“Gen F.” Have you heard of or seen this term? A colleague recently shared an insightful post from Gary Hamel’s Management 2.0 blog on WSJ.com, The Facebook Generation vs. the Fortune 500, which spells out how the Facebook Generation – a.k.a. Generation F – will ultimately change the face of the workplace. Companies that don’t get it, Hamel argues, will miss out on attracting the best and brightest and may be setting themselves up for a harsh reality if the Gen F contingent is missing.

Gen F, Gen Y, the Net Kids, Millennials. Whatever you call them, the next generation workforce will comprise half of employers’ headcount budgets within the next 10 years. And if you’ve been reading my last few Talent Insights posts, you’ve also gotten the (not so subtle) sense that these young professionals thrive on social media and new technology. Add these considerations together, and I think Hamel pretty much hits the nail on the head.

Last month, more than 250 college students and young grads took our Web 2.0 Technologies Survey and told us some pretty telling things. The survey focused on collaborative and community-based online media – social and professional networking sites, widgets and gadgets, wikis, blogs, podcasts, video, etc. – and their role in the workplace.

Nearly all respondents, at 94%, reported using social networking sites. Yet when it comes to other new technologies, the largest numbers of Gen Y spend only an hour or less each week on sites liked LinkedIn, blogs and micro-blogs (think Twitter) and video chat apps like Skype. Interestingly, 20% of respondents said they use new media to make new business contacts or learn about career opportunities.

Factor in work and the numbers get more compelling, and employers especially should take note. Forty-two percent of Gen Y told us they use or plan to use social networks at work. A substantial 90% of this same group believes Web 2.0 technologies will make them more or just as productive at work, and nearly the same number – 82% – said they’d be happy to coach their older counterparts on new media if the training was needed. (Incidentally, our Facebook Fan Page members told us just as much, too.)

With cost control being top-of-mind for just about all of us, and given the tendencies of the Facebook Generation, employers have an opportunity to potentially boost productivity – and save money – by setting Web 2.0 and social media standards at the workplace. At Experience, for example, we all rely on Skype for IM and video conferencing. Personally it saves me time when I can just fire off a quick question to a coworker who resides two floors below me. Not that IM is cutting-edge revolutionary, but you get the point: simple measures add up and make a difference.

When I was a kid, when someone was telling me something I didn’t want to hear, I used to cover my ears and sing the theme to The Flintstones. These days, with the economy in the state that it’s in, the tunes from my childhood are resonating in my head – a wish perhaps to block the headlines we’ve all become accustomed to hearing over the past half year.

Millennials, on the other hand, while realistic about the current financial landscape and how it impacts their careers, are not covering their ears. Experience’s latest survey is telling us Gen Y is adapting to changing workplace situations by bucking conventional wisdom and doing what it takes to stay ahead - and remain positive - with their career prospects.

Last month, nearly 1,650 college students and young professionals took our 2009 Economic Impact Survey. We measured the impact of the US and global economies on Gen Y’s attitudes towards higher education and career paths. In the face of economic recession, many millennials told us they feel bullish about the overall job market: half (50%) say their employment or job prospects are positive. When you compare this stat with general population polls, like the latest NBC-Wall Street Journal survey which covered the economy in part, the confidence level of young adults significantly outpaces Gen X’ers and Baby Boomers. And in a related light, 37% of students and alumni say their college education will be even more valuable now and in the years ahead given market conditions.

Gen Y’ers are also shifting their expectations — and our common perceptions — about how they will tackle the workday in order to keep their jobs. Respondents told us that they’re prepared to work more hours to improve job security (33%) and take on more projects or help colleagues with their work (30%). Another big shift: two-thirds (67%) of young talent are more likely to stay in their current job. Though that now may be a given, it’s quite a departure from the 70% job hopping contingent I discussed last year in A Look at Life After Graduation.

Employers seeking entry-level talent want to get everything they can out of Gen Y, especially in tough times. At the same time, while doing what they’ll need to do to stay employed, young adults are concerned about career development: more than a third (35%) of respondents expect fewer professional development opportunities. To better attract millennials and to reduce attrition, managers should emphasize training programs and help Gen Y carve clear career paths within their organizations.

On a related note, last month we unveiled our 2009 Gen Y Trends report and video which detail what organizations can do to better connect with millennials in today’s climate, including leveraging Web 2.0, providing agile feedback and  building loyalty. Check it out at http://genytrends.experience.com.

