Born anywhere between a debated 1978 and 2000 (ages 8-30), some say Generation Y seems to be causing a commotion in the workforce / recruiting scene these days – well, at least the Yer’s older than age 15, that is.  With the economy slowing down to a recession in the past two years, mortgages with the highest foreclosure rates in decades, gas and food prices up, and companies cutting back on their budgets, one might think that people would be willing to take a dip in their expectations from employers.  “But ‘Y’ should we?” asks this new generation sliding into the workforce.

“Y”er’s are shaking up the workforce as some know it.  With the boomers on deck to exit the work scene, that leaves X to take Y under its wing.  Are Xer’s prepared? 

Growing up with world war II era-born parents, Generation Xer’s were told - “Go outside and play – use your imagination,” to “Share the soda with your sister/brother”, and “It’s ok if you didn’t win – you can always try next time”.  They were told to buck up, and to save their pennies for a rainy day.  

What a difference compared to today’s Generation Yer’s, who grew up with television galore, video games, and barely knew life before there were cell phones – do they even remember pagers?  And don’t forget – everyone gets a trophy – just for participating!  Does the phrase “I want it all, and I want it now” ring a bell?

But how are these new generation college grads making it in the workforce?  Some sources say they’re extremely over-confident – setting off their other generation counterparts.  Do we need to start giving bumper stickers that read “I Interviewed at “ABC Company” Today” to coincide with their mom’s and/or dad’s that read “My Child is an A-Honor Roll Student”?  Although, they do have a huge amount of technological suaveness – a saving grace for sure in this day and age, while other generations sometimes struggle to keep pace – especially those who have been out of the workforce for some time raising kids.  Technology is definitely in this generation’s corner.

How do companies compete for Generation Y talent that could just as easily be harbored into an on-line mega success overnight?  Take a look at Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter.  After all, that is what this generation is notorious for – wanting it all, and wanting it now.  What are companies doing these days to compete for this generation’s techno-talent, in an ever-shrinking workforce trying to keep social security alive?

As we switch over to Generation Y gear, it is easy to see a transition from business as it used to be – 9-5, 40 hours a week, to what it will soon become – or has already become.  Shorter hours, telecommuting, working from home, or inevitably, working from the beach.  Companies have been transitioning toward this new workforce paradigm on how to hook-line-and sink Generation Y talent – making benefits more appealing and the work place more attractive to this younger crowd – posh break rooms, easy-access coffee lounges, and bicycle races – indoors!!  I’ve seen verbiage on company websites referring to on-boarding as taking the company for a test-drive for one’s career, or referring heavily to a menagerie of college year experiences - friends and all - in order to invoke that warm feeling that can just be transferred to one’s new career – something Generation Y apparently can’t get enough of. 

While there are opinions everywhere on the generation gaps, trends, and challenges, I came across a few related stories here, here, and here.

How is your company adapting to Y new hires?  Tell us about it!

Happy Friday.  I found the following free webinar for building effective referral programs.  The program is being put on by Kennedy Information, and is sponsored by LinkedIn.  The best part – it is FREE!

From the Kennedy site:

• What are the common denominators of the best employee referral programs?


• Learn referral tools for your business like how people get referred to hiring managers or recruiters, how to forward a job posting to your networks, and how employees can add a link from their LinkedIn profile that says “We’re hiring.”


• How to plan referral programs and who should be in charge


• Recognition and motivation tips for effective employee referral programs


• How to train in house employees on up to date referral programs


• See how LinkedIn allows people to refer their connections for positions.

Here is another post on low cost or no cost employee referral program tips that also provides several great ideas within the recognition component of a referral program.

Enjoy the weekend!

