As students enter a transforming world of work, here are five ways employers can attract and retain new talent

Everything we know about employment continues to change at lightning speed. 

The world of work is creaking under the pressure of these shifts. Companies can’t find data analysts, developers, growth marketers, software engineers—the list goes ons—as quickly as they need to. The available ones are scarce and come at a premium because there’s so much demand for their skills. And that’s before we get on to the so-called “great resignation” which, in turn, has impacted the chronic skills shortages currently costing the UK £12.8bn a year, estimated to reach £120bn by 2030.

This overhaul in working behaviour has fuelled the creation of new types of careers that require new skills—ones that didn’t exist fifteen or twenty years ago. For example, we’re seeing more businesses hiring STEM students as data analysts through the Unibeez platform because of the explosion in digital transformation across nearly all sectors.

Career changes

These are the headline-grabbing changes. But there’s a bigger movement stirring beneath the surface that’ll have a far greater impact on businesses and their headcount. 

Employees—specifically those entering the workforce now—and their changing attitudes. 

The idea of a standardised ‘career path’ for emerging talent was already on the wane when I flipped from a career in finance to a job in TV many years ago. But ask a generation who’ve grown up with Tinder and swiping left on anything that falls short of a match, and the possibility of moving up the ladder in one job for life is unfathomable.

This generation is different. To assume they’re motivated purely by a fear of failure, or competition, that they see promotion and financial reward as the only markers of success, or that they see ‘up’ as the only direction of travel is completely wrong and out of step with reality. 

They’re a generation entering the workforce amidst a global financial crisis, political turmoil, climate change—and the fallout from a worldwide pandemic. These events go some way to explaining why this generation wants purpose and meaning from their employer, not just a pay cheque. 

Unfortunately, many businesses aren’t getting it. Companies can’t offer fulfillment, purpose, or even the right roles for this group. It’s no wonder then that students and graduates are refusing to commit themselves long-term to employers. 

Instead, they’re embracing what’s known as the ‘squiggly career’— (a concept developed by podcasters, authors, and “Amazing If” co-founders Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis), which describes the way employees move frequently and fluidly between roles, industries, locations, and even careers.

Evolution in talent sourcing

We are living in a new era of recruitment. So how should employers react? How can they fill labour gaps quickly and secure talent that’s going to hang around—validating their investment in human capital? 

Fortunately, there is hope. A new way to connect skilled graduates to the right roles and give them what they need to invest back in their new company. 

One of the many things we’ve learned over the past three years is that to be resilient and thrive, businesses need to find more agile, smarter ways to recruit. In our view, there isn’t a digital skills shortage. There’s a visibility and access issue to finding ambitious emerging talent for businesses, which we’re solving. 

Fix the way talent is sourced and upgrade the way it’s nurtured by following these five steps, and businesses will be well on their way to solving the labour crisis. 

1. Improve flexibility

The world of work has changed and we need to shake up how and where we work to suit the new generation—not the other way around. On our platform, 80% of the professional work students are hired for is done remotely. This gives businesses access to a much bigger talent pool unencumbered by where the candidate lives—and grants new employees autonomy over their work-life balance that was unavailable to previous generations. 

2.  Change hiring criteria.

There are no two ways about it. Companies need to hire differently, starting with a mindset change in how they view degree-level talent. No more skimming for institutions, degree names, and grades. Hiring teams need to engage with a student’s skill set – both hard and soft skills and look for signs that the applicant is hungry and committed—exactly the kind of person who traditional hiring procedures overlook. For example, employers like Santander are being proactive by effectively removing degree grades from applicant criteria to increase access.

We’re building an emerging talent meritocracy. Companies need to understand it’s more beneficial to look to employ someone based on their skills or passion and appetite to work—who, through development and a chance to grow, will provide longer-term value. 

3.  Widen the net

 Many businesses are slamming the door on so many talented graduates by relying on the same narrow graduate funnels for talent. More emphasis needs to be placed on where candidates are sourced and what hiring managers look for if they want to start tapping into a wider variety of ambitious candidates. From our work at Unibeez, we know there are masses of skilled talent out there, who — overlooked and discarded by big businesses — are coming to our platform to find a different, more accessible and intuitive route into the jobs they want. 

4. Make work meaningful

Gen Z wants progression as well as payment. If you haven’t illuminated the paths they can take in your organisation, or you have managers happy to let employees sit in their shadow, then you’re writing cheques to recruiters to fill their roles again and again. Give graduates genuine projects, perm roles, or give them the option of placements or secondments to different parts of the business. This will help them establish a connection with the business which values them and helps them understand the company culture—leading to much higher retention. 

5. Prioritise purpose 

After everything they’ve been through, Generation Z needs to feel like their hard work is paying off. So, match graduates with roles that suit them rather than trying to fit square pegs into round holes. Make sure even part-time team members feel vested in the purpose of your business. 

Not every job can be enjoyed at all times—but that’s not what Gen Z and their winding career paths are asking for. What’s more important, for emerging talent is the belief that the career path they’re on is worthwhile to them and is aligned with the things they value the most. That’s a whole lot easier to achieve when the companies hiring them have found the right position fit in the first place. 

By Chris Keenan, Co-Founder & CEO, Unibeez