Recruiters: Seek Out The Oregon Trail Generation
??Ethan Krause Edwards
Maverick Strategy & Creative Leader | Brand Breakthrough Architect | Uncovering Unexpected Insights | Proud Girl Dad
Yes, I am part of the Oregon Trail Generation. Oregon Trail was an epic (for the time) educational game distributed to elementary schools world wide in the 80's and 90's. If you were born from 1975-1984 you really don't fit into Generation X or the Millennials... and chances are, you played this game in your school's computer lab. You can read more about it in this article here. To companies looking to hire the best talent, here is why that's important:
The Oregon Trail Generation grew up as the Internet was being created. We learned how to become digitally savvy because Silicon Valley was coming of age at the same time we were. The creation of cell phones, wifi, web browsers, color computer screens, hi-speed internet, smartphones, palm computers, laptops, mp3 players, social media... on and on... It all happened in the first 25 years of our life. Our generation gets why these things are so important but also why the generations before us have a hard time keeping up. We understand how the digital world started and what it was like to live in the analog world.
That means when it comes to marketing, we understand what drives of a wider range of demographics. Millennials simply can't relate to people in their mid-thirties and older. They have no clue what it was like to pay long distance charges. They can only try to imagine a world before the internet. And in the same manner Gen-Xers can't relate to Millennials. People like me, we have the best of both worlds... and often know how to leverage that to our advantage.
So recruiters, when you're looking to hire people that have the best perspective of the marketing world we live in now, ask your candidates... "Did you ever die of dysentery while playing the Oregon Trail." If they crack a smile and start telling you about how the digital world is changing everything and will continue to move at an even fast pace, you've found someone that truly understands the digital landscape. You've found a candidate that doesn't take their connectivity on social media for granted. You've found a person that is grounded and has a much better perspective on how to target consumers and speak to a much wider range of demographics.