According to 102 responses, Pollen Careers has found Gen Z jobseekers are most frustrated by:
- Lack of feedback (71.6%)
- Lengthy application process (65.7%)
- Being ghosted by employers (50%)
- Overemphasis on experience and education (40.2%)
- Lack of transparency regarding salaries (27.5%)
- Lack of communication (21.6%)
- Vague job descriptions (10.8%)
The findings reflect the difficulty that young job seekers are experiencing in 2024 amid a tough job market. According to the Office for National Statistics, last year just 60.4% of graduates living in England aged 21-30 were in “high-skilled” work, while 26.4% of this group were in medium or low-skilled employment and 5.5% unemployed. Whilst
Speaking on the struggle of finding a new job, graduates from the survey commented:
“Horrendous, really knocked my confidence every time I felt like I did a good application and I was rejected. Takes a lot of mental energy and effort. Didn’t get my first interview until 8 months into my job search”
“A lot of lengthy application processes even when I’ve gotten through to the last stage there has not been much feedback given even when asked”
“Very difficult, I thought having experience and skills would make it easier for me, but I didn’t hear back from most of the jobs I applied to!”
Sophie O’Brien the founder of Pollen Careers, has shed light on why this year is proving to be such a difficult year for young people to find jobs:
“We work with graduates and those at the beginning of their career every day, and what we’re seeing are so many obstacles that lockout brilliant candidates because of ineffective, inefficient processes.
“For example, we see young jobseekers who invest loads of time on AI-filtered applications, only to get an auto-rejected because they didn't include the right keywords. Although universities will often provide career hubs and career days, many of the job opportunities that are offered are skewed towards big businesses that have big budgets towards graduate recruitment and do not reflect the majority of opportunities with SMEs.
“What happens is lack of opportunities and poor screening results in perfectly good candidates being rejected and having to work in lower-skilled and low-paying jobs in order to make ends meet, and then being trapped in those jobs because job hunting is so time-consuming and hiring managers often won’t prioritise these candidates because they want relevant experience.
“We are also now seeing the heightening demands of employers, with many promoting entry-level roles to have years of relevant experience, which isn't achievable for many people, because to get experience, you need experience. Only those with connections or who can afford to work for free can get access to opportunities that don't require experience.
“Lastly, we’re seeing a vicious cycle of ghosting from employers and lack of feedback which can massively hinder a young person’s confidence and create a circular problem. interviewers, often untrained, will cite this as a reason to reject, dampening a young person’s confidence further and bringing about wider mental health problems among young people.
“What we’re dealing with here is a very ineffective and inefficient way of recruiting, that isn’t just damaging graduates but also the companies which end up hiring candidates based on accolades rather than being genuinely good for the company.”