Interviewing Techniques that Pique Millennials’ Interest

Millennial unemployment is higher than the rest of the out-of-work population. Of the 6.2% of the American population that is unemployed, 40% of them are Millennials. Why are these rates so high? Because current professionals are wary of the young professional stereotypes. With little more than an unpaid internship with just enough work to count for university credit, it isn’t just intimidating for the 20-something in the interview; it can be daunting for the interviewer as well. So then comes the question: how do you interview a Millennial?

Millennials learn a lot during internships. They acquire knowledge on in-office procedures and real world experience. Now that they have it, they want to put it to use. However, that’s hard to do when no one is necessarily eager to hire a fresh graduate. Right now, Millennials only make up 36% of the United States workforce. But jump into the DeLorean and briefly look into the future… in the next ten years – by 2025 – the now 20-somethings will constitute 75% of the workforce. That’s a large jump in percentage; however, with the Baby Boomers entering retirement, it’s to be expected that the Millennial body would grow.

“What happens next goes something like this: the junior candidate is passed over because they appear too confident, seem to lack interest in the role, and give the impression that they need more hand-holding and structure than a busy team can provide.” – Rachelle Falls

Falls goes on to say that this isn’t a correct perception of hopeful, job-seeking Millennials. She’s right. Don’t stick them in the positions that are needed right now because they have the potential to go above and beyond if they have the right tools. They want and need the stability their Baby Boomer counterparts have. Millennials are eager to learn the ins-and-outs of their first professional job, and with a willing manager and mentor a long-term employee just might be made. These are all things the Millennial may ask during the interview. They are viable questions that give light to the work-life balance, which is important to 88% of them.

Falls explains how to honestly portray office culture during the interview. She says to,

“paint a real picture of what your day looks like and what the options are for working from home, if they exist. Millennials care about work-life balance just as much as those employees with a family or outside interests. With technology, the way we work has changed, and if your organization offers flexibility, make sure it’s front and center in your recruitment campaign.”

You can adjust your interview questions to their limited experience. They don’t know where they will be in the next two years, much less the next five. So instead ask questions like, “How did your internship prepare you for the professional workforce?” Or try “How do you feel about a leadership position in your future here at the company?” instead of asking about professional experience – because they simply don’t have it. That doesn’t mean, however, their experience is less valid. Interviewing candidates isn’t just one-sided, either. Give the Millennials the opportunity to ask questions and emphasize the office culture. Because they are more concerned with the environment in which they will be working rather than the “big picture” time scale.

“Understanding how time is spent whether that’s volunteering, sharpening technology skills, or playing on a kickball team, you’ll be able to determine behavior and outcomes based on the way you ask the questions.” – Rachelle Falls

The experience-based questions can be difficult to ask the fresh graduates. Their interest in work-life balance and company culture is not a reflection of the candidate’s lack of interest. Millennials have researched your company. They want to know more about the culture that lies within it. Stay away from questions geared towards the not-so-near future and ask questions closer to their experience and the trending software and programs that interest them.

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Julie Salerno, VP of Sales, Strategic Partnerships and Alliances at GreenJobInterview, is a talented professional who provides GreenJobInterview's sales team with strategic leadership and guidance that has helped more than 300 of the world’s leading organizations discover global talent through cloud-based virtual interviewing solutions, which reduce time and costs associated with scheduling and conducting interviews.

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Comment by Linda Ferrante on September 10, 2014 at 10:30am

I disagree with the premise that you should change your interview process to serve 'millenials'.  The process should be thorough for ANY candidate, looking at the now, as well as the potential future.  Gone are the days of building a career with one company and if your recruiting process hasn't changed to reflect THAT, then there is a bigger problem.

ANY candidate should go through the same process as the next guy.  It doesn't matter their role, level of experience or how many days they are out of college.  The process is to find out if the candidate will be successful in the role in question.   

Comment by Kelly Blokdijk on September 10, 2014 at 8:20pm

My bad for clicking on an article containing that dreaded "M" word, but since I'm here... what happened to structuring the interview around the position to be filled and treating all applicants/candidates equitably and fairly? 

I've interviewed many inexperienced or limited experience candidates (BTW: experience level doesn't necessarily correlate to candidates' age bracket or life phase) and it never occurred to me to make such broad generalizations about entire segments of the workforce based on a silly generational label derived from an 18-20 year span of time in which they were born.

The ridiculous stereotypes and accompanying assumptions found in "M" obsessed articles are beyond tiresome and lend no credibility to anything that should be going on in the real world. Even if this info is intended to provide guidance for handling people in their 20s, those who "learn a lot" through unpaid (or paid) internships or fresh graduates, aren't there any unique individuals among those categories containing millions of human beings that might defy the above blanket statements that appear to be presented as 'fact'? 

Interviews can be daunting and difficult for many people regardless of DOB or length of time in the workforce. So, yes that should be taken into consideration, but again, for the benefit of all involved not just certain types of interviewees that someone (hooked on all things "M") thinks have special needs and deserve special needs oriented questions. 

You could probably take any "M" focused article and replace that term with "people that breath air" and the same message would apply OR would be equally absurd depending on the content. 

Comment by Sandra McCartt on September 11, 2014 at 11:18am
Suffice it to say that perhaps Kelly is piqued by yet another offering to pique the interest of recruiters in buying some software that promises to pique the interest of some demographic and now she's really piqued about another marketing attempt. Kind of piques one off doesn't it.

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