Kids Today!

It was roughly this time last year when the redundancies started. I remember because Consult, showing that ever-present finger on the pulse of the industry, decided to make redundancies on the eve of the Seek SARA awards. While the redundancies slowed down, they never really stopped. Performance plans ushered countless consultants towards the exit and restructures came in waves like so many COD zombies. And here we are, as Wyclef said “back in November” staring down the barrel of the historically slow months in the recruitment market. Business owners are in tough spots, I get it. They’re looking at the incomings vs outgoings for Dec, Jan & Feb and making tough calls. It does leave some folk in the lurch over the Christmas period which isn’t nice, but it doesn’t mean hiring managers are automatically on the naughty list. We’re a performance industry and recently I’ve been talking with consultants who have been victims of their own success. Those who have climbed the recruitment ladder and received bumps in pay with each ascension. Great at the time but every ten years or so we’ll get a year like this one and you very quickly become a burden. These recruiters had done their yards and while it’s not a popular term, could be described as seasoned but, what’s the point in experience if the market is tanking? As we look ahead to next year, will it be a case of out with the old and in with the new?

I should say, I mean old as in years in recruitment, not years on this earth. The youth have always been a great source of cheap labour, young dumb, and full of complimentary attributes to recruitment. They have an enthusiasm for the workload and a tireless spirit that ensures doors are knocked and pavements are pounded. However, that perception might be a little outdated. An Aussie recruiter took the fight to Gen Z on their home turf, TikTok. Tammie Christofis Ballis from Realistic Careers blasted Gen Zers for their arrogant pay, work-life balance, and well-being expectations. I think every generation tends to dump on the following one. If the tropes are to be believed, each generation that proceeds the last gets progressively more whiney and entitled. I’d argue that things are more convenient now but, I’d happily exchange the ability to receive a lukewarm Maccas at 3 am for the guarantee my house price quadruples over a decade or two. To Tammie’s point, the young team is putting too much emphasis on working from home. The industry seems to have settled on a one-day-from-home policy, which seems fair. You learn via osmosis in recruitment and if you’re starting out, you need to know what to say and how to say it from the people around you. I even lifted that osmosis line from a fellow recruiter I worked alongside. It’s twofold too, the erosion of company culture can be linked to this necessity to work from home. How can you have a buzz in the office if no one is there?

Flexibility is a given but not for no reason. Picking up kids from school, nay bother. Coming back an hour late from lunch because you wanted some me time, no dice. On the money front, I’ve not experienced too much of that. There is always a higher number expressed but it’s quickly recanted under the slightest scrutiny. The biggest problem, especially in an industry like ours, is this inherent nervousness the young ones seem to be plagued with. Ballis says Gen Z’s focus on their mental well-being is even putting them off job interviews. She said they often try to avoid the inevitable anxiety that comes with the process and need to understand that it is normal to feel nervous. In Recruitment, if you’re spooked by the interview the job is going to terrify you. A lot is said for how work is a necessary evil but not enough is said for the confidence it installs in you. Especially in a job like recruitment, the sense of pride you feel from coming through for a client or seeing a candidate through a process to a role that they have long coveted. Recruitment changes you and I think for the better, you become a bit more sceptical but that’s not a bad thing. I think if more of the young ones leaned into it more, the benefits would outweigh the scaries.

Tammie didn’t offer us a reason why things are the way they are and that's because it’s hard to pin down. Without blaming rock n roll, the boob tube, or social media depending on what gen you’re in, it’s many factors. People point to lockdowns which didn’t help people feel less insular. However, I think it’s more of a thousand cuts type deal, heaps of little things over time. You used to have to call the house of the girl you liked knowing her dad could pick up, some serious gatekeeper experience there. Kids don’t drink as much these days too! Which I’m sure is probably a good thing but, having to persuade a stranger to buy you vodka and cigarettes for no apparent gain for them took a bit of bottle. The rise of the YouTuber with their multiple revenue streams be it lollies, drinks, or cryptocurrency makes having a conventional job bland and uninspiring. There’s a myriad of reasons why the youth of today are a little more skittish but it’s probably wise not to lump all of them in together. Not everyone was a beatnik, hippie, punk, goth, or raver in any given decade. You still have those who are keen to hustle, I just think there’s less of them around.