Careers are like relationships: Know yourself, share who you are, and make interviews a two-way street.
If you’re a member of Gen Z, there’s a good chance you are frustrated with your career.
Perhaps more than any other generation, you have a clear vision for what you want out of a career and what you expect in an employer. That’s the good news. The bad news is that many in the Z cohort are struggling to find it.
This sense of dissatisfaction appears in survey after survey as the business world looks for answers to why Gen Z job-hops so much. Consider these statistics about the generation born from 1997 onward:
- 62 percent of Gen Z is actively or passively seeking new jobs.
- 40 percent of Gen Z would like to leave their job within 2 years, and 35 percent are willing to do it even without another job lined up.
Gen Z’s search for meaning
When you’re young, it’s natural to job hop a little. Careers are a bit like relationships. You bounce around until you finally find what you like. Millennials did the same thing before mostly settling down.
But what sets members of your generation apart is your search for something very specific: work that aligns with your values.
According to consulting firm Oliver Wyman, Gen Z is 75 percent more likely than other generations to consider other jobs that better align with its values.
You’ve undoubtedly heard older workers dismiss your generation as entitled, but I don’t blame you for seeing the bigger picture. Values matter, after all, and you deserve credit for coming to that conclusion at such a young age. To work in an organization whose value system is unacceptable or incompatible with your own condemns you to frustration and underperformance.
While there may be a broader responsibility in the business world to better align with Gen Z, there are also personal steps that members of your generation can take to get in where you fit in.
I believe that those of us who belong to the Millennial, Gen X, and Boomer generations have an obligation to share some of our hard-earned wisdom with our 20-something counterparts. If you are a college student nearing graduation or someone early in your career, this is my advice to you.
#1: Know thyself
Knowing yourself sounds easy, but this might actually be the toughest item on my to-do list. After all, we are constantly changing. Cultivating a sense of identity is a lifelong journey with so many inflection points along the way.
But a little introspection goes a long way in your career search.
For some of you, taking the time to gather your thoughts and write your values down may suffice.
Others may need to probe their inner selves a bit more. If you fall into this second category, you might take advantage of research-based values questionnaires online.
#2: Tell the business world who you are
Once you know your values, let the world know. Be bold. Put it out there.
Put as much thought into your LinkedIn profiles as you do your dating profile. Work language into your bio that helps people understand who you are and what matters in your life. Fill out your areas of interest, add your volunteer experience, and identify the causes that matter to you.
Additionally, when you are actively job hunting, reference your values on your résumé or cover letter.
I know what you are thinking, writing “my values are…” in this context is clunky and awkward. That’s true. But as with your LinkedIn profile, you can mention your volunteer experience and market the ways you’ve made a difference in your community.
Finally, discuss your values during your job interview.
Transparency is critical in your job hunt. The more open you are about who you are the more likely you are to find an employer that’s a good match for you.
#3: Ask the right questions
The final step is to know the companies you are considering working for.
Some of this involves a little investigating. Get a feel from their website. Ask colleagues that work for the company what it’s like. If you don’t have colleagues within the company, use the search features on LinkedIn to find second-degree connections within the company or to find people who attended the same university or college as you, and reach out to them.
During the interview process, it’s just as important to ask questions as it is to answer them. Asking questions helps you appear engaged, but it also helps you gather information.
Questions to consider:
- Where does your culture come from?
- How does your hiring process influence your culture?
- What are your core principles?
- Beyond your product, why does your company exist?
- How do you train your new hires?
- How is your company different today than it was 5 years ago?
You’ll find your match
In the employer-employee relationship, there may be no such thing as soulmates, but it is possible to find your match when you approach your career with the intentionality it deserves. Gen Z is coming of age at a unique time in American history. The labor market is shrinking and workers have the leverage to expect more from their careers.
The circumstances are in your favor to find an employer that matches your values, but it doesn’t just happen magically. With a basic plan and a little bit of work, you may be able to avoid those dead-end jobs and find long-term happiness much sooner.