The first Baby Boomers turned 18 in 1963, which was the year John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and two decades before personal computers were introduced to a panting marketplace. The first Millennials are in the workplace and some are even managers. Any human resource professional who has studied these generations at even a cursory level is aware that Boomers and Millennials are worlds apart in their career interests. Yet ask these same human resource professionals about the recruiting practices of their organizations and many will admit that at best their tactics have changed but the strategies remain the same. If these organizations hope to survive and even thrive during this period of Boomer retirement and Millennial coming of age, then they will need to change their strategies, and quickly.

Before anyone had heard of a Millennial and the “new” generation to be concerned about was Gen X’ers, most organizations successfully recruited for the vast majority of their hiring needs by advertising their needs in the newspaper, putting a help wanted sign in the window, and running some job posting ads on sites such as Monster.com. While those tactics worked and continue to work in some cases, it is becoming increasingly apparent to the organizations we work with that they need to do more in order to successfully recruit Millennials because today’s young adults don’t read the newspaper, don’t apply to jobs simply because they exist, and increasingly are moving away from on-line classified sites such as Monster which, let’s face it, are just an electronic version of the newspaper help wanted section.

All organizations want to recruit the best possible employees. What makes for a great employee at one organization, however, makes for a horrid employee at another. A car wash is not going to successfully recruit a graduate of Stanford and, even if such a match is made, that car wash is not going to retain that graduate. Yet a Silicon Valley high tech company that puts together the right package will recruit and retain that same employee. So we need to be honest with ourselves and keep in mind that we’re recruiting Millennials and not adding trophies to our war chest. It isn’t about recruiting the brightest of this generation. It is about recruiting the best of this generation and the best of this generation will vary considerably depending upon the organization doing the recruiting and the role that individual will play once employed by your organization.

That said, what characteristics are shared by the most sought after Millennial grads?

1. Education is important. They understand that a college degree and more is vital to their success and happiness. Their education will not stop when they graduate with their four year degree. A far higher percentage of Millennials than previous generation either stay in or go back to school to obtain a graduate degree and almost all relish and even insist on substantial training and mentoring from their employers. If your organization has the mindset that these young adults should accept your offer of employment because they’re qualified and you’re offering them a paycheck, well, this is a pretty good time for you to start looking for a new gig because your employer is not going to hire the talent it needs from this generation.



2. They prefer to IM and text. Not only do they multi-task and regularly use new communication tools like instant messaging and cell phone text messaging in their daily lives, they prefer it. If your organization still prefers to communicate by phone and email, get your resume up-to-date. If you want to win over these candidates then learn how to use your BlackBerry or cell phone, put up a quality MySpace page describing your organization’s career opportunities, network on Facebook, incorporate video into your job posting ads, publish your instant messaging address, and otherwise make it clear to these candidates that you understand that their needs and wants are different from those of their parents by communicating with them in the manner that they communicate with each other.



3. Remember the helicopter parents. The parents of Millennials are career-focused Baby Boomers who have sacrificed their personal lives in return for their careers, and all too often have been discarded by organizations far more concerned about their short-term profitability than in retaining their most important long-term asset: their top producing employees. Like it or not, these Boomers are incredibly involved in the lives of their Millennial children and never lose an opportunity to drill into their kids the lessons learned through layoffs and other corporate misdeeds. Some parents are so involved that they attend job fairs with their kids, sit in on interviews, and complete work assignments. These are the helicopter parents – so named because they are always hovering over their children. Shake your head if you wish, but this Millennial generation listens to their parents, and so have learned the lessons inflicted upon their parents. Both generations have learned that employers have little to no loyalty to their employees so they respond by showing little to no loyalty back. We may grumble and complain about Millennials being job hoppers, but let’s be honest: most of us would lay them off the first chance we got if our profits took a substantial downturn. They know that and act accordingly. If they are not treated well and offered the opportunities that the employer across the street is willing to offer them, then they will leave you before you have the opportunity to lay them off. So treat them like we should have been treating our employees all along.



