Understanding Millennials and their Career Plans

Understanding Your Recruitment Landscape

Summer 2014 L&DDesigner: Ashfia Rahman

Presenter: NAMEXX

You are the expert in

understanding your landscape.

ObjectivesAt the end of this session, you will be able to:

• Understand key insights on the Millennial Generation’s values and mindsets

• Gain context on the economic and societal experiences of Millennials that inform their career plans

• Know key Millennial career goals and messaging that speaks to their career aspiration

• Apply Millennial Insights information in your daily recruitment activities

Agenda

Millennials: An Introduction

Connecting Culture to Cultivation

Meeting Millennials: Career Conversations

Meeting Millennials: Concerns About the Corps

Our Marketing Team’s Strategy

Millennials, a.k.a…

Generation Y

The Echo Boomers

The Net Generation

The Boomerang Generation

The Peter Pan Generation

What makes Millennials different?

The Silent Generation

b. 1925-1945

Baby Boomersb. 1946-1964

Generation Xb. 1965-1980

Millennialsb. 1981-2000

Events that have Shaped the Class of 2015

Grad2015

Born1994

10 y.o.2004

7 years old2001

17 y.o.2011

14 y.o.2008

16 y.o.2010

18 y.o.2012

11 y.o.2005

Based on historical context, what is important to Millennials? Think about your own collective values and identities given that you are

a millennial.

Agenda

Millennials: An Introduction

Connecting Culture to Cultivation

Meeting Millennials: Career Conversations

Meeting Millennials: Concerns About the Corps

Our Marketing Team’s Strategy

Campaign Must Do: Millennials crave transparency: we have to share the real story, from sources our prospects trust.

Source: Teach For America Prospect CM Brand Tracker, Fall 2013. N = 336. Margin of error = +/-4.5%

Campaign Must Do: At every stage of our engagement with prospects, we need to use

technological platforms to effectively connect with Millennials.

Social media

Online ads

Press

Word of mouth

Email

Video

awareness consideration

action experience advocacy

Posters

Flyers

Radio spots

TV ads

Outdoor

Handbills

Search ads

Website

Email

Word of mouth

Social media

Blogs

Meetings

Events

CPs/SOPs

Press

Partnerships

Video

Brochures

One-pagers

Deadline ads

Classroom visits

CMA panels

Events

Experiential

Word of mouth

Meetings

Ongoing cultivation

Email

Video

Website

Social media

Brochures

One-pagers

Admissions

Corps experience

Personal experience

Like-minded orgs

School/TFA staff

Social media

Region

Students

Parents

TFA network

Word of mouth

Education Network

Region

Students

Parents

TFA network

Word of mouth

Experiential

Email

Social media

Ongoing cultivation

Posters

Flyers

Radio spots

TV ads

Outdoor

Handbills

Search ads

Website

Email

Word of mouth

Social media

Blogs

Meetings

Events

CPs/SOPs

Press

Partnerships

Video

Brochures

One-pagers

Deadline ads

Classroom visits

CMA panels

Events

Experiential

Word of mouth

Meetings

Ongoing cultivation

Email

Video

Website

Social media

Brochures

One-pagers

Admissions

Corps experience

Personal experience

Like-minded orgs

School/TFA staff

Social media

Region

Students

Parents

TFA network

Word of mouth

Education Network

Region

Students

Parents

TFA network

Word of mouth

Experiential

Email

Social media

Ongoing cultivation

ANIMATION NEEDS TO BE FIXED. – Integration of technology and multiple channels to communicate

The most diverse generation in American history

“I personally don’t see race in terms of diversity. For me, it’s way more complicated… it’s a mix of gender, race, class, experiences. Where do the employees come from?”

– Latino prospect, Arizona State University

“It’s not really important how many people of each ethnicity they hire, it’s important that they treat everyone the same. I don’t believe in the stats – that shouldn’t matter.”

– Latino prospect, UC-BerkeleySource: Teach For America Latino Prospect Focus Groups, November 2010.

Campaign Must Do: We must engage- but not inundate – Millennials.

“I was kind of turned off by how ‘sales-y’ the recruiter sounded… the combination of using my personal details in an email while delivering a canned sales pitch seemed fake/genuine, as if she wanted me to think she was being genuine but really she was just selling me.”

– Prospect, Ivy League university

“I found that the [RM] was open to talking about criticisms of TFA. She was excited that I had knew a lot about issues related to education – her level of engagement with me was surprising, in a good way.”

