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.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably caught the hint that the young vote is going to play a major role in the presidential election. Case in point: according to “An informed Gen Y may decide this election” from the Denver Post, youth turnout increased drastically in almost every state holding a primary or caucus on Super Tuesday – doubling, tripling and even quadrupling the turnouts in 2004. The paper argues young voters will have an even greater impact in the general election, because attempts to ‘get out the youth vote’ have finally been coupled with a real effort to ‘inform young voters.’

Between the economy, two wars, an energy crisis, global climate change and everything else we’ve become accustomed to hearing about over the past umpteen months, there’s a lot at stake for the millions of college students and young professionals who will be voting for the first time. Entry-level job creation, a key concern for college educated Gen Y’ers, will likely play a pivotal role at the polls – even if it doesn’t cut through the noise like the other headline-grabbing issues.

Yesterday Experience announced the results of our 2008 Jobs and Economics Survey, and with more than 12,900 respondents (from our opted-in student and alumni candidate base) it’s safe to say Gen Y voters are ‘engaged’ with this historic election. Of the 85 percent who said they’d be voting on November 4th, we found that…

• 80% of respondents said entry-level job creation will play a factor in how they’ll cast their votes
• 76% indicated midsize to large business stimulation was a voting concern
• 69% reported entrepreneurial activity was an influencer as well
• 60% have seen a decrease in employer activity in 2008 – including targeted job postings and on-campus recruiting

Gen Y also cited economic stimulation (58 percent), the energy crisis (50 percent), foreign policy and healthcare reform (39 percent each), education reform (37 percent) and unemployment (35 percent) as the most important issues for the next administration.

With a sharp focus on jobs and the economy, students and young professionals have concerns that mirror those of society at large. Social issues, while still important, are no longer top of mind like they once were. And that’s an easy explanation: young voters, like all voters, are not sheltered from the economic storm that’s significantly affecting just about everything nowadays. Employers seeking Gen Y talent in today’s business climate need to not just keep these concerns in mind, but consider reinforcing ‘stability’ in their messaging when at all possible.

And in case you’re curious: we gave our respondents the option to tell us which way they were leaning politically. Of those who opted to ‘vote’ (nearly 11,000 young voters), 62 percent said they would back Barack Obama and 21 percent said they would go for John McCain. The rest were either undecided (9 percent), voting for a third party candidate (2 percent) or simply chose not to say (6 percent).

Did you hear? In November we’ll be voting for a new President of the United States. And of all the election-related things we’re hearing about in the news on a daily basis, we’re constantly barraged with “oil this” and “gas that.” Seriously, I don’t think one day goes by without hearing about something related to energy. Just this morning I read that House Democrats have embraced a plan to allow for more offshore drilling. It’s a significant issue!

But what does all of this mean for employers in the energy arena?

It’s no secret that oil and gas companies are making lots of money. They’re also hiring lots of entry-level talent, especially in the back-to-school timeframe. Over the past few years we’ve even found that the key industry players have started their recruiting processes earlier and earlier in the fall season, as hiring for geoscience majors has become extremely competitive. We’ve also found that many of these companies have augmented their programs to include Gen Y-friendly hiring and retention initiatives. But are their programs working?

It certainly seems so. The top five oil and gas companies in the Experience Network had an average of 13 applies per job with a 5 percent conversion rate (from job search results to apply). And no surprise – the largest of the bunch, ExxonMobil, led the pack in search activity. The second runner up, ConocoPhillips, interestingly is the smallest company in our list in terms of annual revenue. Following ConocoPhillips in the Gen Y search activity rankings are Chevron, BP and Royal Dutch Shell, respectively.

Whether they’re seeking drilling engineers, equipment operators, field office managers, electronic technicians or any number of specific entry-level positions, oil and gas companies – to remain competitive and relevant in the eyes of candidates – must consider more than the compensation package and embrace innovative tactics to attract and retain Gen Y talent. These initiatives can include using internships as extended interviews, providing clear career growth paths (whether managerial or technical) and leveraging green initiatives and other socially-focused programs.

On an interesting and related side note, late last year Experience polled Gen Y job seekers on issues related to the 2008 elections. In the survey, we found that candidates put more emphasis on social issues than their worries about obtaining a full-time job. Of the issues identified, energy consumption was a top concern.