Every generation struggles when recruiting the new generation into the workforce. Boomers struggled recruiting Generation Xers, now Gen-Xers are having trouble selling careers to the members of Generation Y and Millennials that are entering the workforce. Every generation requires a shift in the mindset of recruiters, as every generation has different drives for their career.
This isn’t a new issue either – the Wall Street Journal noted the skewed government workforce back in 2014. At that point, the percentage of government employees under the age of 30 had hit an eight-year low of 7%, versus 25% for the private sector. A survey of undergraduates at the time showed that few students even considered the government as an ideal place to work.
So what can you do to recruit Millennials into government work? Whether at the local, state, or federal level, here are eight ways you can pitch your positions and careers to the average Millennial.
State Your Mission Clearly – And Sell It!
Millennials have a reputation of being a little vain, but that is something you can capitalize on. A clear mission statement for your department and the job being posted is necessary. Millennials aren’t looking to “work for the Census Bureau”. They are looking to “perform research and analysis to better understand how resources can be allocated to help communities.” You need to sell the latter, not the former.
Fortune reports that six out of ten Millennials factor in a “sense of purpose” when accepting jobs. They want to see how their work contributes to the goals of their agency, and they want their work to be important. Beyond simply having a mission, you need to sell its importance to the applicants. Don’t just tell them they are applying for an accounting position – tell them how it helps to balance budgets to free up more funds for wildlife preservation. Tell them how doing the job well will help their community, state, or country.
Embrace Agility
With the evolution of technology, flexible work schedules and even work spaces has become a major desire for Millennials. According to a study from Bentley University, the majority of Millenials believe that flexible work hours can lead to improved productivity, while 40% of them felt the same about being able to work remotely. Offering Millennial recruits these opportunities can entice them, and help them to overlook other shortcomings the job may come with, such as lower pay or below-par benefits.
Diversify Communication
Millennials are comfortable behind screens and interfacing with numerous communication systems. They want instant connection and response, not delays and dropping manila envelopes into mailboxes to wait for returns. Embracing virtual communication demonstrates that you are an evolving department or branch, and can be a draw. Asking a Millennial to utilize outdated communications every day can make a job seem quite a bit less appetizing.
Highlight Debt Forgiveness
What do Millennial graduates have? Tons of student debt. What’s a great way to get rid of it? The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program! After 120 qualified monthly payments while employed by a qualified employer, government employees can apply to have the remainder of their student debts forgiven. This means that, after ten years in a government job, the employee could potentially wash off the rest of their loans. With many students facing loan repayment into their forties and even fifties, this means they can reduce their debt decades ahead of peers.
Provide Growth Opportunity
It often gets cited as them being disloyal, but in truth, the reputation that Millennials have as job-hoppers is not based on loyalty. Instead, many of them are seeking career growth. To recruit Millennials, you need to be open about growth opportunity beyond the immediate position being applied for. Don’t talk about two or three decades down the road – tell them about the next two, or the next five.
Part of this comes in the form of training resources. Create a culture of development, offer classes and access to online courses, and grow leadership skills. Be up front with recruits and tell them what you offer in the first few years.
Another part comes when you provide feedback. Millennials strive for proactive feedback and open, transparent communication to grow. They want it regularly, and they want it without having to solicit it. Part of providing growth opportunity is pointing out how they need to grow, and providing a path forward. Private companies such as IBM, General Electric, and Adobe have made the switch from single, year-end performance reviews to quarterly check-ins – why shouldn’t government do the same?
Focus on Ability, Not Seniority
If a Millennial sees the potential career and promotion as driven by seniority, not capability, they are likely to avoid it. Millennials want to see that ability is recognized, and that if they have a greater skill level after two or three years than a ten-year employee does, they will be rewarded accordingly. Highlight your top performers that have gotten ahead of the curve when you are recruiting.
Build Relationships Before They Enter the Job Market
One of the faults of recruiting for government jobs is that there is little emphasis on reaching out to potential future employees throughout the high school and collegiate years.
Work on identifying potential talent in these formative years and offer them guidance as far as how they can prepare for a government job. This could include, but isn’t limited to, being a powerful presence at job fairs, acting as a mentor or tutor, offering summer part-time jobs, extending internship opportunities, or otherwise acting as a step-ladder to try and secure a future hire.
Streamline the Process
As comfortable as the Millennial generation is with technology, they tend to get impatient dealing with balky or repetitive online applications and extended application processes. Which sums up most government job applications.
Kimberly Holden, of the Office of Personnel Management, has discussed how they have undergone hiring reform and have been working to spread this throughout the federal hiring process. This includes streamlining the application process, providing up-to-date websites and easy-to-navigate job agents, and requiring up to three points of communications throughout the application process. This last point helps to avoid applicants feeling as though they have fallen through the cracks or are being forgotten about.
Recruiting Millennials takes a different touch than was needed for previous generations. It’s a necessary one as long-time government employees continue to age out – as noted by the earlier Wall Street Journal article, in 2013 almost half of the federal workforce was over 50 years of age. That’s a lot of knowledge that needs to be replace within the next five years. So consider these hints on how to recruit Millennials for your government job, and put them into action as you revitalize your team!