What is the Economy Doing To Your Candidate’s Brain?

Last week, we spent some time with the leadership team of a client who wants to retool their interviewing approach.  They were excited about opening their sourcing aperture to include younger candidates, but worried they may not be able to successfully connect with these candidates during the interview process.

As we worked through these topics and provided some insight, another theme resurfaced—candidates have significant financial obstacles that appear to be keeping them from considering the real estate industry as a career option.

I want to address both of these topics today.  It may surprise you that this is not a problem that is limited to the real estate industry.  In a recent article in Business Insider, journalists Vivian Giang and Aimee Groth, document 13 ways that the recession has changed the way that young people view work.

There are a lot of companies trying to make sense of, what seems to be, odd behavior.  I’ll list seven of the most relevant issues (in my opinion) below, but you may want to take some extra time and see what I’ve left out.

1. They're more risk averse.  In one sense, a job is like a financial investment.  You invest time hoping to get a return.  So, how do young people look at investing right now? “Because they have a limited history, they are much more likely to change their behavior due to a single year’s performance in the markets than an older person, who might have several decades of experience,” says Stefan Nagel, an associate professor of finance at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.  Because of this, they won't invest as much -- into the stock market, or any one job.
2. They question traditional hierarchies.  When making a business deal with a member from this generation, it's essential that all parties involved act as if they are of similar ranking.  In other words, if you expect to be treated differently because you are of a higher rank, think again.  Younger workers are more willing to challenge managers and traditional hierarchies, so communicating on a more casual tone between equal ranks will make the meeting run smoother.
3. They believe luck plays a big role in success.  People who started working during a recession "tend to believe that success in life depends more on luck than on effort, support more government redistribution, but are less confident in public institutions," according to economists Paola Giuliano of UCLA's School of Management and Antonio Spilimbergo of the International Monetary Fund.
4. They're more willing to settle.  Those who graduate during a recession are more likely to compromise and start at lower-paying, lower-level positions -- sometimes completely unrelated to their original career plans.  But Kahn from the Yale School of Management advises Gen Y not to accept the status quo: "Be mindful that you might not be reaching your full potential right now ... recessions make people fearful, so they tend to settle for jobs that don't stretch them; to overcome that pitfall, you need the right mindset."
5. They want answers immediately.  According to CareerBuilder's Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources, the one thing that Gen Y can't tolerate is uncertainty.  The savvy-tech generation expects immediate answers and instant access.  "Ambiguity drives them crazy. They want an answer."
6. Reliance on technology also makes this generation more socially awkward.  According to Mary Crane, a business consultant, Gen Y doesn't know how to dress or act appropriately in professional settings:  "Over 80 percent of them own a cell phone, yet none of them use their cell phones to call people.  They use them to text message.  Employers are finding that when they suddenly put these people in an interview, they're not used to normal discourse.  They're used to seeing questions pop up on their cell phone."
7. And like the generations before them, they still value hard work.  Rachel Olding of the Sydney Morning Herald writes:  "Young people have simply never known what proper job security is.  We are so acutely aware of how difficult it is to find a job that when we eventually get one, we work incredibly hard to protect it and remain wary of how fleeting it may be.  We entered the workforce when a job was a rare privilege.  Some of us work with the fear of being fired and accept that as legitimate because, well, that's just the way things are these days.  If you're not the best at your job then employers are entitled to get someone who is."

There is value in becoming a student of your candidates.  While some of these ideas are a good place to start, do your own research.  Ask questions during interviews that help you understand how a candidate thinks.  Document the responses and look for patterns.  

As you develop your own knowledge base, I think you'll find your interviews improve and you'll do a better job of engaging the most talented individuals.

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.