5 Tips to Attract and Retain Gen Z Talent

By the year 2030, the number of Gen Z employees is expected to triple. That means that people born roughly between 1997 and 2012 will soon make up 30 percent of the global workforce and will play a vital role in shaping the workplace for decades to come. 

As a recruiter at LinkedIn and a Gen Zer myself, I can tell you that, for the most part, this new cohort of workers is creative, adaptable, values-driven, and intentional in their career choices. And as I chat with fellow career starters about their goals, one thing is clear: We are unwilling to compromise our career vision to fit into a work model that doesn’t work for us.

I even see this reflected in my decision to join LinkedIn a little over a year ago. As I was deciding whether to accept the job offer, I asked myself: 1. Does this role have opportunities to learn and grow, and meet great mentors? 2. Do the company’s values reflect my own? Those two things mattered more than any signing bonus or compensation package. 

Some might say that clarity on what we want makes us restless, and they would be right. LinkedIn platform data shows that Gen Z workers in the United States are transitioning jobs nearly 40 percent more than last year (more than double the rate of millennials). Seventy percent of Gen Zers chalk it up to a career awakening, started by the pandemic. Symptoms include feeling bored, craving more work-life-balance, and a desiring alignment of our job with our passions.

Amid this flurry, one thing seems clear to me: To attract and recruit Gen Z to your company, you should consider what truly matters to them. Today we want more from our employers — more flexibility, more authenticity, more career advancement. Here’s a few things to keep top of mind for attracting and retaining this generation:  

Take a second look at the experience required in your job listings

My generation may be more likely to look for new jobs, but that doesn’t mean we’re always confident in the process. According to an October 2021 LinkedIn survey, nearly a third (29%) of Gen Z job seekers say that what’s holding them back is that they don’t know where to start.

One of the biggest hurdles? Companies are not labeling the jobs correctly. For those starting in their career an entry-level job should be just that — a chance for those entering the workforce to find work. 

However, often times what is labeled as entry-level requires more than three years experience, which is not realistic for someone just starting out. LinkedIn analyzed data from nearly 4 million jobs posted between December 2017 and August 2021 and found that employers required a minimum of three years of relevant work experience on 35% of their entry-level postings. 

This experience inflation can clog a company’s pipeline of young talent, keeping qualified candidates from ever getting their foot in the door. While it might feel nice to swing for the fences on every entry-level hire, you could wind up missing out on a top prospect simply because they didn’t check every box.

Double down on flexibility

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that workplace flexibility is no longer a lofty daydream — it’s an expectation. According to a January 2022 LinkedIn survey, Gen Z (72%) is the generation most likely to have either left — or consider leaving — a job because their employer did not offer a feasible flexible work policy (compared to 69% of millennials, 53% of Gen X, and 59% of boomers).

The clear takeaway for anyone hoping to land Gen Z talent is to create more hybrid and remote positions. However, as the generation whose working lives have largely been defined by the pandemic, we also crave in-person collaboration with our colleagues. 

So what can companies do? Embrace a culture of flexibility in which employees take an active role in determining their own in- and out-of-office schedules. Many of the people I know favor a remote model because it allows them to control their work-life-balance, another huge priority for us. 

Walk the walk with values

I mentioned before how alignment with my own values is what led me to LinkedIn. I’m not alone. Generation Z leads the pack when it comes to seeking better alignment with their values (80%). So what your organization stands for and believes in (its moral compass, if you will) is more than window dressing; it’s a major selling point for young talent.

As the most multicultural generation in U.S. history, we expect diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to be front and center of a company’s mission. In fact, 78% of job seekers on our platform feel the same. One other thing: We’re good at sniffing out inauthenticity. 

Besides displaying your organization’s values across all branding, from the company page to individual job listings, hiring managers need to talk about how those values translate into the day-to-day functions of the business. What investments are being made? How, exactly, are the values being prioritized? 

For example, it’s one thing to say you prioritize employee well-being and it’s another to give examples during the interview of how this manifests within the walls of your company. In our latest Global Talent Trends report, we noted that 66% of Gen Zers would like to see more investment in mental health and wellness as a way to improve company culture compared to 51% of millennials, 41% of Gen X, and 31% of baby boomers.

Onboard like you mean it

Hiring Gen Z talent is just the beginning. Retaining them — that’s where the real work happens. And it all starts with the onboarding process. We are looking for an authentic connection with our employer, which is why those first few days on the job are crucial in setting the tone for your company. 

Studies show that effective onboarding can boost employee retention by as much as 82% and productivity by more than 70%. Yet Gallup found that only 10% of employees felt their organization did a good job onboarding them. 

The trick to doing it right? Sweat the small stuff. Invest the time, energy, and thought to do it effectively. Beyond a warm welcome and some fun company swag, you’ll want to get technology into a new hire’s hands immediately, set them up with an onboarding buddy, dive into the company’s culture and values, create opportunities for them to meet and connect with teammates, and give them lots and lots of time with their direct manager.

Of course, with remote work on the rise, it’s never been more important to dial in your virtual onboarding. That can mean weeks of behind-the-scenes communication to ensure your new hire has access to the systems and equipment they’ll need to hit the ground running before their first day. These small but important gestures go a long way toward helping a new employee feel welcome and on track for success.

Lean in on learning and growth

Young workers love to learn, especially when it helps us excel at our jobs. More than three-quarters (76%) of Gen Z employees believe that learning is the key to a successful career. And no cohort is more career-minded than we are. According to LinkedIn’s latest Workplace Confidence Survey, 40% of Gen Zers are willing to accept a pay cut of up to 5% of their salary for a role that offers better career growth — compared with 26% of overall workers.

Those numbers make sense when you consider that we’re still building the hard skills necessary to move up the ladder. The takeaway: Be sure your organization promotes an #AlwaysBeLearning culture. This can mean creating mentorship opportunities, job rotation programs, or offering a robust suite of online courses — 86% of us have engaged in some form of online learning. 

To optimize engagement, course recommendations should align with our career goals. The content we crave most focuses on technology and hard skills, from front-end web development and programming languages to data analysis. And don’t be surprised if you see us hitting the books on our days off: While other generations prefer to learn on weekdays, we don’t mind pulling up our sleeves to improve our skills on the weekend.

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