Recruiters are burned out, and Gen Z job demands aren’t helping
‘I’ve aged a solid 10 years In the past three years’
After a frustrating year of trying to find and place job candidates amid the turbulence of the Great resignation, recruiters and hiring managers say they are burned out. Some of them point to the overthe-top demands and fickleness of young applicants as a key source of tension.
These job seekers are contributing to a heavy burden: Nearly a third of recruiters said they experience extreme stress on a weekly basis because of their work, according to a December survey by humanresources analytics firm Veris Insights. The research found that 77 percent of highranking recruiters are open to changing jobs, along with 65 percent of HR professionals—a figure that rose 17 percentage points from September to November last year.
“Our job has never been harder,” says Angie Bergner, Vice President at Veris. “We’re seeing so much turnover in recruiting, and recruiters leaving the industry. I’ve aged a solid 10 years in the past three years.”
Bold requirements
HIRERS across industries describe a recurring scenario: A candidate in their 20s or early 30s applies for a position and requests compensation and benefits incommensurate with experience.
“It’s a recent college graduate asking for $90,000 to start, who doesn’t want to go into an office and is asking for unlimited paid time off,” Bergner said.
It’s not just that their requirements are bold. Recruiters are finding younger millennials and Generation Z candidates to be prone to backpedaling.
“All of a sudden they’re like, ‘I didn’t realize the amount of stress this job might bring, so I actually need more days off, or an additional amount of money,’” says Ariel Schur, chief executive officer of ABS Staffing Solutions, which places applicants in industries including finance,
media and technology. “And I say, ‘You told us a number, and we exceeded that number.’”
That indecisiveness can turn into sudden departures, with the candidates accepting an offer for a day or a week and then disappearing. Such moves have consequences for recruiters, who are typically not paid if someone they placed does not begin a job. (Many recruiters will find a replacement if a new hire quits early on.)
Young applicants can also add to hiring professionals’ workload by requesting large amounts of information for jobs that are ultimately declined.
“They want to know exact inclusion and pay transparency policies, and companies are a little bit shell shocked, because those questions weren’t asked five years ago,” Bergner said.
Age has long been a primary determinant of job tenure, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, meaning recruiters tend to have more interactions with young applicants. And their demands can create acute strain, especially at a time when job seekers of all ages are often weighing four to six job offers, up from one or two before the pandemic—a dynamic that makes recruiters busier.
A bad rap
NOT everyone agrees the problem is generational.
“Young candidates get a bad rap,” says Laurie Chamberlin, head of recruitment solutions for North America at recruiting firm LHH. “Some of these workers are the most committed employees, who will work until the ends of the earth—if you tap into what motivates them.”
Rather, she sees a disconnect between employers’ offerings and what young candidates want.
“A lot of folks coming out of school already have great ideas that they want to capitalize on, but they want business experience first,” Chamberlin said. “And some employers want them to work there for a decade after a seven-step hiring process and a drug screen. That’s a bit out of touch, frankly.”
Recruiters might find some relief, Bergner said, if workplaces offer the most flexible office and vacation arrangements that are reasonable for the field.
“If an organization doesn’t have the internal infrastructure to retain them, then they’re going to leave in six months,” Bergner said. “And then the recruiter has to do it all over again.”