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Gen Y Hiring Part 2: Where to Recruit Gen Yers
- By autosocial
- Off Topic & Everything Else
- 6 Replies
Now that we’ve covered the why and how, let’s talk about where to recruit the 1.7 million Gen Y employees in the workplace today.
Obviously, the best ways would be to write a small indie film about a car dealer that premieres at the Sundance film festival, and/or have Obama visit your company.
But if that’s not an option, here is the place to start.
Craigslist - Craigslist is the Gen Y job hunting mothership. The average Gen Y’er spends hours a day on Craigslist as it is, and job seekers use it more addictively than any, refreshing the job listings like a recreational sport. The sheer volume, the real-time updates, and the cost-free nature make this site job-hunting catnip for my generation.
Additionally, while the “Sales/Bus Dev” job category might seem like the most natural place to post your listing, don’t be afraid to consider other categories. Many Gen Y’ers instinctively abhor the idea of sales or being a “salesman,” but we absolutely love “Marketing/PR” or “Business/Management.” Think carefully about the job duties and desired qualifications you’re looking to fill, and categorize based on those, not by industry. Note: If you do go after a less traditional job category, don’t be vague about what kind of business you are in. Be very upfront that it’s a car dealership and that you’re just looking for some diversity. You may find you’re rewarded for your honesty.
Facebook ads - Why wait for Gen Yer’s to find you? Message them where they live: on Facebook. While my generation is self-trained to tune out traditional advertising (thank you, Safari Adblocker), Facebook ads are the exception. With their highly-targeted capability, their clever and creative messaging, and their “lifestyle” feel, Facebook has really cracked the code for creating advertising that is relevant, interesting and appealing to Gen Y’ers.
For the same reasons, Facebook ads are a recruiter’s dream. You can target by education, geography, age, interests, and much more. Try targeting for some terms like “cars” or “automotive,” as well as terms like “entrepreneurship” “business opportunities” and “job.” Make sure to include an eye-catching image and an enticing call to action.
Linkedin - No matter how cool your ads are, chances are most Gen Y’ers just won’t ever stumble across them. Why wait for them to come to you when you can go to them? Gen Y’ers love getting recruited, and it allows you to handpick the cream of the crop, rather than weeding through a massive pile of applications. You can target by industry-specific keywords, software skills, or even employment status-terms like “Looking for” and “Seeking” are LinkedIn code for “unemployed.”
Referral Incentives - Gen Yer’s are all about connections, and this is especially true when it comes to our careers. Our post-grad cycle goes something like this: graduate, apply to every CEO position at the world’s best companies, accept defeat, become an Outback Steakhouse waitress, and then at last, alert every single person in your social circle that you are looking for a job-help!
Knowing this, exploit my generation’s beloved peer pressure for the positive by incentivizing your employees to refer their friends, their friend’s kids, etc. Monetary bonuses, gift cards, free lunches, or even extra days off are all great ways to get your employees excited about making referrals. If you can’t afford huge prizes, just make it fun by spotlighting referrers in company meetings or holding friendly competitions to see who can refer the most people.
Make yourself discoverable - Last but not least, it’s all about inbound marketing, and Gen Y recruiting is no exception. If you’ve got a competitive payment structure or a sweet company culture, expose those things on your website, your company Facebook profile and your Youtube channel. Encourage your employees to leave you good reviews on Glassdoor (www.glassdoor.com). Then, sit back and watch the good job juju roll in. You get back what you put out, so create an attractive inbound space and I guarantee you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.
And if you need help writing that Sundance script, I know an awesome writer
Have you tried any of these Gen Y job hunting techniques? How did they go?
Should Dealers Have Interest in Pinterest?
- By Eric Miltsch
@loritodd "Not worth the time; takes a lot of time to curate" - it's take but a few seconds to pin something w/the pin it button.
While it may be against their etiquette, it's also part of their master plan to have brands flock to the site to eventually monetize the activity within the site. Eventually you'll probably see branded boards as well.
I don't think anybody is trying to sell a car via Pinterest. (If you are, please stop ASAP) Here's a perfect example of the utility that can come from it - I pinned one of our cars, a slick Mercedes convertible, to my cars board. An existing customer of ours liked the pin, re-pinned it & even commented on it. What's the benefit? She's an active user with a large following on her networks & her activity was shared across her networks - creating yet another passive opportunity for our brand to be shared by someone considered influential among her network.
Another great example of how it's helped create awareness & drive traffic has come from pinning infographics from our blog. I believe every infographic I've posted has been liked & re-pinned. (and each post creates a link back to the blog)
There are ways to leverage every platform, the key is doing it in non-obtrusive ways - learn how to fit into the community and be a smart participant and it can work...in any community. Simple playground rules
While it may be against their etiquette, it's also part of their master plan to have brands flock to the site to eventually monetize the activity within the site. Eventually you'll probably see branded boards as well.
I don't think anybody is trying to sell a car via Pinterest. (If you are, please stop ASAP) Here's a perfect example of the utility that can come from it - I pinned one of our cars, a slick Mercedes convertible, to my cars board. An existing customer of ours liked the pin, re-pinned it & even commented on it. What's the benefit? She's an active user with a large following on her networks & her activity was shared across her networks - creating yet another passive opportunity for our brand to be shared by someone considered influential among her network.
Another great example of how it's helped create awareness & drive traffic has come from pinning infographics from our blog. I believe every infographic I've posted has been liked & re-pinned. (and each post creates a link back to the blog)
There are ways to leverage every platform, the key is doing it in non-obtrusive ways - learn how to fit into the community and be a smart participant and it can work...in any community. Simple playground rules