Insights

With return-to-office mandates in full swing, most new college graduates expect to relocate to the city where they’ve landed a full-time role. This aligns with Gen Z’s preference for in-person work, with 79% saying they hope to work in a hybrid structure, while only 7% prefer a fully remote role.

The landscape of recruitment is always changing – are you ready for the latest challenges fall recruitment has for you? To help you prepare, we’ve identified 4 key areas to focus on to ensure you have a smooth and successful season, informed by recent data collected from hundreds of recruiters, thousands of Gen Z candidates, and thousands of data points pulled from user behavior on the RippleMatch platform. For a more in-depth analysis at each of these areas, you can download our full Fall Readiness Guide here!

Last Thursday, the RippleMatch team was thrilled to welcome nearly 50 talent acquisition professionals and campus recruitment teams to our NYC office to talk about one of the most pressing topics in today’s landscape: AI and its impact on the human experience in hiring.

In today’s competitive recruitment landscape, a quick application response time is an indispensable tool for employers looking to attract and retain top talent — especially at the early career level. That’s because Gen Z candidates searching for internship and entry-level roles today expect a quick feedback loop from companies, and prefer to be rejected than ‘ghosted’ during the hiring process.

While it’s promising that many organizations today are prioritizing diversity in hiring and strengthening their commitments to building a more inclusive workplace, there is still much more progress to be made to make the workforce a more welcoming place for all. That includes supporting traditionally underrepresented talent during their college careers, as they begin internships and job searches, and all the way through when it's time for them to seek a promotion at work. In other words, in order to truly support the newest entrants to the workforce — who are also the most diverse generation to date — your organization's commitment to D&I needs to be found in its recruitment strategy, hiring process, and support for employees.

The current state of early career hiring isn't serving anyone, failing to meet the needs of both job-seeking candidates and employers hunting for Gen Z talent. Candidates are submitting over 100 applications to land one internship or job, only to receive little to no response afterwards (commonly referred to as "getting ghosted"). Meanwhile, employers are investing significant time, resources, and funds into finding suitable candidates but are overwhelmed filtering through unqualified applicants, and are struggling to identify and prioritize top inbound candidates. Plus, the response rates for outreach to qualified candidates are alarmingly low, and sourcing candidates through in-person events, such as large-scale diversity conferences and campus visits, is costly and produces unpredictable results.

While there has certainly been progress made for each first-generation college student who dons a cap and gown, this population of students still faces difficulty entering the workforce. For example, first-gen college students are more likely to work during college to support themselves than participate in extracurricular activities on campus, which can harm them when it comes time to demonstrate their leadership skills and school involvement on their resumes.

It’s no secret that the fall semester is the busiest season for campus recruiting teams. As students return to campus after summer break, university recruitment teams have been known to shift into high gear, looking for top talent to fill internship and entry-level roles with start days that are months away. But how does the fall season compare to the rest of the year in terms of open roles for early career candidates, and when exactly are students applying for those opportunities? Does this timeline change across different industries?

Career mapping and providing clear paths for internal growth remain important strategies for keeping great employees in-house, and understanding exactly when Gen Z expects to be promoted at work is an important factor in recruiting and retaining the newest generation of workers. While Gen Zers are often characterized by their desire for quick growth and career advancement, a closer examination of their promotion expectations in 2023 tells a slightly different story. In fact, over the past year, there has been a notable shift in their outlook when it comes to rising through the ranks at work in this economy, and employers looking to future-proof their organizations with fresh talent need to be taking note.