There’s a tendency for recruiters to imagine that amongst so-called ‘millennials’ is where most movement in the job market happens. Essentially young people entering the job market who were born from the end of the 80s to the turn of the century.
Surprisingly there’s now a big change amongst older people—the so-called ‘Generation-X’.
These are people in the late 30s to 50s age bracket, traditionally in a stable, ‘safe’ career and least susceptible to a change in their careers.
A Management Today survey (July 2017) has revealed that a huge 70% of this age group are actively looking for a “major change” and almost half plan to start a new business within the next 10 years.
So how does this affect the recruitment industry?
Is this the end of the traditional career path?
If the survey proves accurate, then there’s a wealth of talent and candidates with valuable business experience just waiting for an opportunity to arise.
Recruiters need to be quick to make sure they attract the highest calibre of candidates for a specific vacancy.
The launch of Vidu, the online digital and video recruitment platform, is enabling recruiters to present their company profile more dynamically—so they stand out from the crowd. And when candidates apply, then the platform can display a candidate’s video and social media profile—all in one place.
If recruiters need any further convincing, the Management Today survey goes on to reveal that 56% of older professionals believe that a “job for life” is stifling for their development. 20% even plan to move industry sectors.
So what’s the reason behind the sea-change in attitude?
The survey suggests that job satisfaction (66%), a better work-life balance (60%), reward packages (50%) and flexible working hours (42%) are the biggest reasons why Generation-X professionals have developed itchy feet.
