Generational Career Motivations from the Desk of a Recruiter

?As an Executive Recruiter, Salesperson, and active networker, I speak with over 100 people a week who are actively in the job market or seeking employees to join their team. What's interesting are the themes that continue to surface in our conversations based on generation and what motivates their search.

?When talking to Baby Boomers as they near the end of their ladder-climbing careers, I’ve learned they are not all ready to step out of the workforce entirely, or can't quite yet. That said, they still want to contribute their extensive knowledge and experience in a meaningful way. They aren't looking to bide time until retirement, they want to work, yet many organizations are reluctant to hire those over 60 assuming they won't stay (retiring soon), or won't acclimate. I think there is a ton of untapped talent in this generation and hope we move beyond our biases to allow these talented folks to pass on their knowledge before they exit the workforce entirely.

?First question when speaking to them: "When can I start?"

Generation X (my generation) seems to be the ladder climbing workaholics that don't know how to say no. They give and give and give until they burnout, throw their hands-up and say, "I'm out"! This is our latch-key generation that know how to work independently, figure things out on their own, and require autonomy to do a job well. When looking for new roles, they are all about the prestige of the position and where it will take them. This was the beginning of the "job-hopping" generation, willing to leave to seek higher pay and a better title rather than devoting 20+ years of their life to one firm.

First question when speaking to them: "What is the compensation?"

Millennials, you know the generation...the ones we thought were going to change everything (for the worse). Pleasantly surprised by this generation, they work hard, value relationships, changed our work week from a consistent 50/60 hours a week (oh wait..that’s just me) to 45/50 and coined the phrase, Work Life Balance yet, they still know how to commit, work hard, understand a collective team goal and the mission of the organization they work for.?

First question when speaking to them: "What is the title of the position?"

Generation Y/Z, are the interesting ones. I have hired many Gen Z and Y employees and more often than not they impress me with their willingness to learn, ability to learn quickly, and desire/eagerness to absorb everything you are willing to share or teach. If we are willing to pour into this generation, we will be pleasantly surprised, as long as we can entice them to stick around before leaving to start their new Influencer career or YouTube travel channel.

First question(s) when speaking to them: 1) Is this job remote? 2) How often do I have to talk to people? This is a true story, happens all the time.

Keep in mind, this is based on my personal experience, actual conversations, no real studies conducted here. Bottom line, each generation has something to offer. Those who have something to teach and contribute, those who have something to learn (and also teach us older generations how to stay in the know on advancing technologies), and those in the middle working hard to maintain the balance.

I'd love to know your thoughts and experiences as well.

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