According to a recent survey by Visual Objects, YouTube is the most-visited website by people age 18 to 24. Your trainees, graduates and interns would typically come from this age group, often referred to as “Generation Z”or simply Gen Z.
DISCLAIMER FOR GENERATIONS X, Z, etc: You have lots of Gen Z in you when it comes to media consumption… the below probably also applies to you.
Gen Z follows the Millennials. Demographers and researchers typically use the mid-1990s to early-2000s as starting birth years. Over half (55%) of Gen Z use their smartphones five or more hours a day, and over a quarter (26%) use their phones 10 or more hours a day. (Source: CGK)
“By 2030, Gen Z is expected to make up 30% of the labor force in the US. Having spent so much time on their phones watchingYouTube, their attention span for text is rapidly declining.”
When recruiting graduates, we now know we are dealing with a generation of video-craving, impulse-hungry media addicts who prefer posting a video on Instagram over posting 140 characters on Twitter. Trying to recruit them using a job description and an application form with upload of cover letter + CV is probably not going to be too inviting. If getting applications is not your problem, stop reading and keep doing what you have always done. If getting applications is a problem, here’s 3 tips to ensure high conversion and the right tools to support you:
Launching your graduate recruitment campaign on Facebook is likely a miss. Select channels where your audience is and engage them there. Do not expect them to search and find the way you went job-hunting. YouTube and Instagram can be great channels to engage and get then to convert to your career page. This obviously requires knowledge on effective channels, measurement and the right content (read more below).
HR Tech to use: check out VonQ or Wonderkind to get an idea on targeting and channels.
Attention spans may be shrinking across all generations and preference for books getting low. People do know what a good story is. With so much great content available on our favorite streaming platforms such as Netflix and YouTube, make sure your story is attractive too. Keep it short (preferably under 1 minute) and make it video. Don’t kill conversion with a boring story, but also don’t try to compete with Hollywood. Be authentic, relevant and fast.
HR Tech to use: check out Cammio Stories (or Monster Studios if you are posting on Monster) to easily create compelling video content.
Our mobile phones are much less used for calling and more for chats. Apply the same principle to your application process. Why bother applicants with a long application form that maybe even requires login and password? You can use a chat function to answer questions, collect data and fill your database. When applying Machine Learning, your recruitment gets smarter with every single applicant.
HR Tech to use: check out Joboti and Mya to see what conversational AI really means.
Cammio has always propagated video as the default communication language in recruitment. We know the positive impact video can have on candidates, both young and old. Gen Z is here, no matter what year you were born. Let’s make sure we have a recruitment process to outmatch their expectations.
HAPPY HIRING!
