Six tips for recruiting young people to your marketing agency
- May 09, 2018
By 2025, people under the age of 30 will make up 75% of the workforce - so if you want to ensure the success of your business tomorrow with marketing recruitment, it’s really important that you know how to attract and retain the next generation. Young people today aren’t driven by the same motivations as previous generations: they are less concerned about making their millions and more focused on making a change for the better - which means they tend to prioritise purpose over profit and are drawn to organisations who have the same values as them and are prepared to invest in their development.
Let’s take a look at the facts
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- In a recent survey, young people prioritised meaningful work over high pay
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- And one in three said social media freedom is a higher priority than salary
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- 65% would opt for a job with a lower salary if the work was interesting and aligned with their career goals
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- And 65% said personal development was the most influential factor in their job
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- 78% of young people are attracted to offers where although the salary is lower, the path for growth is clear
So what does this mean when it comes to your marketing recruitment and retaining young talent? Read on to discover six important things you need to consider when recruiting young people for your creative agency...
They want to make a difference to the world
One thing young people want to see in a prospective employer is the impact they will personally have on the business once they join. Young people today are guided by a strong moral compass when it comes to work and want to make a real difference to the world - so if you want to appeal to them, you need to show them how you can help them make a change. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you need to be running an organisation saving orphaned baby animals in Africa to appeal to them - you just need to look at how what you are doing that is changing your industry, highlight the good things you do and let them know that they can make a real difference to your company.
- They know where they are going and how they will get there
Believe it or not, pay isn’t as important to young people as opportunities for personal development. Instead of focusing on their next paycheck, they are more concerned with driving their careers forward and expanding their knowledge - which means they need to be sure that the company they are working for will provide them with the tools and training they need. So if you want to appeal to young people, you need to make sure you let them know you value them and that their development, growth and career progression is important to you by highlighting any available training opportunities and ensuring you map out their route up the career ladder.
- They want to be flexible
A good work/life balance is becoming more and more important to today’s employees. In fact, a recent study by PWC found that 66% would like a flexible schedule whilst 64% wanted the ability to occasionally work from home. To put it simply, young people see work as output and results rather than hours punched into a clock. Don’t be worried about what that means for productivity, though - flexible working environments actually result in increased commitment and decreased staff turnover, so it’s a win win for everyone! Trust is a must when it comes to hiring young people - and because they view their jobs as an extension of themselves, if you give them the flexibility they crave they will go the extra mile for you.
- They’re social
Young people are the most active users of social media - so if you want to appeal to them, you need to make sure they can find, follow and get to know your business online. Social hiring is a great way to reach young people as you can meet your future employees where they always are: online. From directly engaging with passive candidates via LinkedIn to targeting your ideal applicants with Facebook ads, social media provides tons of ways to reach candidates. Not only that, but it also lets you know what kind of person you are recruiting. Your candidate's online footprint often showcases their skills and experience, and a sneak peek at their social media profiles will tell you a lot about them: Instagram is like a designer’s unofficial portfolio, whereas an account executive's blog is a great way to check out their content creation skills - and make sure you have a look for LinkedIn endorsements too.
- They care about culture
Company culture is a big deal for the next generation. According to the Deloitte Millennial Survey 2016, young people want to work for a company that shares their values - in fact, as many as 56% have ruled out working for an organisation because of its values or standards of conduct, whilst 50% would take a pay cut to find work which matches their values. When it comes to your recruitment, this means that you need to show them exactly what makes your company unique and sets you apart from the rest, as well as showcasing the spirit of your company online and shouting out about any perks, from dress down days to free breakfasts and charitable initiatives. A sense of team and belonging as well as mentorship is really important to young people - so they need to look at your company and think “I want to be part of that”.
- They’re always online
Young people today are the first generation of digital natives - so if you want your recruitment strategies to appeal to them, you need to make sure your website is user friendly and mobile optimised. Smartphones are the devices of choice among young job seekers, with 90% of young people searching for jobs on a phone - yet only half of job applications are mobile-friendly. If your job postings and application aren’t easy to find and apply to from a mobile device, there’s a good chance that your jobs just aren’t being seen - and if young people can’t easily access the information they need, they’ll quickly move on to the next company. In fact, this generation has a notoriously low generation span of just 12 seconds - so it’s really important to make sure they can find out everything they need quickly and easily if you want to attract the best young talent.
To sum up, it’s really important that you know how to attract and retain young people if you want to future-proof your marketing recruitment - by taking the above points on board, you can ensure you are appealing to the next generation. If you’d like to find out more about how to recruit for your creative agency, contact one of our dedicated marketing recruitment consultants today.