How to Create Recruitment Strategies That Attract Gen Z Job Seekers

Job hunting has changed dramatically due to COVID-19. Many HR recruiters are likely confused by the shift in hiring methods. However, what's changing even more drastically is "students' career outlook." If companies proceed with recruitment as usual without noticing this change, they may find themselves overlooked by students before they know it.

Recognizing these major shifts in the job market, Dentsu Inc. and OneCareer jointly hosted the online "OPEN HR LAB (β)" program in July 2021. This one-day event analyzed and discussed trends and new case studies in new graduate recruitment.

This article focuses on insights shared by Mihoko Nishii and Masaya Yomaru—who also serve as members of Dentsu Inc.'s planning & creative unit, the "Dentsu Inc. Youth Research Department" (*)—regarding marketing methodologies and creative development approaches in recruitment. The first half explains techniques applicable to recruitment activities and recruitment communications, offering "tips for creating recruitment frameworks you can use starting tomorrow." The latter half features answers to questions submitted by viewers.

※Dentsu Inc. Youth Research Department: A planning and creative unit whose mission is "Designing the Future from Youth," exploring ways to build better relationships between young people and society. Through redesigning job hunting activities, it produces new ways for young people and companies to connect.
Official Website: https://dentsu-wakamon.com

This article is an edited version originally published on "OneCareer Cloud (note)", a platform sharing insights on new graduate recruitment.

New graduate hiring has entered an era without clear answers

Prior to the session, Mr. Nishii of Dentsu Inc. explained the background behind launching OPEN HR LAB (β). He began by stating that as job hunting undergoes significant changes and new graduate recruitment enters an era without clear answers, something crucial is needed.

"Precisely because the future is unpredictable, it's vital to learn about each company's new hiring practices and how they develop their recruitment strategies. At OPEN HR LAB (β), we want to create programs that foster new hiring examples through discussion with everyone. The (β) in the name reflects that we launched this event as an experimental platform," said Mr. Nishii.

Recruitment activities in this uncertain landscape are a major source of concern for HR professionals. Particularly due to the rapid shift to online recruitment driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies face challenges with web-based interviews and recruitment strategies. The pre-event survey of HR professionals' concerns also clearly reflected the impact of this shift to online methods:

[Four Challenges Facing HR and Recruitment Teams]
1.It has become harder to meet the students we are targeting
2.Uncertainty about how to formulate recruitment strategies as a company
3.Online formats make it harder to gauge students' true feelings
4.Struggling to effectively follow up after extending job offers

Yuga Kitano of OneCareer prefaced his remarks by noting this year's sharp rise in job offer rejections. He stated that companies are struggling to keep pace with student changes, not just with online recruitment. "With more opportunities to hear about Gen Z values—especially regarding LGBTQ+ issues and SDGs—companies seem perplexed about how to respond," said Kitano.

From initial encounters with students to post-offer follow-up, how can companies make students like them and become the chosen employer?

Strategy aside, it all starts with "understanding" Generation Z.

The first session featured Mr. Nishii and Mr. Yomaru from Dentsu Inc. discussing "The Secrets of Companies Chosen by Students in a Rapidly Changing Job Market."

The current job-hunting cohort, born in 1999 and 2000, is the so-called "Generation Z." Compared to older generations, their values, attitudes toward work, and approaches to career building are said to have drastically changed. Mr. Nishii explained that the job-hunting environment has shifted significantly due to factors like the lifting of restrictions on side jobs, the collapse of the lifetime employment system, and changes in Keidanren's recruitment rules. As traditional hiring methods become less effective, top talent tends to flow toward large foreign companies.

"It's hard to notice because the total number of applicants isn't plummeting, but if you feel more stability-seeking students are applying instead of top talent, it might be because they're flowing to major foreign companies. With roughly half now aiming for foreign firms, companies that continue their usual hiring activities without understanding Generation Z's mindset will gradually become the ones students don't choose," says Nishii.

