Gen Z excels in many areas in the workplace, including tech-savviness, diversity, and drive for work-life balance. However, this generation might not be faring as well in professional environments due to negative perceived attitudes and work ethic in the eyes of hiring managers.
To investigate this narrative, Intelligent.com conducted a survey of 1,000 hiring managers who mainly hire entry level employees.
Surprisingly, 12% of managers said they will avoid hiring recent college grads and will instead hire older candidates this year.
‘GRADS SHOULD BE AWARE OF NEGATIVE PERCEPTIONS’
What’s behind this? It turns out 91% of hiring managers have worked with recent graduates. When it comes to flaws, a good 33% believe recent grads lack work ethic, 29% viewed them as entitled, and 28% thought they lack motivation.
“Instead of avoiding recent college grads entirely based on biases and stereotypes, hiring managers need to adopt more proactive and nuanced approaches to identifying promising candidates,” says Huy Nguyen, Intelligent.com’s Chief Education and Career Development Advisor.
“It’s important to find individuals who’ve demonstrated motivation, adaptability, and growth potential. Specific skills and processes can be easily taught to someone who is motivated and has the right attitude,” he continues.
Interview preparation was another area of concern for managers. A solid 24% of hiring managers found graduates to be somewhat (20%) or very unprepared (4%) for interviews. These candidates struggled with eye contact, appropriate dressing, and compensation negotiations. Worse yet, a few candidates (8%) brought a parent to their interview.
“Recent college graduates should be aware of the negative perceptions and biases that exist against them,” says Nguyen. “By understanding what frustrates managers the most and taking an intentional approach to interviewing, candidates can increase their chances of making a good impression and standing out among the sea of other applicants.”
Next Page: How college students really feel about DEI programs.
