How to interview a Gen Z candidate

By 2030, in the EMEA region, gen Z profiles will make up one third of the active population. Gen Z already dominates the job market, distinguished by its quest for meaning at work. Companies have everything to gain by recruiting these young talents—provided they can attract them to job interviews and make them eager to join the organization!

The interview is a delicate stage where one must simultaneously assess, reassure, and even captivate these candidates. So, how do you conduct an interview with a Gen Z member? Should the interview stages be adapted? Or should a different evaluation process be developed? Let's break it down.

Why rethink Gen Z the recruitment process ?

A generation with its own set of rules

Gen Zers were born with a smartphone in their hands, and the internet holds no secrets for them. Their habits and daily lives are heavily influenced by our digitized era. With just a few clicks, they access the desired information, educate themselves, and engage in exchanges. Hence, there's a heightened need for transparency, communication, and flexibility in all aspects of their lives, both personal and professional.

These ultra-connected profiles seek to form their own opinions about the company they are applying to: commitment to CSR, working environment, salary structures, feedback from former employees or interns, perks, office locations, company values, and more. In fact, 80% of young individuals would conduct research on a company before applying (Workelo study, 2022).

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The traditional recruitment interview no longer resonates with Gen Z

This doesn't mean you have to completely overhaul your recruitment method. Some elements of the 'classic' interview may not apply or need to be approached differently for this generation. Due to the youth of these profiles, they have limited professional experience and few reference contacts. Therefore, it's essential to assess their skills and human qualities in a different way, perhaps by presenting a case study or adjusting questions for a less experienced audience.

Need inspiration for asking them questions? Here are a few:

• Have you been involved in any volunteer or community work? What have you accomplished and learned?
• Have you had any part-time or student jobs? What transferable skills did you gain from those roles?
• Tell me about a mission that brings you pride and explain why. On the flip side, something less glorious that taught you something.
• How would you handle a mistake at work?
• If you witnessed an injustice or managerial mishap, what would you do?
• What do you want to learn in this role and why?
• What have you self-taught in your life, and how?
• Have you started researching your profession, and if so, how?
• What do you expect from your future manager?"

Take into account soft skills 

Creativity, teamwork, and critical thinking aren't always easy to quantify. Yet, these soft skills can make all the difference between two very similar profiles. It's crucial to be able to evaluate these by asking the right questions. For instance, inquire about a reaction to a specific event, passions, how someone spends their free time, or the qualities someone admires in their colleagues.

It's a war on talent!

Remember that during the interview, the candidate is evaluating you too! Engaging with a recent graduate is an opportunity to show what they stand to gain by joining your team. The individual will also seek to validate their prior research on your company. Prioritize transparency and be honest in your responses.

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Recruitment process: New expectations, new approach!

You're primarily seeking potential. How can you ensure you accurately identify the skills of young applicants?

Adapt your criteria

Take the example of recruiting for a sales position: if you're looking for a junior salesperson, you'll want a candidate who is curious, empathic, articulate, tenacious, and pedagogical. However, academic qualifications or a certain number of years of experience may not necessarily correlate with these skills! You might find that a high level of education, a sales degree, or a specific number of years of experience are not essential.

However, be cautious: just because the person is young doesn't mean the interview should be shorter. You may spend less time on their past experiences but allocate more time to questions related to the team, the mission, the work environment, etc.

In the era of soft skills, the evaluation grid is essential

The primary pitfall to avoid is relying solely on gut feelings after a job interview. The danger is ending up with a candidate who is personable but not necessarily high-performing because, unknowingly, you may have favored the person based on your own biases: similar educational backgrounds, shared passions, a sense of identification, etc.

To assess soft skills and alignment with company values, it's imperative to establish a common evaluation grid for all interviews for a given position. This ensures that all candidates are judged on the same scale. For instance, factors such as teamwork, autonomy, curiosity, cultural fit with the company, etc., can be included in the grid. This approach minimizes the risk of cultural biases influencing your decisions, bringing more neutrality to the interview process.

Organize multiple interviews and set specific goals

We've mentioned it several times—when dealing with young talent, it often means dealing with beginners. To evaluate a candidate when you can't rely on various and extensive experiences, it's necessary to conduct multiple interviews. Breaking down the recruitment process into several phases makes the assessment more precise and provides the individual with more opportunities to showcase their abilities.

