Split Personality: Students Want Both Change and Stability

Students want change

Today is an appropriate day to discuss one of the greatest fears students have about their first real job: boredom. At least, it’s an appropriate day for those who are old enough to remember the movie Ground Hog Day. If you haven’t seen it, all you need to know is that every morning – day after day – Bill Murray wakes up to discover that during his sleep he has gone back in time and he has to re-live the same day, February 2nd, all over again. It’s a great representation of what students fear if they accept your job offer: that their tenth day, their one hundredth day, and their one thousandth day will be exact replicas of their first day.

Of course, when that first day on the job arrives, they will likely fear many other things much more: Is this the right building? Will I remember people’s names? Am I really qualified for this? Did I remember to get dressed this morning? But during the hiring process when they are evaluating opportunities and imagining life after graduation, they will definitely be wondering about what will make their work day interesting.

The best way to address this – like so much of the recruiting process – is to get personal. Websites, brochures, and presentations are full of “a day-in-the-life” synopses designed to give candidates a full picture of the employment experience. This is a good start, but it’s nothing compared to specific personal examples: “Today, for instance, I am here meeting with you; this morning I worked on developing a new strategy which I am excited to share with my colleagues; this afternoon I’m visiting our web designers to review the site; and tomorrow we’re having our first meeting to plan our charity stair climb.” There’s no need to exaggerate, just tell it like it is: “But I have to admit Tuesday was frustrating: we had to kill two hours waiting for approval for…” It’s all about making it personal and keeping it authentic.

Start with the ideal scenario: a direct conversation with each potential candidate. Then look for ways to make the other ways you connect (your website, presentations, student ambassadors, etc.) as close to that personal conversation as possible. And while you of course need to talk about the job itself, don’t forget about the human interaction, the humour, the charity drives, the learning, and the personal growth that are part of your organization. All of these have the potential to create an emotional connection that will outstrip an intellectual one any day.

Of course, your own job may be nothing like the ones you are hiring for. That’s why you involve colleagues: so they can share their true stories of the roles you are trying to fill. And keep in mind that what is interesting to you will be different for others. The day of an accountant may seem dull to you, but the intellectual stimulation and challenge will be intriguing to the right candidate. Overselling or underselling the position may attract too many or too few candidates and will definitely create retention problems when the role doesn’t match your new hire’s expectations.

Students hate change

As you’ve likely read elsewhere, students value advancement (lateral or vertical promotion) and opportunities to learn and develop very highly. This is partly because it demonstrates growth and change. It is also because, as we have established, they want variety in their work.

So students want change. Well, sort of. They also hate change.

For several years now we’ve been asking students in surveys and discussion groups what they think of the idea of staying with one employer for their whole life. The results are shocking to most: more than half say they like the idea. They don’t consider it likely – after all, we’ve told them it won’t happen – but they like the idea of it. How is this possible? Aren’t all Gen Yers disloyal and job-happing mad? Well, no. (Not at all, in fact, but I’ll focus on the decimation of those myths another time.) Will they leave a job they don’t like – or an employer who fails to deliver on the promises made in the hiring process – even if it means moving into their parents’ basement while they find a new one? If they can afford it, absolutely.

Many students, however, want stability in their careers because their main focus (at least as they view it before starting their careers) is on their life outside work. It seems remarkable to think of young people focusing on job security, but the truth is that dating, marrying, home buying, and baby-making all offer enough change without worrying about changing jobs. I hear again and again about their disdain for job hunting and their desire to be part of an organization, a work community, and with a group of colleagues with whom the can build long-term relationships. The opportunity for advancement, to gain more expertise, the promise of a dynamic career and company loyalty (yes, loyalty!) can keep many students at one company for a long time – perhaps for their entire working lives.

These two things – variety in the day-to-day and stability over time – are not really contradictory, but the differences are important. Bringing these two together so that candidates can imagine staying for the long term as they move through different experiences and roles is the key to attracting – and keeping – candidates who best fit your organization.