So what values do these Generation Z students hold? Mr. Yomaru, who also works with Dentsu Inc.'s Youth Research Department, analyzes Generation Z: "Having grown up witnessing global recessions, terrorist acts, and unprecedented disasters – environments where the concept of 'normal' doesn't apply – they possess a strong ability to question assumptions and avoid hopeful projections about the future."

Generation Z has known smartphones and social media since childhood. Consequently, they are a generation constantly exposed to the gaze of others and perpetually connected to the world. Four key elements distinguish them significantly from previous generations:

1.Rationalism Born from Persistent Anxiety

Generation Z grew up in an era where past norms no longer apply and there are no clear answers. Consequently, they tend to question assumptions and seek the essence of things. To older generations, this attitude may appear rational.

2.Heightened focus on time efficiency; "KY" (socially clueless) disappears

Living amidst an information explosion, they prioritize "time performance" – how efficiently information can be obtained within a given timeframe – over cost performance. This explains why content like TikTok, consumable in an instant, resonates with Generation Z.

This generation values actively sharing information over merely receiving it, viewing it as a sign of higher literacy. Consequently, the concept of "KY" (not reading the room) has disappeared, replaced by a characteristic of "actively sharing one's efforts and individuality with others."

"While there's a saying about persevering for three years on a stone, they tend to feel uneasy about grinding it out for three years as a form of apprenticeship. Instead, they prefer to spend time on what they want to do and focus on their own growth," says Mr. Yōmaru.

3.Sustainability Natives

Having lived through unprecedented disasters, ESG (environmental, social, governance) and SDGs are personal issues for Generation Z. While influenced by school education, they possess a spirit of "we must take action for the global environment ourselves." For them, being conscious of global sustainability and social good is simply a given.

4.Virtual and Real

While "virtual" and "real" were previously presented as opposing concepts, for Generation Z, the virtual is simply part of the real. The days when the internet was a highly anonymous world are long gone. Social media allows you to understand someone's character, making people met virtually more likely to become friends or allies. It could be said we live in a more transparent world.

Because the hidden aspects of things have become more visible, Mr. Yomaru cautioned, "Transparency is now demanded in all corporate activities, starting with recruitment."

Creating Your Own Unique Recruitment Model with 3 Key Hints

Now that we understand Generation Z's characteristics, how can we leverage them for our company's recruitment and PR? Mr. Nishii proposes "creating your own recruitment and PR model" as a method you can start tomorrow. The three hints introduced are as follows:

1.Developing Core Messages Using 3C Analysis

3C analysis involves considering three perspectives—"Company," "Consumer," and "Competitor"—when formulating corporate strategy. However, Nishii sounded the alarm that in recruitment specifically, the consumer (i.e., student) and competitor perspectives are often missing. As a result, even well-crafted core recruitment messages can get buried by competitors' messaging, potentially creating a disconnect with students.

"Everyone uses nice-sounding words, so messages tend to become similar. What attracts potential candidates is communicating experiences unique to that person, and the same applies to companies. If you engage in superficial communication that could apply to any company, you won't achieve a genuine match with students," says Nishii.

Dentsu Inc. itself, amid its own business transformation, has evolved its recruitment communication. They constantly update their messaging while considering who they want to attract, taking into account the mindset of their target audience and competitors' strategies. Their concept for the 2022 graduate recruitment was "Use Dentsu Inc." This message reportedly sparked interest in many people.

The key to crafting a core message lies in two points: "differentiation" and "uniqueness."

Regarding a company's business, the "What" (what it does) and "How" (how it does it) are often difficult for companies to differentiate. Attempting to articulate these tends to result in abstract, familiar-sounding statements. Therefore, it is essential to delve deeply into the "Why" (why it does it) and articulate the company's stance, ideology, and philosophy.

Furthermore, in this era of information overload, it's crucial to communicate not just nice-sounding words, but messages that reflect your company's genuine beliefs and stance. In other words, the uniqueness of how you express it matters.

2.Designing Recruitment Communication Starting from the Core Message

We design recruitment communications—including brochures, websites, information sessions, internships, and PR activities—starting from the core message.

