US Businesses Concerned about Hiring Young, ‘Gen Z’ Workers

US Businesses Concerned about Hiring Young, ‘Gen Z’ Workers

美国企业对雇佣年轻的“Z世代”员工感到担忧

【听力音频】

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　　By Dan Friedell

　　20 January 2024

　　A recent report from a higher education advising organization says nearly 40 percent of American employers avoid offering jobs to recent college graduates.

　　They said members of Generation Z, or ‘Gen Z,' the group of Americans born between 1997 and 2012, make a lot of mistakes in job interviews. They say they would rather employ older workers who work harder and are dependable.

　　The research comes from Intelligent, an organization that does research about higher education, the job market and helps young people prepare for college and work.

　　Unfavorable reviews

　　The report came out in December and notes that, of 800 directors, managers and executives asked questions, 38 percent said they favor older workers. About 20 percent of employers said young people brought a parent with them to a job interview. Almost 60 percent of those surveyed said recent college graduates are unprepared for work and about half said they had to dismiss, or fire, a recent college graduate. Others said the young workers do not take criticism well.

　　Because of bad experiences with younger workers, more than half of the business leaders said they are putting policies in place that older workers want. For example, they are offering benefits that are important to older workers, paying higher salaries and permitting older workers to work from home. They also say they are willing to employ an older employee who is "overqualified" if it means they do not have to employ a younger worker.

　　One respondent gave an example of a Gen Z job seeker who refused to turn on their camera during a video interview.

　　Lack of motivation

　　Michael Connors is a recruiter in the Washington, D.C. area. That means he helps companies find job candidates. He said he is not surprised by the survey results. He said employers have real questions about the young job seekers.

　　He asked: "Do they even want this job, or do they just go through the motions?"

　　He said he has not had a job candidate say they will not use their camera for interviews. However, he has had some candidates choose noisy places for calls. One was sitting outside a shopping center during the interview.

　　Adam Capozzi is the career services director at Syracuse University in New York state. He said while many students are very good about online communication, managing data and have experience with spreadsheets, they need help with the "soft skills." Soft skills, he said, include making introductions in business settings, offering a good handshake, or even knowing how to ask for a business card.

　　Soft skills

　　Capozzi said students should pay special attention to three things when looking for jobs:

　　dressing well for interviews

　　making sure that their social media and LinkedIn profiles tell a story of their "core mission, vision and values,"

　　learn that networking is "so much more than going to a career fair."

　　"You could be in an elevator at a specific office building or at a different establishment and bump into someone and strike up a 30-second conversation and not know who they are associated with and a positive first impression can lead to further conversation."

　　Diane Gayeski is a professor of strategic communications at Ithaca College in New York state. She worked on the survey.

　　She said one reason some members of Gen Z are having trouble is that the pandemic disrupted activities that lead to job-hunting success. She noted that some students missed out on internships and the chance to meet professionals who visited college campuses as guest speakers.

　　"Part of college readiness, college's ability to make students ready for their careers are the things that they experience outside the classroom, such as engaging with people who are different than they are and being able to work on projects that are in the community and engaging in internships, and all of that just didn't exist."

　　Managers noted that many students became used to missing project time limit dates, or deadlines, and class time. During the pandemic, some teachers eased a lot of rules.

　　But in the workplace, employers are not as permissive.

　　Kristin Williams is the Director of Career Services at Kent State University's business school in Ohio. She said she sees strong and promising students all the time. However, some of them do miss deadlines.

　　She notes part of that might be left over from the pandemic, when "we didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow." However, she said employers should be willing to train new employees who are having problems.

　　"Again, do we like it when those things happen? Absolutely not. I'm frustrated when a deadline is missed or there's repeated asks for an extension. At some point, someone has to be responsible for coaching [them] through that."

　　Williams said new employees need to be taught how to tell their supervisors they might miss a deadline ahead of time. And they should be taught how to prioritize the most important tasks.

　　Some of the criticisms in the Intelligent survey are part of having several generations in the workforce at the same time, Williams said. But she said that the Gen Z workers might make a "positive shift" in the workplace. She said other workers might end up working less, getting paid more and enjoying freedom to dress less formally at work because of Gen Z's behavior.

　　She added, if 40 percent of employers are worried about Gen Z, that means 60 percent are not.

　　I'm Gena Bennett. And I'm Dan Friedell.

　　VOA's Dora Mekouar wrote this story. Dan Friedell adapted it for VOA Learning English and added interview material from Williams and Capozzi.

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　　作者：Dan Friedell

　　2024年1月20日

　　一份来自高等教育咨询机构的最近报告称，近40%的美国雇主避免向应届大学毕业生提供工作。

　　他们表示，出生于1997年至2012年间的美国人群，也就是“Z世代”，在面试中犯了很多错误。他们说他们更愿意雇佣工作更努力、更可靠的老员工。

　　这项研究来自Intelligent，这是一个关于高等教育、就业市场的研究机构，同时也帮助年轻人为大学和工作做准备。

　　负面评价

　　这份报告在12月份发布，报告指出，在接受调查的800位董事、经理和高管中，38%的人表示他们更倾向于雇佣老员工。大约20%的雇主表示，年轻人在参加工作面试时会带上父母。近60%的受访者表示，应届大学毕业生对工作准备不足，约一半的人表示他们不得不解雇最近的大学毕业生。还有些人说，年轻员工不善于接受批评。

　　由于与年轻员工的不良经历，超过一半的商业领导者表示，他们正在实施老年员工想要的政策。例如，他们提供对老年员工重要的福利，支付更高的薪水，并允许老年员工在家工作。他们还表示，如果这意味着他们不必雇佣年轻员工，他们愿意雇佣一个“过度资格”的老员工。

　　有一位受访者举了一个例子，一个Z世代的求职者在视频面试中拒绝开启他们的摄像头。

　　缺乏动力

　　迈克尔·康纳斯是华盛顿特区地区的一名招聘人员。这意味着他帮助公司寻找求职者。他表示，他对调查结果并不感到惊讶。他说，雇主对年轻求职者有实质性的疑问。

　　他问道："他们真的想要这份工作吗，还是只是走过场？"

　　他说，他还没有遇到过求职者说他们不会在面试中使用摄像头。然而，他有一些候选人选择在嘈杂的地方接电话。有一个人在面试期间坐在购物中心外面。

　　亚当·卡波齐是纽约州雪城大学的职业服务主任。他说，虽然许多学生在在线沟通、数据管理和电子表格使用方面非常出色，但他们需要在"软技能"方面得到帮助。他说，软技能包括在商业环境中进行介绍、提供良好的握手，甚至知道如何索取名片。

　　软技能

　　卡波齐说，学生在找工作时应特别注意三件事：

　　面试时着装得体

　　确保他们的社交媒体和LinkedIn个人资料能够讲述他们的"核心使命、愿景和价值观"的故事，

　　了解到社交网络"远不止于参加职业博览会"。

　　"你可能在某个办公楼的电梯里，或者在其他地方碰到某人，开始一段30秒的对话，不知道他们与谁有关联，而积极的第一印象可以引发进一步的对话。"

　　黛安·盖耶斯基是纽约州伊萨卡学院的战略传播教授。她参与了这项调查。

　　她说，Z世代的一些成员遇到困难的一个原因是，疫情打乱了通向求职成功的活动。她指出，一些学生错过了实习机会，以及有机会接触到作为嘉宾讲师访问大学校园的专业人士。

　　"大学的准备工作，大学让学生为他们的职业生涯做好准备的能力，包括他们在课堂外的经历，比如与他们不同的人交往，能够在社区进行项目工作，参与实习，所有这些都不存在。"

　　经理们注意到，许多学生习惯于错过项目时间限制日期，或者截止日期，和上课时间。在疫情期间，一些教师放宽了很多规定。

　　但在职场上，雇主并不那么宽容。

　　克里斯汀·威廉姆斯是俄亥俄州肯特州立大学商学院的职业服务主任。她说，她总是看到很多优秀而有前途的学生。然而，其中一些人确实错过了截止日期。

　　她指出，这部分可能是疫情留下的影响，当时"我们不知道明天会发生什么。"然而，她说雇主应该愿意培训那些有问题的新员工。

　　"再次，当这些事情发生时，我们喜欢吗？绝对不。当错过一个截止日期或者反复要求延期时，我会感到沮丧。在某个时候，必须有人负责指导他们。”

　　威廉姆斯说，新员工需要被教导如何提前告诉他们的主管他们可能会错过一个截止日期。他们还应该被教导如何优先处理最重要的任务。

　　威廉姆斯说，Intelligent调查中的一些批评是由于劳动力市场上同时存在多个世代的一部分。但她说，Z世代的工人可能会在职场上产生"积极的转变"。她说，由于Z世代的行为，其他工人可能最终会工作时间减少，薪水增加，并享受在工作中穿着更为休闲的自由。

　　她补充说，如果有40%的雇主对Z世代感到担忧，那就意味着有60%的雇主并不担忧。

　　我是吉娜·贝内特。我是丹·弗里德尔。

　　这个故事是VOA的多拉·梅库瓦尔写的。丹·弗里德尔为VOA学英语改编了这个故事，并添加了威廉姆斯和卡波齐的采访材料。

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　　本故事中的词汇

　　interview – 面试，一个寻求职位的人和一个将帮助做出决定的人之间的会面。

　　benefits – 福利，除了工资之外，为了吸引某人在某个商业、组织或政府工作而提供的东西。

　　recruiter – 招聘者，寻找就业候选人的人。

　　disrupt – 扰乱，阻止某事或某人按照通常或期望的方式工作。

　　internship – 实习，一种为没有经验的年轻人提供的就业形式，给他们在某个行业或领域工作的机会。

　　absolutely – 完全地（表示同意）。

　　frustrated – 沮丧的，对于没有得到想要或需要的东西感到烦恼或无望。

　　prioritize – 优先考虑，按照重要性排序事物；决定哪件事最重要。