3 in 10 U.S. managers avoid hiring Gen Z – survey

WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES — Thirty-one percent of managers in the United States avoid hiring Gen Z candidates for entry-level positions, preferring older workers instead, according to a recent ResumeBuilder survey of 782 U.S. employers.
During interviews, issues cited with Gen Z candidates included inappropriate attire (58%), poor eye contact (57%), and unreasonable pay demands (47%).
Once hired, 60% of managers felt Gen Z employees exhibited a sense of entitlement and 59% said they get offended too easily. Over half (57%) said Gen Z workers lack work ethic, motivation, and communication skills.
Meanwhile, 30% of managers admitted to having fired a Gen Z employee within their first month on the job.
To find out how this perception of Gen Z may be impacting hiring, in January, https://t.co/m0H0BTHOnK surveyed 782 U.S. workers who hire for entry-level positions.
View full results: https://t.co/gXYbqhgPQg #ResumeBuilder #GenZ #HiringProcess pic.twitter.com/5mrsgPjvtU
— Resume Builder (@resume) January 28, 2024
“Unlike previous generations, Gen Z faced unique challenges in acquiring foundational workplace skills because of COVID-19,” said ResumeBuilder Chief Career Advisor Stacie Haller.
“Many Gen Zers spent their college years predominantly in remote or hybrid settings, and upon entering the workforce, they often started in remote roles. This departure from the traditional in-person learning environment impacted their ability to hone crucial skills.”
She advised Gen Z candidates to showcase adaptability, technological competence, collaboration abilities, and resilience during the hiring process.
The ResumeBuilder survey echoes a December 2023 report by Intelligent.com, where 38% of American employers avoid hiring recent college graduates who are “unprepared for the workforce.”
Meanwhile, a study by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) revealed that young workers’ productivity dips under older managers.
An expert on the future of work, Ravin Jesuthasan, global leader for transformation services at Mercer consulting, also said that Gen Z prefers living over working because they have seen “the legacy of broken promises” from employers such as benefit pension and retiree medical care.
On the other hand, Glassdoor describes Gen Z as “caring deeply about community connections, about having their voices heard in the workplace, about transparent and responsive leadership, and about diversity and inclusion”. Gen Z is poised to overtake Baby Boomers this year as the most populous generation in the U.S. workforce.