There’s a common perception that millennials are difficult to hire, manage and retain, yet it is also widely accepted that a hiring manager can also expect a millennial to be tech-savvy and confident, offering a range of high-value skills to any organisation.
The cost of hiring and developing a new member of staff is always something that weighs heavy on any business owner or hiring manager, so off-putting stereotypes such as a lack of loyalty, changing jobs regularly and immaturity can bring concern when hiring a millennial.
Generational stereotypes are widely discussed, yet difficult to define. Different sources will offer alternative birth years for 20th and 21st century generations, with lines blurred for those near the start and end years.
What is a millennial?
Basically, anyone who hit adulthood at the start (or early part) of the 21st century. The cut off point is now widely accepted as those born no later than 1996. This means that the generation will have experienced a range of major global economic and cultural events, increasing threats of terrorism and the global economic crash of 2008. This age bracket will have also experienced what life was like before social media and smartphones.
Cutting through the stereotypes
Recent studies have highlighted that those in the generation before millennials – generation X – had similar statistics around longevity of jobs and openness to new opportunities, yet it is millennials that carry the burden of these stereotypes when job hunting and sending CVs out to prospective employers.
Should a job-hopper be treated with more respect?
A potential employee that has worked for multiple companies will offer much wider experience of working with different people, different ideas and companies with different goals. A person that has only worked for one company could potentially just offer bad habits or could lack different ways of thinking.
Each position held will add to a candidate’s experience, not to mention that their network and contact list will be stronger than someone that has worked with the same team for a number of years.
It should also be considered that this is a two-way street. There may have been a good reason that an employee was keen to move on from their last gig, such as a negative working environment, a nightmare boss or a lack of progression opportunities. From this, you may have a confident candidate on your hands, driven to achieve their full potential.
What’s the worst that could happen?
Even if a talented candidate does decide to move on sooner than you hoped, you could see more productivity from a high-performer in 5 years, than a mediocre or meek employee in 10 years.
Take the challenge
Having ambitious and confident team members can be a challenge as a manager or business owner, but it can also mean that competition is strong amongst colleagues and that you are also forced to be innovative and forward thinking to keep all of your team motivated and satisfied that their ambitions can be met.
