I’m back this week with part two in the series : Recruiting the Misunderstood. In Part One I defined Gen Y and discussed the various characteristics of the “Millennial”. I received some good feedback from recruiters who strongly believe that assigning specific characteristics based on generation is , well, a bunch of hooey!

The comments certainly made me stop and think. I even did a bit more research on the topic to make sure that I was still convinced these factors would impact recruitment. While those who aren’t buying in to this whole generational behavior thing make some excellent points, I’m still not convinced that you should not tweak your recruiting practice a bit to accommodate people with the type of behavior that Generation Y supposedly  has a reputation to possess. Why not?

Since there were a few really good points of reason I found in my research to support that every generation has individuals within it that could fit the “mold” of  the Generation Y candidate, I decided to break down my thoughts a little differently. The idea that growing up during a different period in time does not affect behavior in regards to how one looks at job search, communication, and overall career goals is just not something I am willing to dismiss yet. I am a strong believer in past and current behaviors being strong indicators for performance when it comes to hiring. Whether you subscribe to the idea that there are trends for each generation, or that it is really just stereotypical thinking, I have some ideas about how you should recruit candidates that were born after 1983 or anyone that has had access to the experiences listed below:

A Wealth of Information Readily Available

In Gen Y’s case, this came  via the internet. In no other generation has access to information on almost any topic been so available easy to access. Most every person from that generation as always had personal computer or some sort of mobile device with access to the internet.  Use this to your benefit in recruiting. Include internet links to positive reviews of the company you are recruiting for in your communication with candidates. Check out sites like Vault.com or Indeed job seeker reviews. Go beyond the company website because these candidates are going to Google the company anyway. Make the information you WANT them to see convenient to review.

Ability to be Reached at Any Time and Anywhere

The mass majority of the millennial generation has always had access to a telephone and it has always had caller I.D. Most members of Gen Y have had grown up making a decision when the phone rang as to whether or not to answer it, unlike other generations who had to answer the call to see who was calling. For many, letting every call go to voicemail is common. Once they hear what the person is after, they then can decide whether or not they choose to talk with the caller, send them a text, or completely ignore them. This makes a huge impact on the recruiter seeking candidates with this life experience. You better have a compelling reason on that voice mail that makes that candidates want to call you back. You also want to avoid a “private” caller i.d. If you don’t, you may never hear from them. Be specific and give details about why you need the caller to return your call you might have left out for the sake of creating curiosity in the past. Let them know who is calling by having your company name and number available on the caller i.d.

Access to A Large Social Network of Varied Opinions with a Global Scope

By way of the world-wide-web, members of Generation Y have created the ability to build relationships on a global scale with peers from many educational backgrounds, physical locations, and  various cultural or socioeconomic back grounds. Other generations have quickly embraced this opportunity as well. For a recruiter, this means that your candidate can be influenced in the decision they make about taking a position based on far more than their day-to-day personal contact list. Probe the candidate about how they research a position and who helps them make decisions. It also means they can share their experience of the recruiting process with just about anyone. It is important that you are aware of how the candidate feels about their experience so that you can help mitigate any negative aspects before they are shared with a larger group with just a few key strokes.

All in all, awareness is the key in understanding how to recruit any target. What type of characteristics define the right candidate for your client or organization? Do individuals from various generations follow behavioral trends? Maybe. The important thing to remember is that experience does impact the decision making process. If you break down the known experience factors, you can draw some conclusions that may lead to recruitment practices that work to your advantage.

Amy McDonald is the President and CEO at REKRUTR. She has been working in the human resources and recruiting industry for over 20 years. Amy has worked with hundreds of recruitment professionals throughout her career, training best practices in sourcing candidates and refining the recruitment process. In her spare time, Amy participates as a thought leader and contributor for recruitment information with BIZCATALYST360.