Are recruiters more likely to hire older or younger job applicants?
This may seem like a trick question to K-12 human resources professionals, as staffing shortages continue to plague the overwhelming majority of public school districts, leaving recruiters hoping for any qualified candidate regardless of their age.
But a job candidate who appears qualified, such as a recent college graduate with a teaching certificate, isn鈥檛 necessarily 鈥渏ob ready.鈥�
So say the findings of a newly released of 800 employers by , a resource that curates research on college and workplace issues. Survey respondents (managers, directors, and executives) reported that Gen Z college graduates, those born between 1997 and 2012, have yet to master several key foundational aspects of professionalism, like making eye contact during an interview. Among the survey respondents, nearly 60 percent agreed that recent college graduates are unprepared for the workforce, and close to 40 percent admitted to intentionally avoiding hiring Gen Z college graduates and instead hiring employees who are 27 and older.
The survey, while not aimed at any particular industry, has implications for all hiring managers, including those in K-12 education. Most teachers their careers between the ages of 20 and 25, placing a large number of current and soon-to-be job-seeking teachers (as well as other would-be hires in the education sector) within the Gen Z age range. In contrast, the average age of a school administrator is 47, part of the demographic referred to as Gen X (those born between 1965 and 1980).
It鈥檚 not uncommon to hear about generational differences creating friction in the workplace. But the findings of this study suggest personnel challenges that go well beyond those typically attributed to misunderstandings between employees in different life stages. Here鈥檚 a look at what鈥檚 behind these findings and tactics for administrators to employ that can improve the outlook for working relationships across generations.
Interpreting the survey results
Diane Gayeski, a researcher, college professor, and business consultant who was not directly involved in the survey, shared her insights about its findings, which paint a vivid picture of Gen Z鈥檈rs ill-preparedness for the workforce. For instance, 47 percent of survey respondents reported job candidates dressing inappropriately for interviews, 21 percent had a job candidate refuse to turn on their camera for a virtual interview, and 19 percent reported having a college graduate bring a parent to a job interview.
Before interpreting the survey results, Gayeski advised caution. 鈥淲hen you prompt people to think about workplace issues, it鈥檚 a chance for them to vent,鈥� said Gayeski, a professor at the Roy H. Park school of communications at Ithaca College. 鈥淭he people who decide to respond to surveys usually are motivated to have their opinion known.鈥�
She did, however, acknowledge that certain factors legitimately contributed to Gen Z job seekers鈥� interview etiquette, or lack thereof. The impact of the pandemic is a big one.
鈥淪tudents who are graduating from college now were freshmen during the COVID lockdown,鈥� Gayeski said. 鈥淭hey might have been living at home, taking Zoom classes in their bedroom.鈥�
Pandemic restrictions severely limited college students鈥� ability to gain valuable real-world professional experience in multiple ways, observed Gayeski. Online classes precluded students from gaining in-person teamwork experience. Many internship opportunities either failed to materialize or switched to remote access, leaving holes in students鈥� exposure to professional etiquette鈥攆rom seeing what professional attire looks like to observing the importance of making eye contact with colleagues and supervisors.
Even before the pandemic began, awareness and diagnoses of mental health problems among young people had increased significantly. McKinsey鈥檚 2022 included 1,763 Gen Z respondents, 55 percent of whom reported having either been diagnosed with or receiving treatment for mental illness, compared with only 31 percent of people aged 55 to 64.
Gayeski said that, in her experience, an increase in students鈥� health-related diagnoses and associated accommodations isn鈥檛 limited to mental health problems. 鈥淔or more than 10 years, I鈥檝e seen an increase in the number of college students who have accommodation plans for things ranging from mental health issues to learning challenges to chronic health conditions,鈥� said Gayeski. 鈥淓ven in the most elite and selective colleges, about 20 percent of students have some sort of accommodation plan and have had this since high school.鈥�
Such accommodations might include, for instance, flexible class attendance or deadline extensions for students with a diagnosis of anxiety or ADHD. 鈥淭here are all sorts of accommodations that we in academia see as normal, but the workplace may have not caught up to,鈥� Gayeski said.
Embracing Gen Z employees in the workplace
Awareness of job seekers鈥� backgrounds is critical to understanding how they present in a job interview. This means knowing that, compared with past job applicants, this current cohort of job seekers may have far less exposure to the professional workplace and a much greater likelihood of having been diagnosed with a mental health or related issue for which they鈥檝e received accommodations at school. Awareness is a first positive step toward reaching across the generational divide. Training on how to do this is, perhaps, the next logical move.
鈥淭raining is necessary. Progressive organizations are allowing more flexibility for employees. They understand that diversity includes more than one鈥檚 racial/ethnic background,鈥� Gayeski said.
This training cuts both ways, with less experienced, emerging professionals needing additional guidance. 鈥淪tudents, especially the ones coming out of college now, do need more mentoring,鈥� Gayeski said. 鈥淭hey haven鈥檛 been in a workplace; they don鈥檛 know what the expectations are.鈥�
