Widespread job loss due to the pandemic in 2020, followed by record-high ‘quit rates’ in 2021, has allowed candidates to continue to drive the labor market. Companies looking to fill open roles are in tight competition for top talent, and have had to revisit their tried and true strategies for attracting candidates to remain in the game. But how many opportunities and offers are Gen Z juggling today, and how many salaries and benefits are they pinning against each other as they decide where they want to kick-start their careers?
In March 2022, we surveyed nearly 5,000 college juniors and seniors to uncover the truth about what Gen Z is experiencing in the workforce. As part of the robust report of our findings, “The State of the Gen Z Job Search,” we included data on applications and offers for internship and entry-level candidates.
Read on for some high-level takeaways to better understand early career talent, and download the full report for more data and analysis.
Candidates are either applying for a lot of jobs, or relatively few.
Before delving into how many job offers candidates are receiving, it’s helpful to first understand how many applications both internship and full-time job candidates are sending out as they look for their next opportunity.
Overall, we found that most candidates are either applying for more than 60 jobs, or less than 20 roles. Specifically, 40.7% of internship candidates sent out more than 60 applications this cycle, and 30.1% sent out between 1-20 applications. 15.3% sent out 21-40 applications, and 14% applied to 41-60 roles. Those figures are somewhat inverted for full-time candidates, with 27.7% applying for more than 60 jobs, and 41.7% sending out 1-20 applications. 17.3% sent out 21-40 applications, and 41-60 applied to 41-60 jobs.
Internship and full-time job seekers have largely taken two approaches to the search for their next opportunity: they are either sending resumes to a hand-selected group of companies, or shooting their shot at a wide range of open roles and seeing what sticks. To make it on either list, you’ll want to get creative when marketing your opportunities and learn to scale your efforts, such as by tapping on interns and employees to connect with students on and off campus through ambassador programs and meet-and-greets.
A majority of candidates are weighing multiple job offers.
It’s safe to say that you are competing with a slew of other companies for your candidates’ attention and time as you help them navigate your interview and hiring process, but what does the battle look like after they hear back from those companies? In other words, how many offer letters do candidates have in front of them as they make a decision as to where they want to kick-start their career?
Our data shows that a majority of internship (64.5%) and full-time job candidates (67.6%) received multiple offers. About 44% of internship and full-time job candidates received 1-2 additional offers, (or 2-3 total offers), and around 22% of both groups received 3 or more additional offers. About a third of candidates in both groups received just one offer.
If candidates are receiving multiple offers, you can assume they are interviewing at a number of different places. During your hiring process, ask candidates about the timeline of when they expect to receive other offers and make a decision, and be sure to get something in their hands before they feel pressured to make a quick choice. You can also stand out to candidates by establishing yourself as a resource for them throughout the hiring process, as they are bound to have questions as they evaluate their offers.
Software development candidates may be deciding between 3 or more offers.
We also took a look at how the most competitive fields compare in terms of offer letters — namely software development, finance, engineering, and marketing & advertising — and found that candidates in software development were most likely to receive 3 or more additional offers, (and least likely to be evaluating just one offer). Specifically, 20.4% of interns in software development received 3 or more additional offers, compared to about 18% of those in finance and engineering, and 12% of interns in marketing. Looking at full-time candidates, 30.6% of those in software development received 3 or more additional offers, compared to 16% of those in finance, 21.5% of those in engineering, and 17.4% of full-time candidates in marketing.
Another aspect that distinguishes software development from other highly competitive fields is that entry-level hires in the industry are more likely to receive 3 or more additional offers than they are to receive only one offer. With all of that in mind, you should be sure that your offers to those candidates are competitive in terms of salary and benefits, and that you take extra steps in your hiring process to appeal to top talent.
It’s a tough market out there, and it is clear that you will be competing for the same, limited pool of qualified candidates. To secure top talent, you need to lead with attractive offer letters based on what today’s candidates want and expect in the workplace, which includes a competitive base salary and a Gen Z-friendly benefits package. But what does that entail?
To uncover those benchmarking figures and so much more about today’s Gen Z candidate, download our full report. Because armed with the data from our findings, you will be ready to take on the competitive labor maker confident that you understand the expectations and behavior of Gen Z.