– Prospect, Ivy League university

Source: Teach For America Prospect Focus Groups, October 2012.

Campaign Must Do: We need to develop strategies that allow co-ownership of the Teach For America

brand.

Provide easy access to information

Encourage prospects to explore their own journey with Teach For America corps experience

How Our Team Created Co-Ownership

MDs – you should add in a picture from the campaigns of the two vets you are going to feature (or their pictures or logos from the schools/sectors they worked with if you don’t have campaign pictures). Delete this note after you are done editing.

Agenda

Millennials: An Introduction

Connecting Culture to Cultivation

Meeting Millennials: Career Conversations

Meeting Millennials: Concerns About the Corps

Our Marketing Team’s Strategy

A majority of Millennials expect to get a job related to their career goals immediately after graduation.

What are your plans once you graduate?

26% for African Americans and First-Generation College students*

27% for Latinos

28% for Men of color

Source: Teach For America Millennial Employment Survey, July 2012.

Millennials want to be motivated by “passion”, even though they may not have found it yet.

How well do each of the following statements describe your current outlook?

Source: Teach For America Millennial Employment Survey, July 2012.

When thinking about that “dream job”, Millennial aspirations align well with the corps.

My job is personally fulfilling

My job offers a good work-life balance

My job fosters my development of practical/ professional skills

People who work at my company/organization share my values

My job has a clearly defined career path

My position allows me to give back/ serve

My job is with a company/org. that gives back/serves others

My job pays a high salary

My position will help me network

My job will give me time to figure out what I want to do in life

My company maintains a formal/ informal mentorship programs

My position is located near my family

My job is with a company/brand that is well-known

My position includes a lot of travel

When thinking about your dream job or career, how important is each of the following?

Source: Teach For America Millennial Employment Survey, July 2012.

In what ways do the corps experience match what

Millennials are looking for in a job? In what ways does it conflict

with Millennial values?

Agenda

Millennials: An Introduction

Connecting Culture to Cultivation

Meeting Millennials: Career Conversations

Meeting Millennials: Concerns About the Corps

Our Marketing Team’s Strategy

Millennials are entering a tough economy…

“Our nation’s current economic situation/ job

market means…Total 1st-Gen

College

that is more important than ever that I have a resume that stands out."

88% 90%

that I am anxious about making the right next step."

78% 80%

that it is harder for me to have or maintain a job in the industry I want."

63% 68%

that I've had to change my career goals recently."

34% 42%

that I'd prefer to do something entrepreneurial using my own original idea.”

34% 40%

that it might be easier to bide my time and wait for the right opportunity to come along, rather than take a job elsewhere.”

28% 34%

80% say job market is “ok” or “not very good”

…which leads to Millennial anxiety about the intense pressure to stand out

Overall, how would you describe the job market for you?

Source: Teach For America Millennial Employment Survey, July 2012.

Student debt also plays a large role in Millennial career decisions.

On average, students leave college with 3x as much debt as students did in the early 1990s

The total weight of student loan debt now exceeds the total amount of credit card debt in the United States

Source: Teach For America Millennial Employment Survey, July 2012.

Top performers manage this anxiety by planning their careers early in college.

“Sometimes I’d say I feel confined at Harvard. The job search seems anxiety provoking… [The anxiety comes from] fear of failure, fear of being the only Harvard grad not doing something incredible with your life.”

– Prospect, Harvard University

“Students at Penn are laser-focused. If you’re diverse in any way – female, LGBT, African American, Latino, ROTC – the for-profit companies start hitting you freshman year. There are specific internships geared towards these groups at major investment banks and corporations starting freshman year summer. – Prospect, University of Pennsylvania

Furthermore, Millennials are increasingly concerned about TFA’s effective in LIC

Source: Teach For America Prospect Tracker October 2011 – October 2013. N=336, MOE+/- 4.5%. Q23: What are the top reasons you may not apply to Teach For America? (Choose up to 3)

Barriers to applying to the Teach For America corps

Millennials’ existing values heavily influence how they perceive Teach For America. It’s important to keep these in mind as you interact with prospects:

• Prospects want to get to know TFA on their own terms – they want to be engaged with, not “sold” on the corps

• Prospects communicate best via technology – keep emails short and mobile-friendly

• Top prospects are likely already interning in their chosen career field – be aware of competitor timelines and sit down with QCs early

• Student debt is a reality for most – be clear about how prospects can manage their debt on a CM salary

• Above all, be authentic – Millennials have a sixth sense for propaganda

At the end of the day, what do I need to know?

