Avoiding Gen Z applicants? You’re missing out

If hiring was like picking teams for dodgeball, Gen Z might be picked last.

Some 40% of business leaders think Gen Z candidates—specifically those who graduated between 2020 and 2023—are unprepared for the workforce, according to a recent survey by online education publication Intelligent. Of the 1,243 leaders surveyed, the majority (70%) think the workforce’s youngest entrants have a lackluster work ethic, and the same percentage blame communication skills.

“Every generation gets talked poorly about…But Gen Z has advantages that previous generations entering the workforce [didn’t] have,” said Tara Salinas, professor of business ethics at the University of San Diego. “Because [their] communication skills aren’t great, it’s making managers and employers discount this generation as a whole, and that’s just a mistake.”

A skills tradeoff. Salinas told HR Brew that Gen Z applicants may not have the best interpersonal skills because they came of age during Covid-19 lockdowns and communicate mainly via text, a combination that has caused a “skill loss.”

When interviewing them, she advised keeping in mind what they do bring to the table: “fluency with technology.” Just as you might train employees on new technologies, she suggested training Gen Z employees to hone their communication skills.

Host workshops and lunch-and-learns with communication experts who can explain the importance of making eye contact and giving a professional handshake, she said.

“It’s back-to-basics training that, frankly, a lot of companies don’t see as their [job]. But you’re going to get highly-skilled employees, in terms of technology, and companies just need to backfill the squishier stuff,” Salinas said. “This is not going to be easy, but the benefits you’re going to get from this are massive.”

And Gen Z workers want training, said Jonathan Finkelstein, SVP in Pearson’s workforce skills division. “Gen Z is hungry for knowledge and skills. The number one benefit and reason they choose a place to work is that it’s going to be a great place to learn.”

Work ethic, work shm’ethic. Leaders surveyed by Intelligent said work ethic was a top reason they view Gen Z applicants as unprepared. If they do have a less buttoned-up work ethic, it may be because they’ve had fewer opportunities to exercise it compared to previous generations, said Michaela Simpson, neuroscientist and VP of global research at consultant firm the NeuroLeadership Institute.

The employment rate among 16- to 19-year-olds has been lower among Gen Z and millennials compared to previous generations, according to the Washington Post. "[Gen Z, in the US] has been raised in relative prosperity, so it was very common 50 years ago for young people to have some sort of job, and that’s just declined over time,” Simpson told HR Brew.

She advised HR leaders and recruiters to have empathy when interviewing Gen Z talent. The post-Covid workplace is different from what previous generations inherited. How can we expect them to work in the same way that folks did in the 1990s or early 2000s?

Simpson also suggested getting specific about how you define unpreparedness. Otherwise, you can fall prey to stereotyping. By unprepared, do you mean that they don’t know best practices for meeting conduct or they don’t know how to dress professionally? Those are missteps that can be corrected with coaching, she said.

Gen Z shouldn’t be counted out before they’ve even had the chance to play the game. Put ’em in, coach!