Employer Branding’s New Challenge: Candidates less likely to search for career info
It is the Era of Distraction! Candidates today scroll through more content online than ever before. This helps the tech-native generations of candidates to develop ever stronger “attention filter muscles” and engage less with presented content they don’t relate to. In a time of growing numbers of unfilled positions, a soaring skill gap between positions and candidates, decreasing employee loyalty driving the great resignation and quiet quitting, employers must proactively engage the right talent with authentic content. Setting the right expectations with candidates at the start of the talent journey can help combat these concerning trends that lead to flushing big bucks down the drain.
The Potentialpark Talent Communication Study works to map the expectations of talent around the world, to provide actionable insights and inform employers on how to build data-driven talent communication strategies.
Gen Z vs. Millennials - Similar yet different
Gen Z, classed as those under 25 at the moment, is storming on to the job market and significantly impacting the way communication with talent should happen. But for employers to continue attracting Millennial and Gen Z talent, it is essential to understand their key differences. Potentialpark finds that the landscape grows in complexity as both Gen Z and Millennials show less proactive engagement on a global scale. Candidates in 2023 are less likely to proactively search for career information across online platforms compared to 2022.
Despite the drop in proactive searching, candidates’ go-to channels remain consistent. Professional platforms (like LinkedIn, Indeed etc) are a preferred source of information for both Millennials (57%) and Gen Z (54%). When it comes to their next favorite sources, Gen Z views both career websites and social media as comparably preferred sources for career information online (44% and 43% respectively). Millennials have a significantly different outlook, with 50% of candidates using company career websites as their second source of information, and only 37% utilizing social media for this reason. Gen Z’s increasing proportion on the job market drives the growing preference for information across social media.
The social media landscape is becoming more diversified as Gen Z leads the usage growth of newer snackable content platforms like TikTok and BeReal among others. Parallelly, Potentialpark data shows that globally, candidates continue to find online career resources more credible than previous years. We observe a notable increase in candidates’ trust in social media content (35% of candidates selected social networks in their top 3 credible sources in 2023, compared to 23% in 2022).
As not all channels are the same across the generations and usage, the talent journey is ever-more complex. Our data shows that candidates have specific, differentiated preferences towards the kind of content they expect to find across social media platforms. With candidates being more passive, but trusting, employers should activate a smooth and interconnected journey that allows candidates to effortlessly learn more about the identity of the employer.
“Life-work balance” at the center for candidates in 2023
It’s the end of the so-called work-life balance. Continuing on the trends that Potentialpark observed in 2022, our data shows that candidates perceive work as an integral, valuable part of their lives. We should talk about the rise of life-work balance.
Candidates judge the quality of their life as a welcomed adjacency to their work. 40% of US talent would decline or leave a job if it required them to go to the office everyday. It is increasingly important for employers to demonstrate their prioritization of flexible work arrangements for employees.
In life-work balance the newer generations increasingly find motivation and drive in being part of a greater purpose. The latest Potentialpark study shines a light on a determining factor for candidates upon considering an employment opportunity. Half of US candidates decide against applying after visiting a career website, and 52% of those do so appear to turn away from employers who do not have initiatives on diversity, equity and inclusion and/or social responsibility. While historic Potentialpark data shows a consistent demand for authentic values, this finding points towards the measurable impact that employers’ inaction on the subject can have on their employer brand and talent acquisition efforts.
Being compensated fairly is not a benefit anymore. It’s baseline and candidates rightfully demand it. For US candidates, information about compensation and monetary benefits ranks #1 on their list of priorities during their job search. Simultaneously, the newest generation of professionals are fairly confident in their odds on the market (73%), against the backdrop of a job market where talent has the perceived upper hand. This puts more pressure on employers to be transparent about benefits in their talent communication to be competitive.
However, it is important to note the gender discrepancy in the perception of their odds on the job market, particularly for Millennial candidates who on average have a higher confidence than Gen Z. A notably lower proportion of Millennial female candidates (70%) see their odds as positive compared to their male Millennial counterparts (84%).
Your job is the place to continue your education hands-on. Candidates are adamant about being provided clarity regarding opportunities that focus on investing in their professional and personal development. The demand for development-centric workplaces and opportunities for professional growth sees a big jump from last year as US talent ranks it #3 in their list of priorities to enable them to learn new skills and remain competitive in their career trajectories.
Personable content for the win
With the lasting impacts of the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting, it is so important that employers gain the trust of potential talent from the beginning of the communication process. Talent Communication in 2023 must revolve around setting the right expectations with the right candidates for each employer.
Social media content is by default more casual and personable than on other communication channels. Our data shows that the majority of candidates would follow career-related content delivered through individuals such as employee ambassadors. While Millennials show us a fondness for learning about careers through this form of communication, Gen Z expresses a notably higher preference for consuming content from influencers and ambassadors (8% and 7% more than Millenials respectively).
The Potentialpark Takeaways
Potentialpark finds that employer brands must adapt to candidate trends to combat the significant effects of the changing relationship between employers and employees, where loyalty suffers and employee turnover is on the rise. The role of talent communication evolves from brand promotion and converting to applications, to setting the right expectations with just the right talent instead. To achieve this, employers must put their desired candidate at the center of their talent communication strategies and deliver upon candidates’ expectations of transparency, honesty and authenticity to open the doors towards meaningful engagement with talent that would not simply apply, but fit in and remain a valuable part of the business during turbulent times.
Rankings Summary
With its consistent and continuous efforts for talent communication and recruitment, ams OSRAM maintains its top spot in the Potentialpark US Talent Communication rankings for 2023. Firmly established as a market leader in their strategy for Career Website and Applying Online, ams OSRAM maintains their number one position, and performs relatively well in their execution of social media strategies, attaining the second position in the Social Media ranking, while SAP retains the #1 spot.
This year’s US Talent Communication rankings saw several shifts with new companies soaring into the Top 10, including BCG who made their way up to #4 in the overall Potentialpark ranking. Their performance can be credited to their rich and appealing content on their Career Website which jumped 70 ranks, landing them in the #7 spot and their active and engaging presence on all social media channels thus keeping their Social Media standing at a high #8.
New to the ranking and creating a splash in the Top 10 is Thermo Fisher Scientific, securing the #5 spot in the Potentialpark ranking, due to its strong social media presence and candidate-friendly application processes, allotting them the #5 rank in Social Media and #7 in Applying Online . Other notable advancements were made by CVS Health, which successfully climbed up 47 ranks to take the #16 spot in the overall ranking, performing considerably well in Career Website at #15 and Social Media at #6.
Marking their presence in the Top 10 with a stellar performance in professional channels is Verizon, who scored the #1 spot in the newly introduced ranking for Professional Platforms. Their efforts in employer branding and providing coveted content on these channels have paid off in successfully differentiating them from other employers. Other notable performers in the Professional Platforms are Continental and Philips at the second and third ranks.
About Potentialpark
Potentialpark has had a comprehensive dialogue with talent since 2002. The annual global market study gathers data from candidates that allows Potentialpark to make a representative picture of the needs and expectations of those heading out onto the job market and highlight the latest trends.
The 2023 US Potentialpark Talent Communication Study gathered over 42,000 global responses from students, graduates and early career professionals, with 4,591 responses in the US. Simultaneously, Potentialpark analyzed 101 representative employers in the US based on 271 different candidate criteria.
Want to know more about Potentialpark’s work or data?
Contact: Anna Youngquist, Talent Communication Specialist and Country Manager US
anna@potentialpark.com