Hiring Methods Change Due to Millennials

Millennials are taking the workplace by storm, forcing managers and HR professionals to rethink the way they do business. Unlike baby boomers, millennials tend to do a short stint at each job before moving on to greener pastures. If hiring millennials is one of your job duties, you may need to try new tactics and persuade high-level managers to offer more perks to new employees.

Millennials tend to have an interest in several career paths. Instead of working at one company for a decade or more, it's not unusual for a millennial to hold several jobs for one or two years each. Retaining millennials is difficult, especially if the benefits your company offers are geared toward older workers. When hiring millennials, you need to help them identify growth opportunities within the company, or you could lose new employees very quickly.

One thing that makes hiring millennials difficult is the stereotypes associated with members of Generation Y. In a Nexxt survey of millennials and HR professionals, only 11 percent of the HR professionals surveyed said millennials are hard-working employees. Even worse, only 1 percent of the HR professionals said millennials are loyal to their employers. If you are tasked with hiring millennials, you need to get these stereotypes out of your mind.

For many millennials, what they do for a living is a central part of their identity. "What do you do?" is a common question at social gatherings, and a lot of millennials write about their work on personal blogs or social networking sites. Retaining millennials is a lot easier if you can show a clear connection between entry-level work and better opportunities within your company. Try to give specific examples of people who started out with your company when they were young and then advanced to high-level positions.

If you are having trouble hiring millennials, try putting yourself in their shoes. Young workers often wonder if taking the wrong job right out of college can have a negative impact on their careers. If you were applying for your first professional job, you'd probably want to know how the job could help you in the future. Explain how the position can help the candidate learn new skills or improve existing skills.

Getting along with colleagues is one of the most important aspects of career satisfaction. It doesn't matter how interesting the work is if your colleagues are rude or unfriendly. When you are hiring millennials, give candidates an opportunity to see if their personalities are a good fit with your organization. Arrange for candidates to shadow current employees or participate in panel interviews to give everyone an opportunity to get to know each other.

Millennials are entering the workforce in record numbers. If you forget all the stereotypes you've heard, hiring millennials can actually be a pleasant experience. Just make sure you explain all the opportunities available at your company in detail.

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