An interesting perspective on Milennials, a dark one. Or is it?

Best millennial whitepaper to date

With, 'Workforce Transformation: New Leadership for the Multi-Generational Workforce,' Brian R. Johnson and Hitachi Consulting have put together the best whitepaper I have read on the topic of Millennials.

Be sure to check it out. What was the best millennial whitepaper you've read?

Millennials are the hot topic of 60 minutes + two more millennials quickies

People have been sending me this video about clip from a recent 60 minutes segment on millennials. It features a JWT executive. It's quick. It's good. You should check it out. If you are wondering about the picture of a fairy on this post, then you will want to read this story on valleywag about a millennial intern, his wand, facebook and a sick day. Danm Facebook! I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate my millennial cousin for all that he has been able to accomplish working in sales at a major, major, major technology company. He's a hard working, over achieving, sales rep skilled in the arts of cold-calling and keg standing. He's a true millennial. If millennials interest you and you are a HR/Recruiting pro, check out, http://www.askgeny.com/.

Spotted...passive sales pro at IBM!

Ok...ok...he's my cousin but he's good. He's a millennial and he's hungry. He's been kickin' a$$ at IBM in Atlanta and you recruiters should have him on your radar. Recruiters, meet Matt Flaherty. Now go connect with him.

Fyi, he was decent in soccer but not as good of a soccer player as I was a football player. (had to throw that in)

Where can you find millennial males online? The answer might surprise you.

Yahoo! reaches 77 percent of online males ages 18-24. (comScore MediaMetrix, April 2007)

...and with Yahoo! Recruitment Advertising, you can brand to and attract local millennials on sites like, Yahoo! Sports, News, Finance, Mail, the New HotJobs.com or OMG etc.

Related:

• Hey HR, want more Recruiting budget?
• The Millennial Question, by Dan Taylor
• Canadian Forces Recruitment Video
• Job Blogger increases applications 50% YoY, SMS

Hey HR, want more Recruiting budget?

If you’re an employer that has yet to think outside of the job postings and resume search box, and you think that’s ok...well, I and others like me have got some news for you. You are being out innovated in Recruitment by some very unlikely organizations.

I know. I know. You're HR... 'Everyone looks at us as a cost center. No one thinks that we are directly impacting the bottom line. They keep cutting our Recruiting budget. They don't add to it.'

When I hear this, I believe it but statements like this place blame on executive management and I don't believe that's where it belongs. Sorry, my beloved HR. The blame belongs to you. You're making decisions based on poor data.

I know that you have limited resources and time to do more research but its impacting your pitch for more Recruiting budget. Here are some examples of what other orgs are doing in regards to innovation in Recruiting.

By the way, if it helps, and you do get more budget, then don’t forget who helped you out. {enter synchronous corny smile/wink/sparkle in the eye/sound of glass chime}

EXAMPLES
It's not just super-innovative orgs that are showing you up. It's a typically slow-to-move government agency like the CIA that is using Facebook and Search Engine Marketing for Recruitment, Display Advertising and Video. (hat tip)

Click images to zoom.

 

It's local police departments like the Las Vegas Police Department that are crafting their recruitment messages and using traditional offline media with Search Engine Marketing and SEO to drive Millennials to their cool career sites like LVPD's 'Protect The City' site. (story | hat tip)

Click images to zoom.

Even a convent in Michigan is seeing radical change in their nun recruiting metrics! I couldn't make this up if I tried.

If a government stiff in bad tie and short sleeve button-up shirt; a police sergeant with, '30 years on the job,' and Mother Theresa have realized the potential of social media, search engines and display advertising...don't you think its time you got serious about your pitch to executive management?

Let the execs know what's going in your marketplace. It's exciting time and these new technologies can a very positive impact on their bottom line. You know that and you are now slightly better informed than you were before. So, go now and inform them. Get that budget! Godspeed.

Related

• Vancouver Police Department recruiting in Second Life
• Facebook replaces MySpace as #1 visited website by 17-25 year olds
• Yahoo! 360 is the 2nd most popular social network among the business professionals (passive talent)
• Want to leverage social networking for your international recruiting initiatives? This map will help...

The Millennial Question, by Dan Taylor

Dan Taylor is the National Recruitment Manager for DialogueDirect, Inc. You can read his blog (here). Few people have the experience that Dan has recruiting in the millennial space yet each of you will soon be tasked with this challenge.

Here's what Dan has to say in his article written for JobSearchMarketing.com, entitled, 'The Millennial Question.'...

