Introducing Wavelength: A Weekly Digest of Gen Z Talent Trends and Workplace Insights

Why do 52% of Gen Z candidates lack confidence they’ll find the right job or internship in today’s economic climate? What methods are students using to find opportunities? How quickly do early career candidates expect to hear back from a company after submitting an application? And what exactly convinces a candidate to accept a job or internship offer?

I’ve been exploring these themes since Generation Z first entered the workforce back in 2018 (and even before that as the editor & founder of a now-defunct national publication for college students). In my role at RippleMatch, I’ve had the first-hand opportunity to survey our user base of student job seekers and analyze their expectations, perceptions, and hopes for their careers, while also relaying this information to our community talent acquisition & campus recruitment professionals. What’s stood out over the many years of reports and webinars is the impact this information can have to bridge the gap between older generations in the workforce and those just beginning their careers. While it can’t always tell the whole story, data is a powerful reflection of the landscape and plays a key role in how teams can best support the next generation of talent.

At RippleMatch, our research on Gen Z candidates and talent professionals is conducted regularly and the findings are published through reports and webinars. However, there isn’t a weekly cadence that breaks down the most compelling parts of this research that also ties it to broader trends and current events.

Through Wavelength, I’m excited to bring the insights I’m so passionate about to a wider audience. I’ll be writing about the latest research I’m conducting at RippleMatch (including data insights that haven’t yet been published in an official report) as well as pulling in additional headlines, research, and trends from outside sources.?

To turn this introductory post into something more and share what you can expect from Wavelength, let’s take a high-level look at some of the most interesting Gen Z job search trends I’ve collected through recent surveying. Note – the information below isn’t yet published in an official report as it was collected in mid-January and presented at the 2024 TA Week in San Diego. Consider this a sneak peek before the official guide.

52% of Gen Z candidates lack confidence they’ll find the right job or internship in this economic landscape – and the application black hole is partially to blame.?

In our most recent survey of 3,000 college juniors and seniors on our platform, we asked them if they were confident or not confident they would find the right role – 52% said they lacked confidence. The share of candidates saying they lack confidence has remained fairly consistent in the last several quarters I have asked this survey question (see below for a breakdown), but is notably down from the share of candidates that were confident in Spring 2022, notably during a much stronger economy. (You can find the stats from fall 2023 in our fall State of the Gen Z job search report.)

Why do candidates lack confidence? For those who said they are not confident, the follow-up question reveals that ‘rarely hearing back after submitting applications’ is the top reason most candidates are lacking confidence, followed by headlines regarding layoffs and economic struggles.?

Candidates have high expectations from hearing back from employers – but are also submitting hundreds of applications on average.?

More than half of Gen Z candidates (66%) would like to receive a response from companies in 5-7 business days or less. An even larger share (79%) think the entire hiring process should take place in one month or less.?

These are difficult expectations for employers to meet, especially when the leading estimate is close to 2 weeks to even hear back about an application. This is made even more challenging by the fact that many job-seeking students are submitting upwards of one hundred applications to find a role. 61% of candidates surveyed submit at least 100 applications, while a quarter submits more than 300. The high volume of applicants coupled with the expectations of hearing back creates a thorny path forward for candidate experience.?

Are you a late adopter when it comes to AI and employment? Not exactly.

In the last year, it feels like AI has reached the mainstream. Most of us have at least dabbled in ChatGPT, but it’s not always clear just how widely adopted AI tools have become.?

According to the insights I’ve collected since November, AI in TA hasn’t reached widespread adoption when it comes to finding a job or working in recruitment.?

In a survey of 200 leading university recruitment teams (published in the State of University Recruitment report which you can read in its entirety here), I found that most teams had not yet adopted an AI recruitment tool. However, a quarter of teams were planning to add an AI tool in the near future.?

Students were more likely to leverage AI tools, but are largely sticking with ChatGPT. Nearly 50% of students report using ChatGPT or another generative AI tool to help write their resumes or cover letters. Beyond that though, only a small percentage of students are using AI to mass-apply to roles, contact recruiters, or sift through roles. A third of students report not using any AI at all!

There’s plenty of data to walk through – and each week I'll tackle something different.

Subscribe to this weekly newsletter for the latest insights and analysis, and feel free to reach out with any questions or insights of your own. And if you want to hear more insights live, keep an eye on the RippleMatch Events page to attend any upcoming events centered on talent trends, including this one where I’ll walk through the data shared above and more.

Welcome to Wavelength – until next week!