Diversity, inclusion, and your workforce impact your success and business.  The press about the workforce, aging demographics, and talent shortages is everywhere.  Consider the following:

• Gen X and Gen Y make up the core demographic of social networking sites [i.e. Facebook and MySpace].  Generating an estimated 90 million viewers every month, between business, industry, professional, and internet groups.
• According to the bureau of labor statistics the United States will face an overall labor shortage, continuing for decades.  In 2 years, the shortage of skilled workers is expected to hit 10 million.  By 2030, the estimated shortage is projected to hit 35 million.
• By 2015:  Hispanics will make up an estimated 15.9% of the labor force, up from 13.7% in 2006.  African Americans will make up 12% of the labor force, up from 11.4% in 2006.  Asians will make up 5.1% of the labor force, up from 4.4% in 2006. 
• By 2012 people of color will make up 35% of the workforce, and by 2015 students of color will make up 47% of college enrollment.
• An estimated 3.3 million white collar jobs and $136 billion in wages will shift from the United States to low-cost countries by 2015.
• People with disabilities aggregate income tops $1 trillion; they are the largest minority population in the United States that spans all other minority groups.

Integrating an overall workforce and diversity plan - as well as aligning it to your business strategy is critical.  While "planning" alone is not enough, questions you should integrate include:

• How will we successfully compete for our unfair share of future talent?
• What is our value proposition?
• Are we prepared and equipped to attract, hire, develop, and retain the talent needed to meet our business and member objectives?
• What sets us apart?
• What are the implications for our business?

Remember the buzz years ago about "the war for talent"? The best days are in the past as competition for critical talent will only intensify.  Are you prepared?

Facebook, LinkedIn, My Space, Twitter, Blogs, the list goes on and on.  Getting your arms around all of these tools (and using them) can be challenging.  Finding the time to recruit passive candidates form them is even more challenging. 

I came across a great video interview with Shannon Seery Gude from Bill Vick’s xtremerecruiting site – check it out when you have a few minutes.  In the video, Shannon talks about her thoughts with the adoption of social media in the HR and Recruiting space – as well as advantages small companies have over larger ones in this space.  She also talks about how to get started with the various sites.

It’s that time again! I came across a great article yesterday on establishing the applicant experience upfront (and how simple statistics can end applicant frustration, mistrust, disappointment, and anger).  A great read for any hiring manager, HR professional, or recruiter.

Recruiting passive candidates takes skill.  Get inside their mind in an article titled "You Had Me at Hello:  How to Get Passive Candidates Interested".

And last but not least a post that contains priceless tips for sourcing from social networking sites.

Cheers!

I recently received a question from a Client on what makes a strong posting for a variety of sites - including page rankings on job boards, search engines, and various job aggregator sites.  While there are many factors, the biggest issue we’ve encountered is postings are not always written in the format a candidate may search for them.  When posting your next position online, keep the following tips in mind:

• The job title is critical.  Think of how candidates may search job sites or search engines for positions.  A majority of job seekers would likely not search a job site or search engine for a "Member Service Representative II".  Refer to the title as your target market would refer to it.  More keywords can help.
• As with the first point, avoid using too much internal language that is irrelevant to the average candidate.
• Be careful with acronyms.  We always recommend including them, but also expanding on them.  Job seekers search with a variety of terms - be sure to include them.  If you are recruiting for a CFO, be sure to include the term Chief Financial Officer in your posting too.  You might lose prospects if you do not include both.
• Use wise headers.  Again, depending on your ATS you may have flexibility or control.  Most job sites today include the title and location in the page header for you.
• Use keywords in multiple ways throughout your posting.  As an example, if you are recruiting for a role and potential prospects might have retail, customer service, call center, or other experiences, include these terms.
• Research.  Spend a few minutes looking at various sites to see how others - and competitors are advertising their opportunities.
• While this is obvious, your posting is should "sell" your organization and opportunity.  If you are simply cutting and pasting the job description into the posting your results will be impacted! Especially with more passive candidates as job descritions are typically written for internal purposes, not sales documents.

Spending a few extra minutes up front before posting positions on top job sites is worthwile and should be worth the return in additional exposure to prospects or their referrals you may be missing out on.