How should this insight impact my daily recruiting activities?

The more you know about your prospects’ values, the more effective you will be at outreach, cultivation, and marketing.

• Tactical planning: This deep understanding of Millennials will empower you to select channels and execute tactics that are most likely to spur action from your most competitive prospects.

• Messaging: Communicate with your prospects in ways that they appreciate and engage with, i.e. transparency, humility, co-ownership of brands

• Impact in LIC communities: You should be prepared to speak to our impact in LIC communities when it comes up in conversation

• Underclassmen recruitment: Consider with your manager how early recruitment of underclassmen plays into your larger recruitment strategy

Agenda

Millennials: An Introduction

Connecting Culture to Cultivation

Meeting Millennials: Career Conversations

Meeting Millennials: Concerns About the Corps

Our Marketing Team’s Strategy

How This Has Played Out in the Past

• Prospects career decisions are rarely only driven by demographic criteria, such as race or gender.

• Because we were not able to tell what makes prospects think differently from one another, we attempted to appeal to everyone.

• The resulting segments allow marketers to:• Target likely prospects based on

identifiable factors• Speak to those prospects using language that is meaningful to them

A Marketing Example: Segmentation in Action

IDENTIFY TARGET

Who is the marketing team trying to reach?

Which segments are most

prevalent in our target audience?

Which segments would not be as cost and time-

efficient to pursue?

College Students and Professionals who:

• Have a GPA of 3.0+

• Held a leadership position in college

• Respect teachers

• Think the achievement gap is solvable

• Believe public schools should prepare students for higher education

81% of target audience:

• Called-to-Serve Casey wants to give back and serve others.

• Motivated Morgan wants a leadership role in a social justice movement

• All-Around Alex wants to be a role model to kids like him

19% of target audience:

• Creative Cameron values being creative

• Laid-Back Lee wants a job that to give him time to just ‘figure it out’

• Trendy Taylor values living for the moment

The 3 Segments:

All-Around AlexWants to be a role-model

to kids like him

Motivated MorganValues leadership

opportunities

Called-to-Serve Casey

Wants to give back and serve others

Meet Called-to-Serve Casey

This college-age female has strong religious and family values. She values marriage, having kids, respecting the law, going to church, having strong family ties, and being patriotic. She wants to work or is working in a field related to giving back or serving others. She’s influenced by her teachers and classes, as well as her parents and family.

She’s politically conservative and voted in the last election, and is particularly passionate about women’s issues and cancer research. She has respect for teachers and thinks the public school system does a pretty good job educating students. She is confident that she would make a good teacher and has some awareness of Teach For America.

Called to Serve Casey(18% of Millennials / 14 MM people)

Meet Motivated Morgan

This young woman has finished college (where she had excellent grades), started a career in her field, and is now on her way to marriage and kids. She was involved in many clubs and organizations in college, and enjoys hanging out with her friends and family. She’s making good money, she’s more interested in finding a job that will foster personal and skill development, garner her respect, and provide opportunities for growth.

She cares about the environment, women’s issues, and civil rights, with a particular interest in social justice and change. She respects teachers and is very familiar with Teach For America – she was likely recruited to be a corps member while in college. She believes strongly that TFA is a good opportunity and will be respected by future employers.

Motivated Morgan(16% of Millennials / 13 MM people)

Meet All-Around Alex

All-Around Alex(9% of Millennials / 7 MM people)

This Latino male grew up in a low-income community and is very close with his family. He wasn’t necessarily at the top of his class in college, but his networking skills have landed him a job in his preferred career path. A dream job would be with a prestigious company located close to home, with travel involved. He values financial success and hopes to start his own business one day.

He’s interested in helping out kids and supports causes such as affirmative action and food and health related issues. He tends to be influenced by everyone: siblings, friends, co-workers, teachers, and celebrities, parental approval is important. Although he doesn’t have the best impression of teachers, he is passionate about education and wants a job that will allow him to make a positive impact on education. He has pretty solid awareness of Teach For America.

1. You need to know what you are seeing in TFACT and what kind of national

messaging your people are getting in conjunction with your cultivation.

2. You should consider what we know about millennials in creating your

campaign plans.

Group Work

Listen to this clip of recruiter – prospect meeting

What are the values of this prospect?

Does it make you think of any of our Millennial profiles?

What else could the recruiter have said to speak to the prospect’s values?