Ideally, assess their skills through a practical case study. The advantage? Testing their initial professional instincts, attention to detail, observing their thought process, and reactions in uncomfortable situations (a case study is never a walk in the park). Of course, provide a junior-level case study to avoid overwhelming your future recruit.

For example, at JobTeaser, we've defined a recruitment process involving different profiles within the company. This way, each team member can test and evaluate the candidate with a specific goal in mind:

• 1 screening by HR (to determine if the profile aligns with the job requirements)
• 1 interview with the manager (to assess the candidate's fit with the position and team needs in more detail)
• 1 interview with the department head and the manager (including an operational case study to confirm the choice)
• 1 culture fit interview with several team members (to validate cultural fit)

However, be cautious not to let the recruitment process drag on! Especially for young professionals in niche fields, you shouldn't wait several weeks between each stage, as this may result in the best candidates being recruited elsewhere.

The job interview : balancing assessment goals with candidate experience

Help the candidate feel at ease ✌️

Once again, it's crucial to step away from the conventional recruitment process. Take a more informal approach by offering a coffee or a glass of water, engaging in casual conversation. While it may seem trivial, this is an opportunity to grasp the candidate's personality, analyze their body language and soft skills, and discuss key aspects of the position in a less formal manner. In short, entering the interview with a less abrupt approach will make your young candidate feel more confident.

Next, outline the interview process to give the person a sense of structure: 'I'll begin by introducing our company and the specifics of the position, and then we'll delve into your professional experiences...'.

Finally, avoid stressful questions or trap formulations that aren't very productive for a young individual with limited interview experience. For example: 'You have no experience. Why should we hire you?'. Such blunt questions can discourage the person.

It's not constructive to try to intimidate the candidate. Remember that your young candidate has likely done thorough research on your company and will seek to reaffirm their desire to join during this meeting. In short: the more comfortable the candidate is, the more likely they will envision themselves in the role. 

Assess hard skills and soft skills

It must be acknowledged; evaluating a candidate with only two internships on their CV is not straightforward. Take a look at their extracurricular or associative activities to uncover additional skills: being the president of the sailing association or a saxophonist in a jazz group demonstrates initiative, creativity, and teamwork.

Reframe your questions in the context of these experiences: examples outside of professional settings can reveal a lot about candidates. These experiences allow you to assess how the recent graduate presents themselves, their ability to discuss successes or failures.

As you're on familiar ground, you can test your young talent without destabilizing them by asking about the challenges they may have encountered, for example. This will help evaluate their ability to bounce back, their analytical thinking, and their maturity in facing experiences.

• To assess hard skills, it's simple: present a practical case. This remains the best way to put the prospective recruit in a real-life scenario. It could be a sales simulation for a sales position, a writing assignment for a copywriter, an illustration for a graphic designer, and so on. But the practical case isn't everything! To judge a young talent, you also need to assess their soft skills (or behavioral skills).
• To evaluate soft skills, rephrase your usual questions. The goal is to better understand the personality of your young candidate. For example, don't ask, 'What are the three main qualities of a good manager?' but rather, 'What do you expect from your future manager?'

Finally, pay attention to the questions the person asks you in return: they will tell you a lot about them! Are they interested in your company's mission? Are they genuinely envisioning themselves with you? Are they only asking about salary progression?

How to meet the expectations of your future hire?

With the new ultra-connected generation, it's highly likely that your candidate has also prepared well to question you. The time of the one-sided relationship between recruiters and talents is long gone. Now, you must also make your company appealing for them to join.

To do this, pay attention to the wants and needs of the individual to be able to demonstrate (if true!) that they will find exactly what they are looking for with you. For example, if they seek a stimulating environment where they can develop their skills, highlight your coding training programs or your project-oriented organization that allows people from different teams to work together.

Understanding their expectations is crucial. Young talents are not just looking for a position but a "whole": a work environment, a manager, a team, etc. Gen Z members are also attentive to the values and culture of the company (QWL and CSR). Therefore, proudly showcase your company's culture.

And after the interview?

After the meeting, review your notes to complete your evaluation grid: some answers may help you affirm another criterion. Take the time to debrief (if possible together) with the managers or others who participated in the interviews. Each step of this process should provide answers and validate objectives.

If you want to hire the talent, don't delay in making them an offer and give them time to consider it.

If, on the other hand, you don't plan to proceed with the application, take the time to call them back to explain the reasons for the rejection and, if possible, provide one or two areas for improvement. Your employer brand will only be strengthened.

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