How to Source and Attract Multi-Generational Talent in a Tight Labor Market

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Today’s recruiters are expected to be equal parts hunter and gatherer – to find “unfindable” talent and bring them home to an organization that fits.

However, for the first time in history, we are dealing with prospective talent from five different generations, which can prove incredibly valuable but can also present massive challenges for any growing organization.

The five generations each have their own individual nuances, attitudes, values, and communication styles adding another layer of complexity to an organization’s sourcing and talent attraction strategies.
Key Takeaways

• Each generation has different strengths that can benefit a company.

• It’s important that your employer brand speaks to multiple generations.

• Different generations prefer different recruitment channels, so use as many as you can if you want to find a diverse set of candidates.

Recruiting From the Five Generations

While most recruiters and hiring managers are aware of the generational differences between the Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y (the millennials), Gen Z, and in some companies still the presence of the Silent Generation, few have truly embraced them.

We are yet to nail the art of modulating our behavior as a sourcer or recruiter depending on which generational talent we are trying to lure into our talent community.

I presented at Bullhorn’s Engage 2016 conference in Boston. It was a real privilege to be part of the same line-up as Thought Leaders including Arianna Huffington and Daniel Pink. My session was on the The Art of Sourcing and Attracting Multi-Generational Talent in a Tight Labor Market.

I promised the audience 5 key takeaways:

• How to start thinking like an online marketer in order to appeal to the unique needs of each generational segment.

• How to create multi-faceted sourcing strategies and outreach messaging capable of attracting the best talent from diverse backgrounds and different generations.

• How to modulate your behavior as a source or recruiter depending on who you are trying to engage.

• How to best integrate a multi-generational sourcing strategy with your employer brand.

• How to ensure a positive candidate experience through a multi-faceted sourcing strategy.

But I also made it clear to them that the session wouldn’t be on what is sourcing, or how to source, nor would it be about the importance of generational diversity and inclusion, and it definitely wouldn’t be a series of tips or the psychology behind managing and retaining talent from the different generations.

Sure they are all important topics, but I focused purely on the sourcing and attraction components of the talent lifecycle.

Knowing the Traits of the Different Generations

What are some of the key characteristics of the different generations? How do they benefit the workplace?

• As a generation, Boomers tend to have regard and respect for authority and hierarchy.

• Gen X works hard and gets on with it. They have a willingness to experiment – within established boundaries.

• Gen Y are predominantly challenging, risk takers, self-entitled, individualistic and ambitious. They don’t just ask, “Am I a good fit for this company?” For them the more important question is, “Is the company a good fit for me?”

As recruitment consultants or internal recruiters not only do we have to think about how the different generations might choose to look for, find and apply to jobs; but also how they might choose to respond to or react to the way you reach out to them.

Approaching the Different Generations

Attracting Multi-Generational Talent to Your Employer Brand

Attracting the best talent (regardless of which generation they fall into) to meet the needs of any business requires an employer brand that connects with job seekers of any age.

Your brand messaging needs to address a multi-generational candidate base in the same way that consumer brand managers have to reflect nuances in the messaging related to their products for different demographics or audience types.

How does your employer brand speak to the different generations?

If you just took the wording on your website, careers page, or job ads and stripped them of all your branding, how different is your messaging from the ads and careers pages of other companies (potentially your competitors)?

When did you last survey candidates from the different generations around their candidate experience? For example “Apply via Facebook” may suit a millennial, but a 17-question application form will send a Gen Z candidate running.

Given the war for quality talent today, organizations have an imminent need to adopt a multi-faceted sourcing and recruitment strategy capable of attracting the best candidates from diverse backgrounds and various generations.

Attracting Multi-Generational Talent FAQ

1. How do you recruit a multigenerational workforce?

   You recruit a multigenerational workforce by using brand messaging that appeals to multiple generations.

This means making sure your website and job ads use language that appeals to more than one generation, just as your marketing materials likely appeal to more than one demographic.
It also means making sure your application experience is enjoyable for all generations. One way to do this is by offering multiple ways to apply or making sure your application is universally usable and approachable.

Offering professional development opportunities also helps with this.

When you use language and recruitment techniques that appeal to multiple generations, you’ll have a much easier time attracting multigenerational candidates.

In addition, if you create a culture of developing your employees rather than trading them out for younger candidates who are up-to-date in the latest tech, workers from older generations will want to work for you, and younger generations will also be attracted to your organization.

Author

Paul Slezak

With over two decades of experience in the recruitment and human capital industry, Paul Slezak has established himself as a transformative force in the realm of leadership and career coaching, group facilitation, and talent acquisition. His unique perspective, drawn from his early career as a leader in global recruitment firms and his entrepreneurial success with his own start-up, has enabled him to make a significant impact on leaders, teams, and organizations across the world. Paul's passion for helping others achieve success and high performance is evident in his commitment to transforming leaders and their teams at local, national, and international levels. He specializes in promoting the importance of human-centered intelligence, focusing on soft skills such as authenticity, transparency, and trust to complement business-centered acumen and drive better workplace outcomes. As an impartial facilitator, Paul brings his expertise to team offsites and strategy days, ensuring alignment on goals, values, and culture while keeping participants on task. His engaging and energetic presence, coupled with his unique "entertraining" and "edutaining" delivery style, enables him to connect with audiences both large and intimate, sharing personal and professional anecdotes that inspire and energize.