What the Next Generation of Talent Is Looking for in Job Descriptions

83% of HR professionals still say they struggle to recruit suitable job candidates, but maybe it's because they're not looking in the right places. There are plenty of hungry, younger candidates ready to fill our industrial skills gap, but industrial businesses need to figure out how to find them and how to make their open positions appealing to a younger crowd. 

In order to take advantage of the untapped potential of younger professionals, here are some tips I'd recommend industrial business leaders keep in mind when looking to recruit millennial candidates. 

How to Write a Job Description to Attract Young Professional Talent

Keep it Short, Sweet, and Direct

If you've been on the job market these days, it's kind of a nightmare, recession aside. As soon as a job is posted on LinkedIn, you have about two hours to actually have your job application looked at; otherwise, you're at risk of having your carefully curated cover letter lost in a sea of 200+ interested applicants who weren't quite quick enough. 

Plus, Zipjob says you should be submitting 10 to 15 job applications per week for the best results, making your job hunt basically a full-time job of its own.

So, just as experts recommend making a resume count since recruiters are likely only going to give it a cursory glance, the same thing goes for job descriptions. If your candidates are only going to be looking at a description for a few minutes, make sure you're packing in the most relevant information. This information usually falls into one of these three categories: 

1. Experience required. Will candidates need a bachelor's degree or just relevant industry experience? Job descriptions for younger audiences are tending to move away from the typical "years of experience" model since millennials can pick up new skills quickly and soon become proficient in a skill or technology even without having multiple years of experience with it.
2. Description of job responsibilities. What is your new employee expected to do during their workday? It may seem mundane, but it's one of the top questions asked in interviews.
3. What your candidate needs to succeed. This is NOT the same as the required experience. Success can be measured by cultural fit, including the type of team they'll be working with and the skills they'll need on the job, not including qualifications. Will your candidate need to be an effective multitasker with strong interpersonal skills? This section is where you let them know.  

Don't Use Buzzwords Like "Rockstar" or"Guru"

While these titles seem like they could be fun and attractive to younger talent, they also bring on a host of problems. I have made this mistake myself. I added the phrase looking for a "rockstar" on one of my linkedIn postings and it opened the door to under qualified candidates that didn't read the requirements but rather felt that their personality of being a rockstar would get them an interview.

First of all, what qualifies a candidate as a "guru" within a certain skill set or field? There's not really a clear answer. When I'm looking at a job description, I want a clear understanding of what you're looking for in a strong candidate. Do you want someone who's experienced with a particular skill or training, or is there still an opportunity to learn on the job?

In order to most effectively appeal to younger candidates, it's best to keep your descriptions clear and concise. Explain exactly what you're looking for, with a job title that's either easily understandable or follows an industry standard. 

Plus, the older segment of the millennial generation is encroaching on their late 30s in 2020, and probably don't want to be called "rockstars" anymore; they'll want to be recognized for their years of professional experience. Titles and buzzwords like those listed above are usually pretty easy to see through, and you definitely don't want your younger audience to feel pandered to. 

If you're not sure what the difference between appealing and pandering is, check out LinkedIn's list of Top 10 Overused Buzzwords.

Talk About Your Corporate Culture

According to Deloitte's Leadership Center for Inclusion, "the millennial majority is transforming your culture," and there's no need to guess why; Our generation is known for prioritizing company culture when looking for a job, and we don't just mean having a ping-pong table in the office.  

We're not looking to spend our eight-hour workday sitting at a six-foot-tall cubicle, totally isolated from our peers; We want to make the workplace an opportunity to collaborate, innovate, and even socialize. This has been a point of judgment for millennials for quite some time; older managers think that we have impossible expectations for a harmonious office space where everyone just sits around and chats and doesn't get any work done.

However, this really isn't the case. I think what we're looking for, overall, can really be summed up as two main priorities:

1. A work-life balance. No one actually wants to work 24/7 for a corporation, but millennials especially want to feel valued within their organization and be treated accordingly. We still feel an incredible drive to succeed, just within the realm of maintaining personal sanity and avoiding burnout. 
2. An opportunity to make a difference. Ultimately, we just want to make the world a better place, probably as a result of all of a sense of impending doom spreading right now. If our job feels like a mindless pile of paperwork, it's most likely not aligning with our career goals. This is probably the number one reason millennials are known for high turnover rates.

So, moral of the story: when you're putting together a job description, make sure to include a paragraph about your company's culture. Are drinks after work with colleagues a normal event? Do you participate in a sports league with other companies? We want to know. 

Especially in this new era of remote work, corporate culture has become a make-or-break factor for hiring. Even if we're not in the office five days a week, we still want to feel like we're a part of a unified organization.

Image Credit: Christin Hume / Unsplash