Earlier in the month, I hosted a presentation at Experience’s client conference that focused on the so-called “Net Kids.” I discussed common Gen Y traits (namely their comfort with technology) and Web 2.0 media, and why combined they all matter in setting effective career services strategy. Citing the Experience Online Usage Survey we ran late last year, I suggested in my presentation there’s a clear opportunity for social networks– a key Web 2.0 component — to make a serious impact on those of us who live and breathe all things Gen Y careers, not to mention the candidates themselves.

Love it or hate it, social networking is here to stay. The biggest player by far is Facebook, of course, with its 130 million (and growing) active users. Half of these active users access it at least once every day.

In our survey (which I detailed last month in “What’s The Use”), respondents were asked to check off a list of the social networking sites they use. An overwhelming 85 percent of Gen Y surveyed reported being active with Facebook. MySpace was a distant runner up, followed by LinkedIn.

Being social on social networking sites is of course the primary focus, but those of us looking to connect with Gen Y — employers, college career services, alumni associations and everyone in between — have an opportunity to use these networks to engage young professionals on their terms, and on their time. More than a quarter of our respondents indicated they use social networks in the context of careers, whether it’s hunting for jobs, making new business contacts or staying in touch with co-workers. In our current economic recession, career-related activity on Facebook and the rest will only increase come spring and summer.

On a related note, Experience on Tuesday announced the Best Places to Work for Recent Grads, a top 20 list of the leading employers that “get it” when it comes to recruiting, hiring and retaining Gen Y. Many of the organizations highlighted in Best Places fully embrace and support social networks at the workplace. They’re committed to fostering communities and affinity groups (professional and social) at the workplace through new media. As a result, they’re fostering a more productive work environment by building trust between younger workers and managers. Check out the report and get some ideas for yourself.

Did the past four months just completely fly by or what? It wasn’t that long ago we began blogging about the data that drives Gen Y and careers. As I look back at the batch of posts, I have to shamelessly admit I’m entering the holidays with a strong sense of optimism for the new year. Even in tough times, our discussions on Talent Insights have consistently demonstrated that Gen Y on a whole is determined to “make it work.”

Whether it’s taking the steps they need to take to explore career paths and find new jobs that they love, staying engaged with the political process on the heels of a new administration or remaining steadfast with their commitment to social concerns, millennials in 2009 have nothing ahead of them but opportunity. And generally speaking, that’s really how they see things: through a lens of promise and hope.

We’ll be taking the next few weeks off and will return in January with more insight to help you do what you need to do better - whether it’s finding that next great candidate, finding that next great job or anything in between. In the meantime, stay warm (especially to all of our friends here in the northeast), rest up and get ready for 2009. It’s going to be quite a year.

Happy Holidays!

At the end of October, Experience refurbished its Facebook Page and we’ve seen some great traction with our growing fan base. As the universally regarded #1 online destination for Gen Y, college students and young grads alike flock to Facebook daily to do everything from connect with friends to discovering new music to joining communities (like Experience!) that resonate with their interests.

Tied in with our Facebook relaunch, last month we surveyed more than 230 Experience.com candidates with our Online Usage Survey which was designed to gauge how millennials spend their time online. And whether it’s catching up with friends, watching videos, reading the news or looking for jobs or internships, our respondents told us many interesting things - especially when it comes to looking for entry-level opportunities.

One specific area of interest the survey covered was job sites. In addition to Experience.com (which took the lion’s share of responses) and using offline college and alumni-related career services offerings, candidates most often use the big brand-name job sites. More significantly than who made the list, our respondents told us some important things that we should consider when reaching out to Gen Y.

Q: What challenges do you face when searching or applying for a job online?

As you can see in the graphic above, the biggest area of opportunity for recruiters is to optimize their job descriptions. Though the top challenge identified in the survey was “unable to find what I’m looking for,” this frustration is caused in large part due to the description-related challenges identified. Vague job descriptions or not relaying the right (or enough) information can prevent a top candidate from connecting with an opportunity that just might be that “perfect fit” in reality. Candidates may not be finding what they’re looking for because sometimes the descriptions aren’t up to par with the opportunities and employers themselves.

As I mentioned in my post from last week, there’s only one chance to make that first impression. Maximize your recruiting dollars by ensuring your entry-level job and/or internship descriptions are up to snuff and are hitting all the notes Gen Y wants to hear. If you haven’t yet checked it out, I encourage you to read our whitepaper on the subject.

Next up, I’ll take a different dive into this Online Usage Survey and will specifically look at social networking and how it factors in to the career discovery and job search process. Stay tuned!

