Job site visitors
A study by Global Web Index recently established that an astounding 58 percent of people under 35—employed or otherwise—frequent job and recruitment sites. That’s right, even the happily employed millennials are visiting them.
Escape plan or career planning?
The American Genius actually operates the Austin Digital Jobs group on Facebook that has almost 30,000 members. Our last demographic survey indicates that over 65 percent of those members were employed.
This begs the question: are those employed people dissatisfied with their current work arrangements, or is this phenomenon demonstrative of an opportunistic mindset?
What it really boils down to is the millennial generation’s fear of missing out (or FOMO as it has been coined).
Millennial FOMO
FOMO is a pillar in the millennial generation. Whether it is keeping their weeks plan-free in case an emergency business meeting pops up, or it is perpetually scouring job sites to avoid missing out on a potential launching point for their career, the FOMO is real.
If you have ever heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, millennials tend to fit into it astonishingly well.
They are a generation okay with eating Ramen and living with eight roommates in order to fill those lower physiological, safety, and love needs if it means they can advance in the self-esteem rungs and into self-actualization.
The FOMO isn’t about missing out dream jobs or being the next Mark Zuckerberg.
As we discussed here, millennials are a workaholic generation. They put their shoulder to the wheel and get things done. The fear is completely rational.
The FOMO actually revolves around the idea that they could potentially miss the next step in refining and honing their craft and/or career.
So, while some millennials may be on job sites to make sure their current employer is the best deal (best pay, best culture, etc.), the fact is that most millennials are looking for advancement as a way to achieve self-actualization.
Cashin’ in on FOMO
Millennials are plagued with grandiose ideas that they can all achieve their dreams. While it is statistically unlikely that every single millennial will achieve their dream, employers should be aggressively using job sites to recruit in the case that your company might be the launching point they’re seeking.
Afterall, it would totally suck to miss out.
This story done in partnership between Kiri Isaac and Jack Lloyd.