Examples from other companies produced by Dentsu Inc.'s Youth Research Department include Hitachi, Ltd., which drew inspiration from its corporate motto "Good over profit" and framed its messages using inequality symbols (<) for recruitment communications, and NTT East Japan, which developed its messaging around the slogan "Connect and create."

"It's crucial to consistently apply the communication framework developed here across all initiatives—brochures, events, internships, and more. For example, changing the tone and manner solely for internships reduces message delivery efficiency," states Mr. Yōmaru.

Furthermore, "Internships have become particularly crucial in recruitment communication," states Mr. Yōmaru. For companies already recognized by students, internships offer a chance to reconnect as potential employers. For lesser-known companies, they serve as the first introduction. However, with internships now facing oversupply, messages focused solely on company needs will only attract those already interested. Therefore, it's essential to broaden access so even non-applicants perceive value in participating.

"There are so many programs now that make students think about new ventures, to the point where they call it 'innovation harassment'. We need to consider the benefits for students participating in internships and design communication around engaging content they can relate to personally, such as using trending initiatives as entry points," said Mr. Yonomaru.

3.Designing an Original Recruitment Journey

The third hint is creating a company-specific recruitment journey. Think of it as the job-hunting equivalent of a "customer journey" map, which charts the experiences consumers go through before purchasing a company's product.

The key here is to summarize, at each touchpoint, "how to get them to re-recognize your company as a potential employer."

"It's vital to update annually through quantitative/fixed-point surveys which factors are important as contact points and which influenced decision-making," (Mr. Yōmaru)

Finally, Mr. Nishii concluded, "It's crucial for companies to create their own recruitment framework. To ensure your message truly resonates, start by building that framework."

The subsequent session featured a discussion on "Shiseido's Job-Based Recruitment and 'Outstanding' Talent." Mr. Daiki Oka, responsible for new graduate recruitment at Shiseido, joined Mr. Kitano and Mr. Hayato Wakayama from OneCareer to explain and analyze the latest case studies in new graduate recruitment.

The key is understanding candidate psychology together. Messages resonate when they feel personal.

The final session featured panelists answering Q&A submitted by viewers. Social media emerged as a particularly lively topic. As more companies utilize social media for recruitment communications, Nishii explained its evolving role: "Since the start of this year, its influence has surpassed that of word-of-mouth."

"While job hunting was heavily influenced by word-of-mouth from seniors in the past, data shows Instagram and Twitter's influence has risen this year. This is likely due to the increase in companies using SNS and the frequency of its use. Notably, more companies are creating dedicated accounts specifically for new graduate recruitment," (Nishii)

In response to a viewer's concern about "how to convince upper management to accept high-resolution, sharp recruitment messages?", Mr. Yomaru suggested starting by searching together with upper management, rather than proposing messages created at the operational level.

"The answer isn't something we invent from scratch; it already exists within the company. Therefore, I believe the process should be about discovery, not invention. For that reason, instead of presenting a proposal to upper management, why not adopt a collaborative search approach? For example, I think it's crucial to establish a meeting body or organizational structure where executives participate in workshops to study Gen Z psychology and articulate the company's unique philosophy and ideology." (Mr. Yōmaru)

Many viewers expressed concerns about understanding values across generations, worrying about "cases where HR personnel understand Gen Z values, but executives, board members, or frontline employees don't."

Mr. Yōmaru explained, "Recruitment strategy is a strategy that builds a company's future competitiveness." He then proposed, "Why not start by asking executives about their anxieties regarding the future?" By sharing Gen Z's values within this context and proposing recruitment approaches, the content becomes easier for executives and board members to understand as something closely related to them.

"For management, understanding young people and Generation Z should be essential information when considering future customers. As a way to understand the near future, it's also effective for recruiters to hold internal study sessions," said Mr. Nishii. He further emphasized that mutual understanding and compromise between students and companies are crucial.

"It's crucial for Gen Z students and companies to connect on a genuine level. We will continue striving to make recruitment processes more transparent, and we hope to keep supporting all recruitment managers going forward," said Nishii.

Dentsu Inc. × OneCareer's latest case study session, "OPEN HR LAB," will continue to be held. The latest event information is distributed via Peatix. If you're interested, please follow us!