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A journal of events, trends,
challenges and opportunities
in the employment marketplace. |
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Autumn,
2007 Issue |
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Employment
Trends . . . |
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Hiring
Demand Continues
Its Travels in the Red Zone |
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PERHAPS
KEEPING PACE with the new football season, hiring and recruiting
activity has remained in the "red zone," with only
minor seasonal pauses, since it jumped to a new all-time high
last March. |
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This
is according to the latest statistics issued by Monster.com, and is supported
by reports from Dunhill offices throughout the nation.
Here
are some corollaries of the
current trend:
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Hiring
Demand is Strong at All Levels.
It doesn't seem to matter if the positions are for entry level
trainees, individual contributors, supervisors, managers or key
executives -- there are plenty of opportunities being offered by
companies both large and small. Because of the ongoing
candidate shortages, demand seems pent-up as well -- i.e.,
hiring is likely to continue even if there is a reduction in
business activity in certain business sectors. |
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Competition
is Intense for All Generational Groups.
It also doesn't seem to matter much if the candidates are Baby
Boomers, members of Generation X or relatively new
"Gen-Y" workforce participants -- multiple
opportunities exist for all three groups. As those Boomers
who are nearing retirement age begin to leave the workforce in
increasing numbers, they are creating additional openings for
Gen-X'ers and Gen-Y'ers as well as for other Boomers. |
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Demand
is Even Stronger within Niche Markets.
It seems almost axiomatic that the narrower the niche, the tighter the
supply and the greater the demand. This is so whether the niche
is a vertical market, like the companies that make long-life
batteries for hybrid automobiles, or horizontal niches like I.T. and
Six Sigma, or regulation- and trend-driven niches like Audit and Supply
Chain/Logistics. |
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Given
the reality of continued demand for candidates at all levels in all kinds of
companies and industries, the time has come to expand the pool of people
from which you can hire and effectively utilize key talent. To
that end, the balance of this e-zine is devoted to "Recruiting
Across the Generations." |
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Competitive Hiring . . . |
| Recruiting
Across the Generations |
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We
live in a time when three very distinctive generations are active in our
workforce -- the Baby Boom Generation, Generation X and Generation
Y. Because of the pace of change in our society, each of these
groups is quite distinct, with different values and needs vis a vis
the workplace. In the recruiting and hiring process, each group
has different response triggers that are the keys to attracting them to
your company. Here are some tips on how to approach the members of
each generational group. |
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The
Baby Boomers -- born 1946 - 1964.
Boomers were born after World War II, and were brought up by
parents who instilled in them the importance of hard work.
They came into the North American workplace 77 million strong,
having experiencing unprecedented prosperity combined with a
high level of social unrest .
Believing in the primacy of "doing work that makes a
difference," they tend to be very hard workers once they
understand why a task is important. Knowing this is
central to Boomers, as they tend to build their identities around their
jobs.
To enhance your recruiting efforts with Boomers, invest some of
the interview conversation exploring these three dimensions:
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Describe
your
company's overall mission, the role your division or
department plays within it, and the rational
behind the job. |
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Stress
teamwork, but position a defined role for the Boomer
working within the team. |
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Emphasize
how critical the task is, and the importance of the
Boomer's potential contribution. |
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Generation
X -- born 1964 - 1980.
The Gen-X'ers came into the world in significantly
smaller numbers than their parents -- some 25 Million
less. They grew up at a time of U.S. political and
economic retrenchment; thus they are sometimes described as
having a "survival"
mentality.
Having experienced the downside of their parents' almost
fanatical commitment to the world of work as children, they are
committed to achieving "work-life" balance, and to
creating self-reliant and technically literate work- and
life-styles.
Here's how to attract Gen-X'ers during your recruiting and
hiring conversations:
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In
a relaxed and informal interview atmosphere, be the one
who initiates the "work-life balance"
conversation. Describe your programs and practices
that support "balance." |
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Stress
the importance of technological innovation to your
company and your quest to achieve
"state-of-the-art." |
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To
the extent that they are congruent with your corporate
culture, emphasize merit over tenure, hands-off
supervision, self-reliance, self-selected teams and
multi-tasking. |
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Generation
Y -- born 1980 - 2000.
While a few more years will have to pass by before the values
and contributions of Generation Y will be fully understood, it
is already clear that its members are AT LEAST as different from
Gen-X as Gen-X is from the Boomers.
Gen-Y grew up being lavished with money and attention by their
parents. As a result, they are confident, socially
responsible, diverse, conservative, driven, and very sure of
their unique position at the center of things. At the same
time, their lives have been highly structured, and they need
that sense of structure in order to succeed in the
workplace.
Focus on the following with Gen-Y'ers during your recruiting and
hiring process:
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Show
them that they will get the structure, detail and
direction they crave by briefing them in detail on what
to expect (and how to succeed) during the hiring
process. |
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Stress
the opportunities for job variety, interesting work and
trying out different roles that your company provides. |
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Emphasize
benefits, company stability, promotion potential,
Mentoring, creative teams and groups, flex-hours
and the chance to work
on independent projects. |
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Each
of the three generational groups -- Boomers, Gen-X and
Gen-Y -- has a unique and critical part to play in making your company
successful. While you will certainly find individuals in each group
who will differ from the summaries provided above, it is
our hope that this information will serve to enhance your approach to
recruiting across the generations. |
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Are you interested in receiving more information of this kind?
Contact your Dunhill
Office. There will be more to come here, too. This e-zine -- the “Dunhill Professional Search Consultant” -- is published
four times a year and is dedicated to providing employment market trends and competitive hiring tips to our Customers. |
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Fax: 770-952-9422 