April 23, 2015

Why Employing Millennials Is Important

By Katie Appleby, Marketing Executive, at Inspiring Interns

katie appleby - inspiring interns1230

Katie Appleby, Marketing Executive, Inspiring Interns

Does potential matter more than experience? Katie Appleby, Marketing Executive at Inspiring Interns, argues that hiring digitally-aware graduates could give your business a welcome boost of energy.

In a year where brands are focusing on seamlessly blending online and offline channels to create the ultimate customer experience, a digitally-savvy millennial could be the ideal addition to your team.

As a consumer of all things mobile, video and social media, employing a graduate in an entry-level position can mean fresh ideas and a different, outside perspective.

Spot Talent

Analytics and big data are topical talking points and, with marketing a hugely popular industry for job-seeking graduates, those with numerical skills are keen to get creative with numbers. Recruiters are seeing a rise in the number of candidates pursuing activities outside of the office or classroom, including writing blogs, working freelance to gain experience, and using video and social media platforms to share their portfolios and passions. A graduate’s relevant work experience may be limited (which is to be expected), but these budding young designers, developers and marketers can bring to the table creativity, positive reactions to professional feedback, and a determination to impress.

Discover Potential

2014 was the year that mobile access finally overtook desktop, and millennials were a significant driving force behind this—seeking to control multiple aspects of their lives from their smartphones. Careers in digital, marketing, mobile and analytics, therefore, are exciting prospects for millennials, and digital internships are a great way to get started. For employers, digital internships offer scope to look at a prospective employee’s potential—not just their experience.

How To Attract Digital Candidates

There are a few ways to attract high quality, technical and digitally-aware graduates to internship or entry-level job opportunities. Employers can look into specialist recruitment agencies, implement social media as a platform, and use video.

Asking candidates to film a video CV is a fantastic way to assess a potential employee’s communication skills and professionalism, and gain insight into their personality. Recruiters and employers promoting roles can also use video to step away from the more traditional written job specifications, thus appealing to a generation that responds better to visuals.

Infographics and video content encourage engagement and are highly shareable when successfully executed. Conducting interviews via Skype or Google Hangouts and setting creative, interactive tasks for candidates pre, during or post interview are further ways to use video to connect with Generation Y.

Young people are looking up to creators of digital content and the influence of these young people is not to be ignored. As owners of multiple devices and consumers that use numerous channels to communicate, be inspired and get ideas, this generation is full of potential. Hiring recent graduates as entry-level employees gives businesses an edge and can ultimately be highly rewarding for both parties.


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By Katie Appleby, Marketing Executive, at Inspiring Interns