruiters with challenges. The Millennials are very optimistic, individual, educated and have grown with the technology. They are always up-to-date, so they are also often called “digital natives”. For them it is normal to be always and constantly accessible. Therefore they do not draw a line between work and private life.

What makes Generation Y tick?

With the entry of the Millennials (also shortened to Gen Y) into the professional world, they brought about four major trends. These have decisively changed the working world and the recruiting process. Previously, the company was still very grateful and therefore very loyal to the opportunity to work on this. It was normal to be active for many years even a whole working life for only one company. Loyalty does not play a major role any more and many different employers are the order of the day. The follower of generation Y is not longer working to survive. They are looking for a higher sense in their work. If work does not make sense for them, they are also not motivated. In addition, they are always happy to continue their education and thus education is becoming an increasingly important factor – this has to be considered in particular when targeting the las cohorts t of this generation via graduate recruitment approaches. The Millennials are very flexible in every terms, they also demand flexibility from companies.

It is not enough for them to get a regular salary and the chance of a career to choose a job. Their main requirements are to be able to personally develop, reputation and flexible working hours. The image and the values of the company are now the reasons for the decision-making. They also attach great importance to transparency, trust and regular feedback. If all these factors agree, they are also willing to commit themselves completely to a job.

How to attract Millenials in recruitment?

In summary, the Millennials are a very open, educated and optimistic generation. They attach great importance to their freedom and individuality. If everything matches their expectations, they are ready to commit themselves to their jobs. They do not draw a dividing line between work and private life. In addition, the “digital natives” have grown steadily with the latest technology and are always accessible everywhere. If you want to win a Millennial as a company, you need to place great emphasis on a good corporate image, trust and transparency.

motivation and employer branding

Recruiting generation X

Wednesday, 4. December 2019 Balkaninvest-Team Leave a comment

The key words Generation X, Y and Z as well as employer branding are one of the most discussed subjects of the human resources at the present time.

What does that exactly mean? What are the differences between the generations? How can they influence the working world and the recruiting process? Each generation brings certain general and work-related behaviors, abilities, value systems and needs into the workplace. These can be expressed in a variety of ways (compare Oertel, 2014). In the first part of Recruiting Generations, the characteristics and needs of Generation X will be discussed.

Who is Generation X?

The Generation X, born in 1965 to 1980 provides the majority of the working population of the western society. True to the motto: “working to survive”. They pursue a successful career and a balanced work-life. Employers do not have a significant effort with the employees. They are very consumer-oriented and they are less interested in politics and world affairs.

Other names of this generation are “carefree” or “generation of golf” (for Germany). The general name derives from the novel “Generation X – Stories for a growing culture” by Coupland (1991). They have experienced the end of the “new-economy-bubble” and the chernobyl disaster. As well as rising unemployment and the economization of wide parts of society. Their values are characterized by the pursuit of security, prosperity and career. Early in their careers, they were confronted with various forms of group work, flexible working-time models and the increasing communication and information technologies (compare Eberhardt, 2016).

The “carefree” generation

The followers of this generation were often able to grow up in an economically stable parental home. Therefore, good education played an important role. Generation X is highly educated and partly internationally oriented. They are incredibly determined in their professional live, which leads to a later family foundation. The greatest challenge for them is the arrangement of professional and private life. They are parents of younger children and at the same time in leading positions with partial international responsibility (compare Eberhardt, 2016).

How to approach Generation X?

An advantage of this generation is that on the one hand, they have already collect great deals of experience and on the other hand they sill have few years in the professional world. But how do you speak to them as an employer? First of all, it is very important to be open-minded and communicative with them. They are authentic and educated and also want to be treated like this. A large part of generation X is represented on social media sites and also use them for their job search. Therefore, it is always important to publish jobs also on these sites. These should be creatively, but also informative. In addition, this generation does not like to wait and therefore quickly losses its interest in a company, it does not answer after a few days.

The Generation X represents very experienced and determined workers, who still have a few years to go to the pension. They are looking for a safe workplace with the possibility to continue or even start a successful career.