Whether or not you’re ready for it, Millennials have taken the workplace by storm in nearly every industry you can imagine. But, like employees of any generation, you want to hire the best ones for your company. So how do you attract stellar Millennial candidates, and also keep them happy enough to stay around for more than a year?
A large percentage of Millennials now start their job search online with sites like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Monster, so it’s become much more likely that Millennials will hear your company’s name before knowing what kind of work you do. According to a new study conducted by LinkedIn, this is Millennials’ biggest obstacle during the job application process: the lack of knowledge they have surrounding your company.
So how do Millennials find out about your company when deciding to apply? Social media, of course! In fact, 22% of Millennial applicants take to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to find out more about your company.
What are they searching for exactly? The study found that Millennials are mainly looking to learn about your company’s culture and values. If they find that those are aligned with their own culture and values, they are more likely to apply.
So you’ve found and hired some stellar Millennial employees. Now what?
Sure, it may seem like Millennials can be swayed over with free snacks and bring-your-dog-to-work days, but Millennials are actually much more practical than that. The LinkedIn study showed that Millennials actually care MORE about perks and benefits than Baby Boomers, with 64% of Millennials saying that they care about perks versus only 51% of Boomers.
And it turns out that these perks and benefits are just the start of creating loyal employees. A recent article in Glamour Magazine cited new stats that Millennials are loyal to their employers as long as they receive fair compensation.
These stats, which came from a new survey conducted by Credit Karma, prove that Millennials may not be so different from your older employees. The survey’s results even go against the commonly held stereotype that Millennials are job-hoppers. In fact, about three out of every five respondents said they would like to stay in their current job or at their current company for more than 3 years, with the 25% of the youngest Millennials surveyed revealing they’d like to work for their current employer for eight years or more!
It looks like your Millennial employees are here to stay…as long as continue to be paid well and receive benefits. Perhaps it’s because Millennials came of age during a recession, but the survey also found that nearly 78 percent said that they are concerned over job security, while 45 percent said they’re very concerned they could one day be out of work.
So whether you’re looking to hire a Millennial for a higher-level position or an entry-level position, it’s important for employers to keep in mind that Millennials place just as much value on benefits, salary, and perks as older generations. And if they can bring their dog to work, too, even better!
What do you look for when you’re looking for a new job? Join the conversation on Twitter with @WhatTheGen or@JasonDorsey. And don’t forget to add your #generation!