As we enter the final stretch of the final quarter of 2008, and especially coming to work each and every day after reading the morning headlines, I often find myself thinking of some classic proverbs. One of my favorites is “if we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep getting what we’re getting,” attributed to Stephen Covey. So true in business, and so true in life. Same goes for another one you’ve heard since you were a kid: “don’t judge a book by its cover.”

When it comes to recruiting Gen Y with targeted job postings, however, candidates – no matter the industry vertical – do tend to judge books by their covers. First impressions can make all the difference on whether or not the most qualified talent will even look at your opportunity, let alone apply for it.

Diving deep into the data on one of the most popular Experience.com job search terms, we’ve found some interesting results – results that all employers should consider when crafting messaging for their job opportunities. Millennials that searched for jobs using the search term “analysts” in early December 2008 were presented with hundreds of relevant titles. The top five performing related job titles, illustrated above in terms of click throughs, collectively represent 71.7% of all returned titles that were clicked on. The employers with these titles are seeing success on clicks because they know that they only have one chance to make that first impression – and they kept things simple.

Gen Y employers are most successful with job posting click throughs when their job titles match or are directly related to the terms candidates are searching on. Easy, right? But it can be tempting add a lot of noise into the title in effort to grab attention. And at the end of the day college students and young alumni see right through this. Using ALL CAPS or an abundance of exclamation points to garner MORE CLICKS will most likely BACKFIRE!!! Believe it or not, a good number of job titles that were returned in this “analysts analysis” used such tactics.

In our It’s Time for a Job Description Makeover whitepaper issued earlier this year, we analyzed what Gen Y values and what they’re not seeing in job postings. Whether you’re recruiting an intern or a full-time entry-level hire, make it your New Year’s resolution to reassess how you write job titles and their descriptions. Make sure your words clearly and concisely spell out key benefits for your candidates – because this is what will ultimately decide whether or not top talent will take the time to submit applications, connect with your company and tell their friends all about the experience.

Talent Insights launched a couple of months ago with the goal of offering employers, professionals in career services and candidates with relevant and actionable data-driven insight to help you do your job better – whether your job is setting recruiting strategy, helping others as they head down their paths or even just looking for a new career.

Since our start in September, we’ve seen our readership increase exponentially week after week. Many of you have engaged with your peers through leaving insightful comments on our posts. And we’ve been mentioned in industry-specific publications, regional newspapers and national-level media. As a matter of fact, last month BusinessWeek.com’s First Jobs blog referenced Talent Insights in its Best of the Web: All Things Gen Y post. What a great stamp of approval!

As you prepare to get together this week with family and friends, we’d like to thank you for your support of the Talent Insights Blog. You’ve been the drivers of our success. And stay tuned – we’ll be back next week with more Gen Y insight and analysis to help you as you plan for 2009 and beyond.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We’ve had the pleasure of enduring temperatures in the 30s all week here in Boston. And there’s no relief in sight! With Jack Frost knocking at the door, I thought I’d take a page from my first Talent Insights post - which I wrote during a time of seasonal transition - and look back at October 2008.

October is historically the busiest month in terms of online recruiting activity - the activity of Gen Y searching for opportunities and accessing career-related resources, and the activity of employers targeting candidates online and on campus for entry-level jobs and internship openings. In Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall: A Look at the Busy Season Ahead, I predicted that October would once again be a very busy month. And now that it’s behind us, let’s take a look at exactly what happened – and consider some recommendations for 2009.

October has been Experience.com’s busiest month so far this year, representing 14% of all page views in the first 10 months of 2008. When combined with September (at 13%), more than a quarter of our page views to date fell in the several weeks that followed my first blog post.

Digging deeper into our October data, we’ve learned that Gen Y accessed career tools and job listings most frequently at the beginning of the week, with Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday leading the pack, representing more than half of all page views on average per week. Respectively, M-T-W garnered 19.0%, 18.2% and 19.4%. Interestingly, candidates on average accessed Experience.com most frequently between 10:00am and 4:00pm in October - a bit earlier in the day from where we were tracking at this time last year.

The end to the fall semester is now a few short weeks away. And as I’ve mentioned before, when students return to campus in January and young professionals get back to work following the holidays, they’ll be recharged and focused on their goals at hand: to either find internships for the summer, land full-time jobs by May and/or use online career resources to help them be successful.

Recruiters that plan to target Gen Y talent in early 2009 have the opportunity to attract an engaged pool of candidates, perhaps more so now than ever before, thanks to all the economic (and competitive) factors all around us. Keeping in mind the lessons from October, I definitely encourage employers to pour through their own traffic reports and consider implementing focused call-to-action messaging and innovative content - including Web 2.0 initiatives such as real-time chat, video integration and more - so that their brand and opportunities resonate with candidates exactly when they’re online.

