What are today’s college graduates looking for?

You need the talent and creativity brought by recent college graduates, especially when you take into consideration the looming employment gap occurring as Baby Boomers retire, says Jenny Floren, CEO and founder of Experience Inc. But how are you going to effectively attract and retain them?

According to Floren, these are among the top 2008 trends for recruiting and retaining Gen Y:

• Compensation: It’s not only about the money: 18-to-30 year-olds want to receive training, take on new challenges, expand their capabilities and, as a result, advance to new, more highly compensated roles. Their focus may be less about the compensation and more about advancement, improved skills and capabilities, and recognition of achievement.  Offering Gen Y employees a raise, while keeping all other factors the same, will not have the same impact as giving them new challenges.
• Communication style: Gen Y employees speak a different language. You knew that, didn’t you? Accordingly, your hiring managers need to practice a new style of communicating. Gen Y employees respond to humor, passion and the truth: Don't even think of “spinning” your message with this audience. And once they are hired, people who work with them should also realize how important direct and timely feedback, frequent encouragement and recognition of efforts are to 18-30 year olds.  Don’t think of this as “pampering” because the outcome will be employees who are engaged, motivated, and performing their best work.
• Lifestyle benefits: Employers are making extra effort to meet Gen Y's needs. One way is by bringing them together for meetings and training sessions that combine entertainment and learning. This creates the feeling of community so desired by Gen Y while also investing in individual performance. Get more creative in the work/life balance arena, too. Offer perks, such as one-month sabbaticals after five years of service, that recognize Gen Y's strengths and offer them time to explore civic interests and volunteerism in a supported setting. These also reiterate the commitment to community that is so important to 18-30 year-olds.
• Distributed work environments: Recognize that the office will no longer be the “hub” it once was. Working remotely will become standard, leveraging technology and virtual relationships.  Gen Y is at the core of this trend because for them, meeting and interacting online is just as comfortable and “real” as face-to-face meetings. This demographic has grown up with online social lives, classrooms and entertainment, making the virtual world a natural extension of their personal experiences.

Missing an opportunity 

In its 2007 Job Description Survey, Experience Inc. polled 117 students and recent grads from 35 states about job descriptions in an effort to help organizations better communicate with Gen Y candidates. While 83% of respondents said that companies were good at describing the basic qualifications and responsibilities for the job and 72% said they do a good job explaining how a position fits with the applicant's skills, there is a clear gap between what college students value in a job and what employers include in their job descriptions.

Many employers are missing a key opportunity to address topics highly valued by these candidates which would make their organization stand out. Respondents felt that the following decision-making elements, which they valued highly in a company, were poorly communicated (rated fair to poor):

Percentage who say they value these characteristics vs percentage who say companies do a fair to poor job communicating these characteristics: 

• Value company reputation and ethics (70%) vs fair to poor job communicating company reputation and ethics (54%)
• Value career advancement opportunities (70%) vs fair to poor job communicating career advancement opportunities (55%)
• Value professional training (66%) vs fair to poor job communicating professional training (64%)

Providing information about career advancement, professional development and work-life balance will help employers stand out among the competition.

Source: Press release (1/08/2008 and 2/11/2008), Experience Inc.,

Reprinted with permission. © CCH