A recent study reveals that newcomers to the job market no longer aspire to join the ranks of the “startup nation”.
More than a thousand students and recent graduates in the United States were surveyed about their career ambitions in the Future Workforce Study, conducted for Adobe. Only 16% of them said they would consider taking a job at a startup or small company.
Most respondents would prefer to pursue a career with a large corporation or a more established organisation. The reason? They believe that these companies are better able to withstand a potential financial crisis than startups.
Their concerns are not baseless: younger generations have expressed worries that the global economy will face new clashes, at a time when inflation remains high.
These fears were rekindled by the recent statements of Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, who said she expected one-third of the world’s economies to be in recession this year.
Despite this economic downturn, US students and recent graduates remain confident about their professional future. Nearly one in eight are optimistic about the current state of the job market.
But they also have greater expectations than previous generations. For example, 55% of respondents say they will carefully consider a company’s financial results before applying or interviewing to join it.
Salary matters
They also look at a company’s reputation (with 92% doing so), reviews posted by employees online, and industry awards (89% for both).
Salary remains a top consideration for Gen-Zers preparing to enter the workforce, with 85% saying they are less likely to apply for a job if the company does not mention a salary range in a job posting.
In other words, they don’t want to waste their time in often lengthy recruitment processes if they are not satisfied with the compensation of the position they are applying for.
And they’re not the only ones who think so. Numerous studies show that job candidates take a very dim view of companies that aren’t upfront when it comes to salary – regardless of age.
The phenomenon is such that the employment website Indeed announced its intention last September to require American recruiters to specify the salary offered for each position they are looking to fill – a minor revolution embraced by Generation Z.