How do you best attract the generation Y a.k.a. digital natives for your recruiting process?

The generation Y grew up in the digital era and therefore there are a lot of things they do not question anymore but take them as normal. Here you find some information about what the digital natives take for granted, what they perceive as backwardly and how you can use this for your recruiting strategy.

The generation Y within touching distance

The communication in the internet became more than fast. There are various free forums and messenger services you can use to communicate with others. It does not matter when, someone will be online, so it is not difficult to find someone to talk to. You’ll get an answer directly and if the other one does not reply you still receive a message if your request was read and when. A digital registered letter so to say.

More than any other generation, generation Y expects the same behaviour from companies they apply at. If they do not receive an answer right after having clicked the “send” button they wonder if something went wrong. They know that from various other online services which they use every day.

Another new communication channel is your fan page on facebook, be it the corporate page or a career page on facebook. Acctually a wonderful way to present yourself in an authentic way especially because you can interact with your potential candidates. But that might also be the crucial point. The generation Y is using Facebook 24/7. Young people are used to get a reaction on their comments, likes and other messages within minutes. So if somebody tries to get in contact with you on facebook take it seriously, act facebook-like and respond quickly. This is even more important if you have to react on negative comments or messages. With the right answer you can turn the criticism into something positive. We even recommend to do this as a bad online image might quickly develop a momentum of its own which you then call a shitstorm. There is not any better place to let out your frutstration than online platforms. By the way: You should also check your facebook page on the weekend because then your potential candidates are using social media even more.

It is time to face the recruiting challenges of the new century in order to keep pace with the new generation of candidates. Are you ready for the candidate expectations of generation Y?