What is Generation Y Thinking? | nextforce

As most young professionals move from the comfort confines of their university or college and into the “real world”, perhaps the most daunting task is finding and securing that first job. Here at Nextforce, we realize how much this consumes the thoughts of young professionals, whether they are worried about their first post-college paycheck or the fears that lead to switching positions. Over the course of the past 3 months, we’ve conducted a survey to see where Generation Y’s phobias exist and how to combat them during their job search. Of 500 Generation Y’ers we interviewed, here are the results:

- 59% of college seniors were concerned that their first job post-graduation would not be enough to live comfortably. We found that with the rising cost of education, that seniors are worried that student loans, living expenses, and other monthly costs won’t be covered by their initial salary.

- 81% of individuals in their first job post-graduation (with less than 5 years on the job) are concerned that their employer would discover if they went looking for new employment. This group was almost too scared to peak over the fence, fearing that they might be terminated if management discovered their wandering eyes.

- 61% of impending college graduates are worried that they will stumble during the interview process. Much like a fear of public speaking, this group is concerned that even though they have the necessary skills for a position that their interview would be lacking, causing them to lose the position.

- 47% of graduating seniors have yet to find a job. Perhaps this was the most shocking, as this group believed that they could find their first job during the summer. Coincidentally, this makes up a large portion of the group that feared their first job would not pay enough to support them.

- 58% of this group believed that their current employer (or soon to be employer) feels that they are over-qualified for their position. Although no one likes to have to handle entry level assignments, a large portion of Generation Y’ers believe that they are ready to take on added responsibilities.

So what does all this mean? Well, most of these results are just the tip of the iceberg. Here at Nextforce, we are still working with this group of Generation Y and are developing tools to address these concerns in the workplace. For the time being, we know that this particular facet of Generation Y is diverse and opinionated. What are you doing to combat these issues in your recruitment strategy.