1. How to Catch A
Rising Star
Recruiting and Retaining
Young Talent
Eve Sweeting

2. Outline
• Demographics
• Why Recruit the New Kids on the
Block?
• Where and How to Recruit Younger
Workers
• Benefits that X’ers and Y’ers Want
• Resources to Learn More

3. Demographics

4. Generations Now in the Workplace
% in Workforce • Traditionalists
• Ages 64 and Over
15%
• 58 million
10% Traditionalists
• Baby Boomers
Baby • Ages 45 to 63
Boomers • 78 Million
29% Gen X • Generation X
• Ages 33 to 44
Gen Y • 48 million
46% • Generation Y
• Ages 15 to 32
• 80 million

5. Generational Uniqueness
Resource: Pew Research Foundation

6. Who are the Millennials?
• 21% are married (half
the % of their parents
generation)
• 34% are parents
• Unlikely to be better
off financially than
their parents (first
generation in a century)
• 37% underemployed,
18.8% unemployed

7. Comparison of Gen X & Gen Y
Gen X Gen Y
• Worried about • Worried about
– Money/finances: 27% – Money/finances: 30%
– Career/job: 6% – Career/job: 16%
– Family: 13% – Family: 7%
• Social Media Use: 50% • Social Media Use: 75%
• Sleep with their cell • Sleep with their cell
phone: 68% phone: 83%
• Have a tattoo: 40% • Have a tattoo: 36%
• Read the paper: 32% • Read the paper: 23%

8. Why Recruit Gen X & Y
• Well- Educated – 40% of 18-24 in college,
another 40% want to return to school
• Accustomed to diversity/integration
• Different thinkers
• Multi-taskers
• Tech savvy
• Driven by excellence
• Focused on results
• Though Gen Y is larger than Gen X, there is still
expected to be a labor shortage in the next 25
years. (FutureWork Institute)

9. Job Postings
• Market your company like you market your
product
• Provide information about your company
culture and work environment
• ¾ of younger workers look at Company
websites to learn about prospective employers
• Focus on leadership positions and job growth,
benefits that younger workers want

10. Where to Recruit: Company Website
• Make your recruiting site interesting
• Make it easy to understand
– Hiring process
– Company values are
– Potential career paths
• Make it relevant
– Use real employees to
tell your story

12. Where to Recruit: Colleges
• Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (Tallahassee)
• Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton)
• Florida Gulf Coast University (Ft. Myers)
• Florida International University (Miami)
• Florida State University (Tallahassee)
• New College of Florida (Sarasota)
• University of Central Florida (Orlando)
• University of Florida (Gainesville)
• University of North Florida (Jacksonville)
• University of South Florida (Tampa)
• University of West Florida (Pensacola)

13. How to Recruit: Colleges
• Use your current young employees to
recruit new young employees.
“Millennials are particularly peer
influenced.” – Lisa Feldman, UC Berkeley’s
Hass School of Business
• Use videos or other media that show
what life at your company is like:
Google Recruitment Video

14. Where to Recruit: Social Media
Nearly ¼ of younger job searchers use
social networking sites when looking for
employment.
• TwitHire.com
• JobShouts.com
• Facebook

18. How to Recruit: Social Media
• Highlight current employee achievements
• Promote job fairs
• Promote specific job openings
• Post on a specific job board on Facebook
• Employment Network in Sarasota,FL has over
1,200 followers
• Employment Network in Port Charlotte/Punta
Gorda is growing with almost 300 followers
• Suncoast Workforce

19. Where to Recruit: Referrals
If you are looking for young professionals, the
best place to start is with the YP’s currently
working for you.
• Offer incentives for referrals
• Do have a group membership to the local
Young Professionals Group (YPG)
• Send your young professionals to local YPG
meetings to recruit
• Post job opportunities on the YPG website
• Become a sponsor of the local YPG

21. Retaining Young Talent: Benefits
Top Ranked Benefits Top Job Considerations
Benefit Score Consideration Score
Salary 9.05
Vacation/PTO 8.82
Benefits 8.86
Flex Hours/ 8.06
Telecommuting Growth 8.74
Opportunities
Profit-sharing 7.52
Location 8.44
Subsidized 7.51
education Company 7.95
Mentoring 6.41 Leadership
Programs
Source: Robert Half International, What Millenials Want, 2007

22. Retaining Young Talent: Work Environment
• Casual
– Peer to Peer
– Access up the Organizational Chart
• Fast-paced
– Do not want to spend Time paying dues
• Flexible hours
• Telecommuting Options
• Supportive/Mentoring
• Community/Purpose Driven

23. Retaining Young Talent: Work Environment
Quality Ranking
Dress Code
Manager I respect 8.74
4%
Business
People I enjoy 8.69 Casual
26% Jeans
41%
Work/Life Balance 8.63
A Mixture
Socially 7.42
Responsible Business
27%
Company Attire
Nice Office Space 7.14

24. Retaining Young Talent: Work/Life Balance
• Children of workaholic
parents who want a
balance
• Will check in frequently
through tech devices
• Want to work smarter
– Get things done quickly
– Use connections
– Quickly research
information

25. Retaining Young Talent: Affinity Groups
• 40% of the DiversityInc Top 50 companies
have generational affinity groups; 88% use
employee resource groups for recruiting
• Allstate Insurance Co. has a young
professional organization with 600-700
employees
• Gen Y likes networking with people their own
age. Growing up with social networking has
encouraged this feeling of community.

26. Retaining Young Talent:
Motivating & Recognizing
Motivation
• Personal fulfillment opportunities
• Career planning guidance
• Importance in the organization (not job position)
Recognition
• Continual feedback
• Praise when deserved
• Rewards in the form of time off or other benefits

27. Recap
• 48 Million Gen X’ers & 80 Million Gen
Y’ers
• Untraditional Recruiting Techniques
• Facebook, YouTube, TwitHire
• Untraditional benefits
• Telecommuting, Mentoring,
Affinity Groups, Personal Fulfillment
Opportunities
• Lead to an untraditional workforce

28. Resources
• The Pew Research Center
• www.pewresearch.org
• Robert Half International/Yahoo Hot
Jobs Study
• What Millennial Workers Want: How to
Attract & Retain Gen Y Employees
• Diversity Inc. Magazine & Website

29. Questions?
“Understanding Generation Y is important
not just for employers. Older workers--that
is, anyone over 30--need to know how to
adapt to the values and demands of their
newest colleagues. Before too long, they'll
be the bosses.”
Read more: What Gen Y Really Wants
TIME Magazine July 5, 2007