How to successfully approach young professionals

Apr 24, 2023

Most young professionals are curious, skilled talents full of ideas and motivated to create a serious impact on your business. Usually, after their first years on the job market, they look for new opportunities to contribute to an organization.

In recent years, many businesses have noticed that it becomes increasingly challenging to fascinate young professionals for their business while competitors are on the hunt as well. Therefore, we recommend recruiters to have a certain sensitivity for this talent group in order to approach them in the right way. Already in the first contact points, you can set the sails for the further journey.

Here is what you need to look out for when approaching young professionals

1. Focus on the right channel

Besides the common channels such as Linkedin and Xing, other Social Media channels such as Instagram or Facebook can be of interest as well. When you approach young professionals via online channels, you should be open and interested, but never pushy. Make sure you know the interests of your target group beforehand, to find out where and how you can best address them. However, classical offline channels such as job fairs are still a good way to reach young professionals.

2. Proceed cautiously

Most of the young professionals already have a clear idea of what they expect from their future employer. Flexible working is one of the main arguments when it comes to the attractiveness of future employers. Hence, including information about such benefits in your first message to a potential candidate might be a good chance to directly score high with your messaging.

3. Honesty and transparency

Read the profiles of young professionals carefully and consider why they may be a fit to your company before you message them. Showing personal interest leaves a better impression than standard messages. In order to stand out from the crowd, you can for example pick an experience of the candidate and directly refer to it as a potential overlap of interests.

4. Be realistic about the position

In order to avoid a leave during or after the onboarding process, proactively communicate benefits and challenges of the position in line with the candidate’s personal interests. You should be realistic about the position and also about the organizational hierarchy and culture. In practice, this may include general information about supervision and details about to whom the candidate will report.

5. Show empathy

Sometimes it is not visible if a candidate is looking for a new opportunity. Nevertheless, recent numbers show that young professionals switch companies more often. Leaving a company is no longer a stigma of missing loyalty, but a matter of personal development. Therefore, an open and easy request is a good way to assess the candidates’ willingness to start a new position.

Our advice

Young professionals often prioritize their careers and have a strong motivation to perform on a high level. Companies should therefore offer career coaching and other forms of development opportunities, and communicate this when approaching young professionals.

When you are not sure if a potential candidate has the right background, be open and easy and ask, for example, for a virtual interview in order to get to know each other.

Curious to set up an employer brand and recruiting process targeting young professionals? Reach out to us now if you are interested in help in streamlining your candidate