The Millennial Question, by Dan Taylor There’s a lot of buzz being created recently about the Millennial generation, how they are different, how they’ve been treated, and how we should be dealing with them.  I’d like to toss my hat into the ring here, and give my two cents on the Millennial generation, and what they mean to recruitment. As recruiters we are all acutely aware of the great scare of ’10.  Meaning…the predicted 10M worker shortfall projected by pretty much everyone and their brother.  What I haven’t heard much about is how exactly we’re going to fill these slots.  Enter stage right…the millennials! Whether you’ve heard about them or not, get ready for them, because they’re coming at you, and coming fast.  There are approximately 80 Million millennials, and are defined as the generation born between 1982 and 2002 (+/- 3 years, depending on whom you talk to). As opposed to the Traditionalists (1925-1945), the Baby Boomers (1946-1964), the Gen Xers (1965-1981), the Millenials define themselves quite differently, yet quite the same.  The millennials are sometimes referred to as the echo boomers, as in some ways they do reflect the values of the Baby Boomer generation (their grandparents!).  They have been raised on instant technology, reality shows, and team sports. Generational Values:

Traditionalists: Hard Work Dedication and Sacrifice Respect for rules and authority Honor Duty before pleasure	Baby Boomers: Optimism Personal Gratification Involvement Personal Growth Youth
Gen X: Independence Techno literacy Fun and informality Balance	Millennials: Civic Responsibility Confidence Achievement Oriented Respect for Diversity

While this is all fine and dandy defining a generation, how exactly does that translate to the workplace? The key to understanding this new labor force is to understand where they are coming from.  Have you hugged your child today?  How many of you out there can remember this phrase?  Yes, this is the generation that was hugged everyday.  This is the generation that was scheduled en mass; they have had very little time to form their own opinions.  Dance class, soccer, homework, AP classes, etc..  This translates to a generation that is hungry, almost to the point of obsessive for feedback, aren’t afraid to speak their minds, and place the value of the team very high on their list.  While these are not necessarily bad or harmful characteristics, it does beg the question; with so much importance on team, will the transition to autonomous leaders be the meltdown of the millennial? It is also important to remember that tomorrow’s millennial workforce has been so well versed in technology; it’s almost second hand to them.  I’ve personally watched a millennial text message with one hand, have an open conversation on IM, have an ipod plugged in, all the while playing an RPG on their laptop. They are the generation that grew up with the internet.  As they went through the teething stage the internet wasn’t far behind them, and they continue to grow together.  It is this generations’ taste and preferences that are even helping to shape the future growth of the internet (del.icio.us, digg.com, etc…).  It is important to remember that this generation wants to be challenged.  So challenge them.  Give them the power and the tools to use the technology.  They are already doing it in their free time.  Imagine…harnessing the power of play into a productive workforce.  Now THAT’s productive. While I could go on and on regarding the Millennials, I think they are a truly exciting generation to work with, as they often end up teaching ME something new everyday (did YOU know you can custom create emoticons from animated .gif files?).  And if you think these guys are a tricky one to figure out now; exit stage left millennials….stage right…..welcome the MyPod generation……..

Canadian Forces Recruitment Video

The Canadian Forces recruitment video...who knew eh...thanks to YouTube and JobSearchMarketing.com now you do. This YouTube profile has the videos. It doesn't seem to be an official profile but this profile is distributing the Canadian Forces recruitment video at no cost. 1,991 videos views as of right now.

This guy has apparently made the Toronto Star. I found the video on Digg.com and I’m sure it will soon be in both the Google Video and Yahoo! Video indexes.

Now that the video production aka the hard part is done, I would consider furthering the distribution of this video content to millennials via myspace, Facebook and Rich Media ads on the homepage of Yahoo! HotJobs Canada and then sit back and watch recruiting metrics climb. I don’t think monster or monstertrak has a rich media(wiki: Rich Media) offering or else I would consider that as well so long as they weren’t asking for a million dollars for the ad unit.

Job Blogger increases applications 50% YoY, SMS

Cadbury-Schweppes increased applications 50% in 2005 from 2004 with the launch of a Job Blog.

They are the world's largest confectionery company; selling brands such as Cadbury, Schweppes, Halls, Trident, Snapple and more and the company was named in 2004 to Britain’s Most Admired Company list.

Cheezhead is a proponent for job blogs as well. Here he discusses more on Job Blogs.

So what is Cadbury-Schweppes up to now?
Cadbury-Schweppes is now focused on its 2007 graduate recruitment website.

What will Cadbury-Schweppes do to meet this recruiting objective?
Cadbury-Schweppes will attract, interact with and hire millennials by speaking their language...Job Blogs an mp3’s.

I didn’t see any video on Cadbury-Schweppes career site but if they keep up with this pace of innovation in the recruitment space then I imaging that a YouTube account isn’t too far into the future and that soon SMS Text Messaging  will make it’s way into Cadbury-Scheppes' next campus career fair or print advertising campaign. It should.

Have questions about how your org can best leverage a Job Blogs or SMS technology? Ask me.