4. They want security and upside. The security they want comes with a good benefits package but they also want to be rewarded for their performance. In short, they want it all and know that if you don’t give it to them then another organization will. Some complain that these young adults don’t consider a work week to be 40 hours long. Yet I’ve never met a Millennial who considers a work week to be anything other than the time it takes to get the job done. Give them menial work and deny them the opportunity to develop their skills and they will return the favor by not putting in even 40 hours. But give them the opportunity to contribute with meaningful work and invest in them by training and mentoring them and they will work far more hours and be happier for it.



5. They are who they are. Be prepared to see the Millennials putting in the long (hopefully) hours in casual clothes, including flip flops, because they know that their work performance is not dependent upon what shoes they’re wearing. If you want the work, then don’t sweat the sandals. By the same token, understand that they draw the same lines between their personal and professional lives. They believe that their personal lives are their business and completely unrelated to their work lives. They were three years old when the first reality TV show hit the airwaves and they spent 20 years of “quality time” watching these exhibitionist/ voyeur shows with their Boomer parents. Is it any wonder that they see nothing wrong with posting sexually suggestive and sometimes even explicit photos and stories about themselves on-line? While Boomers may tut tut such behavior and question the judgment of a candidate who literally may let it all hang out on-line, the Millennial simply will not understand your position. One candidate who posted a story on-line about how she liked to get drunk and have sex told me that potential employers shouldn’t care about that because she won’t be drunk while working, won’t have sex while at work, and certainly won’t be drunk and have sex while on the job.



6. They network but not like Boomers. It is very common for Millennials to have multiple, quality employment offers from which to choose so is it any wonder that they don’t post their resume to job boards and wait for the phone to ring? They don’t go to job fairs as they know they don’t need to put up with being treated like cattle. And they do network. Boy do they network. But unlike the phone calls to family friends that Boomers make when they’re out of work, Millennials network with their friends. So how do you tap into that network of friends? Remember the two most popular sites for this generation: MySpace and Facebook. Both are social networking sites. It isn’t at all unusual to talk with Millennials who literally spend hours a day on these sites. How many Boomers can claim to ever have networked for hours in a day let alone day after day, year after year? If your organization does not have an active presence on both MySpace and Facebook, then you are not in a position to properly tap into the network of these most sought after candidates. If you’re sitting there staring at your phone and wondering why it isn’t ringing, maybe you need to start looking in a different place.



7. They are brand conscious. They care about what they wear but they also care about where they work. Perhaps the biggest factor separating the successful from unsuccessful targeted email campaigns that we deploy is the brand of the employer. Remember that it is no longer enough that you are hiring and they are qualified. They have multiple offers. They need to understand why they should choose to work for you rather than the employer across the street who is offering the same opportunity. And the easiest way for you to communicate that is through your brand: what does your organization stand for and, by extension, what will they stand for should they choose to join your team? If you do not have a strong brand on-campus or if your brand is strong but not positive, then invest in creating a strong, positive brand before you start actively recruiting. College recruiting is strategic so don’t tell me that you don’t have time and need to hire people now. That’s tactical recruiting. If you’re truly interested in recruiting the best college students and recent graduates, then your recruiting practices need to be strategic. And that means, in part, that your brand needs to be positive and strong.

The Millennial generation is probably the most sought after, highly skilled, ready to hit the ground running generation ever to enter our workforce. We are counting on them despite their vastly smaller numbers to replace the productivity of the massive Baby Boomer generation. I believe that they stand an excellent chance of doing so because of the tools and talents they possess. But should they fail, I believe it will be due to the failure of Gen X’ers and Baby Boomers to adapt to the very different needs and wants of this remarkable generation.

Steven Rothberg is the President and Founder of CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading career site for college students who are hunting for internships and recent graduates who are looking for entry level jobs and other career opportunities. He may be reached by email at Steven@CollegeRecruiter.com, phone at 800-835-4989 x704, on-line at www.CollegeRecruiter.com, through AOL instant messaging at sjrcollege, and via text messaging at 952-848-2211.