Millennial Job Applicants’ Mistakes

Posted On October 16, 2012

Millennials are finding it tough to land jobs and it’s not just because of the economy. In many cases, they may be their own worst enemies in the application and interview processes. Recruiting firm Adecco surveyed hiring managers and found them more likely to hire Boomers than Millennials, in many cases because of the mistakes that Millennials make when applying and interviewing.

Managers surveyed were three times more likely to hire a Boomer than a Millennial and they weighed in on the key mistakes that Millennials are making. The top mistake Millennials make is wearing inappropriate attire to an interview, according to 75% of the managers. Shorts and flip flops were named as examples. Just behind that on the list was inappropriate social media content. 70% of managers reported seeing offensive or compromising photos or personal information posted by Millennial applicants on sites like Facebook and Twitter. Only 19% of Boomer applicants seem to have that problem.

Other common mistakes included not doing enough research or preparation for an interview (62%) and failure to ask questions of interviewers, both of which betray a lack of motivation and interest. Finally, many hiring managers (57%) find Millennials applicants to be overconfident in their abilities and qualifications, perhaps not surprising in the “self esteem” generation.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2012/09/26/top-5-interview-mistakes-millennials-make/

Categories: Baby Boomers, Generations, Workplace