The rise of unknown and untapped talent: Gen Z
We are about to embark on a weird future of keeping up, yet at an exponential pace we have not witnessed before. Are you ready?
Many forward thinking companies are already on top of it, getting ready for the new wave of generational talent ready to spearhead us all forward.
The world of hiring is typically based on recruiting talent via searching through previous experiences on resumes & profiles. And this works phenomenally well, something we all already know.
However, I am worried about our future. Less people are coming into so many fields and industries, and I think a major issue is we forgot about targeting highschool and the younger generations, getting them excited about our fields and line of work.
And for us all to keep up and make sure our companies are adapting and rapidly expanding like we hope them to, we should start looking to hire those that were born into this crazy world more recently and adapted faster than any of us.
There is a source of talent that will create the new era of employees, this source of fresh and new talent is what we once paid a lot more attention to so many years ago when career schools and highschool recruiting was cool... it needs to be brought back again.
Let's explore hiring high school and entry level college students.
They were raised in the aftermath of 9/11, Covid and crisis after crisis. They embrace and distrust, seek truth and nonconformity, innovation, creation and advancement.
In high schools, many offer something called cooperative education, where students work during school hours and use work hours as credits.
Quicker than ever with technology, typing, learning new things and diving into research; Gen Z are the ones that will be our future leaders and they need to start now and you need to make the first step and make an impact.
Not only do they make awesome assistants, and future potential associates, they can be trained, mentored and developed into anything that their passions align with. Those that seem eager to learn and those that have a competitive edge to them. Typically involved in extracurriculars, sports, competitions of any sort, are those interested in pushing themselves forward and are best to hire within the entry level category for the roles more focused on communication.
Those that code, or know how to do more technical things like CAD, Excel, etc., focus more on the analytical/technical skills they taught themselves and what projects they have done, which is sometimes more important than the extracurriculars they do at school and thier current communication ability, since people can improve their communication ability over time.
Wishing you luck in considering your first entry level high school/college hire.
These are great ideas Daniel but I can’t even find a trading company in the Chicagoland area to hire my cousin who finished one year at Indiana University at the Kelly School for a summer internship. Nobody wants to hire anyone unless they check off ALL of the boxes: will work onsite, has the parallel skill set they are seeking and longevity and strong strong computer skills. This is a difficult job market for recruiters and candidates.
I enjoy bringing people together to solve complex problems, build great products, and get things done at McAfee!
8moOh, Gen Z is schooling us in leadership, showing old-school bosses how it’s done. This generation leads with purpose, not just profit. They’re not climbing the corporate ladder; they’re building new ones. Sustainability? Not a buzzword, but a baseline. Diversity and inclusivity aren’t ‘nice-to-haves’; they are must-haves, reflecting the world they navigate daily. And digital? Please, they lead in their sleep. So, businesses, listen up: adapt these values, or risk becoming a case study in what not to do. This isn’t just leadership; it’s leadership for longevity.