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving - and the official start of the holiday shopping season - is just two weeks away. Back in the mid ’90s, my fellow college buddies and I used our winter breaks to earn some extra money while taking time away to celebrate the holidays. I wound up working at Sam Goody. Remember them? Most of the money I earned went right back into buying music, but that’s another story.

Fast forward a dozen or so years, and retailers from Apple to Zales are feeling the pinch this holiday season. Circuit City, once a major league player, announced Monday that they filed for bankruptcy protection. And according to the Labor Department, about a quarter of all jobs lost since this time last year have been in retail. I don’t need to tell you things aren’t all sugar plums for Gen Y this winter, but college students and young professionals seeking extra income do have the opportunity to gain experience and earn some money - if they know the right places to look.

The 2008 results of our annual Holiday Jobs Survey, which was completed last month by 645 current college students, graduate students and young professionals, are in line with the greater economic picture. Millennials seeking seasonal employment are dealing with an extremely competitive landscape. As illustrated above, roughly four out of five of our respondents plan to work over the holidays - but more than half of them think they’ll be out of luck in finding employment or an internship. Less than a quarter of respondents had landed a seasonal job at the time of the survey.

In our 2007 Holiday Jobs Survey, which ran at roughly the same time last year, nearly half of respondents then had already secured a holiday job by the beginning of November 2007. Only 20 percent last year reported searching before November, compared to nearly two-thirds (60 percent) this year.

In 2008, Gen Y job seekers told us they plan on finding holiday work through their university career centers, word-of-mouth and online job boards. Retail jobs topped the list of desired job types with nearly a quarter of millennials rating it number one. New internships followed as a close second.

Chilly as things may seem, it’s not all snowballing downhill - those employers that are still looking to hire students and young alumni during this three to five week period have a fantastic opportunity to bring on an engaged and ready-to-work Gen Y contingent. Candidates need to apply TODAY and be more aggressive about finding the positions.

Retailers in need of help and companies seeking short-term interns will have more applicants to choose from, but at the end of the day, the quality of applicant is still important. As far as messaging to this crowd goes, stick to the primary points that millennials told us why they were seeking holiday work in the first place: to gain experience and to earn extra money.

Wow! What an historic past couple of days we’ve all witnessed. Regardless of your age, affiliation or background, you’ve got to admit that the renewed sense of engagement and excitement within our country’s political system is pretty inspiring.

As expected, Gen Y’s impact on the election was huge. Just take a look at this post-election analysis from MSNBC.com. As we predicted a few weeks back in our 2008 Jobs and Economics Survey, entry-level job creation – a key concern in our troubled economy – would likely play a pivotal role among other critical issues at the polls. In particular, global warming and climate concerns, hot-button topics for millennials, also ranked highly with our respondents. More than a third of young voters identified these issues as top concerns for the next presidential administration.

Focusing in on all things ‘green,’ last week we dove deeper and surveyed Experience members to find out how the green trend has impacted careers and career choices in our politically charged environment.

Of the 230+ survey respondents, we learned a few interesting things – with 71 percent saying ‘yes,’ the notion working at a green company was appealing to the vast majority of college students and young alumni. Here’s one respondent their own words:

I would like to work for a company that is green, because to me it shows that they are not just about making a profit. It shows that they are willing to give back to the people by not only finding ways to go green, but to also use them in everyday practices.

And what does Gen Y think constitutes a ‘green company?’ Again, in more of their own words:

My definition of a “green” company is one who is even in the slightest sense environmentally friendly and aware. Things such as recycling/reusing paper or having washable washcloths in the bathroom instead of paper towels are some of the simplest things a green company can do. Also, one that sends e-mails rather than letters in your mailbox constitutes a green company for me.

A green company takes a proactive step towards improving their carbon footprint, educating employees about making smarter decisions and interested in changing the way they do business.

A green company minimizes waste, practices policies and procedures that are environmentally concious [sic], and uses their green status as an incentive for their employees.

Looking back at a green-focused April 2008 Experience survey in which nearly 2,800 millennials responded to, four out of five respondents – nearly 80 percent – said they would be more likely to accept a job offer at a green company over another company, when evaluating two similar job offers.

Employers need to consider these significant numbers and clearly communicate their environmental commitments and socially responsible practices throughout all recruiting programs. Frankly it’s what’s needed to attract top entry-level talent. Just take a cue from the Obama campaign – targeting Gen Y with messaging that resonates with their passions is what will make the difference.