Challenge No. 1: Getting us in the door

According to Penelope Trunk of TIME magazine, “Generation Y is forcing companies to think more creatively about the work-life balance.” And those employers who do are hiring more and more Gen Y employees everyday.

Generation Y employees are in high demand—as the Boomers begin to retire, this new generation is starting to fill in the gaps. But don’t think for one second that this younger generation of employee will enter the workforce for the same pay and benefits given to Baby Boomers.

Nope. Not this generation. Since many Gen Yers forgo the workforce after college to go on to graduate school or to move back home with mom and dad to save money, your company needs to be pretty enticing to get them interested.

The most important thing to remember is: we want to take a job because we want to, not because we have to.

These Gen Yers aren’t coming to you empty-handed, though. We bring with us a fresh outlook, innovative ideas, enthusiasm for our jobs and motivation to succeed. All of these are things any employer can appreciate.

Here are a few ideas for reevaluating what your company has to offer, and to guarantee you’ll have some Gen Yers knocking at your door for employment:

1. Take a look at your company dress code—when was the last time it was updated? If your employees have been following the same code of dress since the Boomers entered the workplace, it’s time to do some reevaluating! Gen Yers are very self-expressive, and one way we differentiate ourselves from others is with the clothes we wear. So many of us would choose jobs that allow us to dress casually, rather than formally.
   
2. What’s your company’s work-life balance like? How many hours a week, on average, would you say your employees spend inside the office or behind a desk? Gen Yers are all about flexible work schedules. We’d love a job where we could make our own hours, have the ability to come and go as we please or work from home a couple days a week.
   
3. How’s your pay scale? Is it within the national average? Is it competitive within your industry? Gen Yers grew up in the “age of information,” so we’re very tech-savvy. We grew up in a time where college students are inventing things in their dorm rooms (Napster, Facebook) and becoming millionaires overnight. We know what we are capable of, and we understand the value we bring to your company, which is why we’d never stick around at a job where we’re not being paid what we’re worth.

According to Penelope Trunk of TIME magazine, “Generation Y is forcing companies to think more creatively about the work-life balance.” And those employers who do are hiring more and more Gen Y employees everyday.