What are your greatest strengths? What are your three greatest weaknesses? Such standard questions are widely used in the world of recruiting and job interviews. But this world has changed a lot during the last few years. Compared to workers in previous generations, members of Generation Z (ca. 1998 – 2012) have a different vision for life and different values. Free coffee is no longer a convincing benefit. If you want to attract young talent today, you have to start looking for applicants. But what has changed exactly and how do you adapt your HR strategy to that? Seventeen-year-old Samuel Pemsel, founder of the SharpenMarketing recruitment agency, gives us some tips about attracting young talent and finding new employees, particularly in the electronics industry.

Samuel Pemsel (Founder, SharpenMarketing) is
working on his final exams and will attend EBS University
to study economy and law.

Shenja Panik (Elektor): Please tell us something about yourself and your company. Where do you stand right now?


Samuel Pemsel: At the moment, I have just finished my preliminary exams and soon I will do my final exams. I started my professional career when I was 15. In a trial that lasted for almost 11 months, I won my unrestricted business license before the Düsseldorf District Court. This enabled me to found my company SharpenMarketing. We are a young team between 17 and 27. We connect future-oriented medium-sized companies with young talents. We understand what makes young people tick and because we are part of the target group ourselves; we know how to communicate with that target group. We adapt recruiting to the target group and, above all, to modern times. That is our USP.
 

Panik: You’re already talking about the "new times." We live in an era of buzzwords like “New Work,” “Work 2.0,” “Generation Z.” What does this mean for the HR strategy of companies in the electrical engineering industry? What do you think needs to happen by 2025?
 

Pemsel: An important point is the adaptability of the human resources department to the future. At the moment, HR is often neglected. Of course, that also depends on the size of the company. But HR departments are often just the means to an end. But this is a totally wrong approach. Even though computers can handle more and more work, no company can exist without its human capital.

Another important aspect is the mindset. Globalization and digitization are opening up completely new recruiting opportunities. Here being courageous means breaking new ground. Generation Z is currently entering the job market. So the best moment to modernize your HR processes is right now.
 

Panik: When your customers come to you, what is it first thing you tell them?

Pemsel: It does not have to be difficult to attract young talent. In order to adapt to the young target group, recruitment departments do not have to be turned upside down, as many assume. A company thrives on different generations working together. Experience and young drive must go hand in hand.

And, very importantly: there is no such thing as the Generation Z. The right recruiting platform depends on factors such as company sector, size, and above all job position. A working student position for a large law firm is might be better served on LinkedIn, a more visual position like graphic designer on the other hand might be more likely to hit the right target audience on Instagram or Pinterest. In short, recruiters need to ask themselves the following three questions: Who is my target audience? What tasks does my target audience need to solve? Where am I most likely to find this target group? This might be LinkedIn, but also Instagram, Twitch or even Snapchat.

Panik: Can you tell us a bit more about the target group “Young Talents”? How important is a high salary compared to the company goals for sustainability?

Pemsel: The buzzword here is “cultural fit”. Salary still is an enormously important factor. But it is no longer the top priority. A lower salary can be compensated for very well by other benefits and factors. The working atmosphere, the fun on the job, work-life-balance but also the meaningfulness of one’s own work and one’s own development opportunities are gaining in importance. Am I just another worker or am I seen as a person with my own ideas and my own opportunities for growth? In summary: Generation Z has grown up more or less without financial worries. So they are used to setting their own value standards outside of their salary. The central question young talents ask themselves when looking for a job is: Is it worth it to me?

Panik: The electrical engineering industry is of course also highly competitive due to a shortage of skilled workers. There are blue whales and small guppies. Can small companies with just a small budget even win against large corporations in their search for employees? What do tomorrow’s talents want?

Pemsel: Medium-sized companies have to compete not only with medium-sized companies, but also with global players. And of course those can offer completely different assets and benefits than SMEs. Free coffee or a weekly fruit basket won’t help. SMEs have to break away from this and think creatively. That means recognizing trends and jumping on them. Companies have to think about what value system they have and what value system they are looking for in new young employees. And that’s exactly what they can use to catch them.

Panik: Your company SharpenMarketing comprises some permanent employees plus a pool of freelancers. What is your spontaneous assessment for the worldwide community of pro-makers and home designers? Is the trend more towards working as freelancers from their own home labs or will the majority still look for the security of an employee relationship? 

Pemsel: There are advantages and disadvantages in both. COVID-19 in particular has shown which criteria are especially important for each individual. Whether it’s earning money quickly and safely or self-fulfillment as a freelancer or entrepreneur. In the broad mass of Generation Z, the security of an employee relationship is preferred. This is just as true for the electrical engineering industry. This also has a lot to do with the value placed on work by each individual employee. The desire for entrepreneurship and freelance work is growing, but only very few people dare to take this step.

Panik: In Corona times, the unemployment rate is rising. And at the same time, companies are desperately looking for qualified skilled workers. How does this imbalance come about? Shouldn’t it be very easy to find new employees right now?

Pemsel: At SharpenMarketing, we always have the feeling that companies unnecessarily complicate their recruitment process. Are cover letters and letters of motivation really necessary? What skills does the new talent really need to have for the job? Companies should stop looking for the perfect talent and better look for a matching talent. Companies often have quite high expectations, which do not necessarily correlate with the subsequent task. My hypothesis is: companies either have to lower their excessive expectations that do not correspond to the daily work routine, or they have to adjust their benefits accordingly. But only very few do that.

Panik: So what can companies do in concrete terms?

Pemsel: Applicants often feel intimidated by the overly complicated tasks and requirements listed in job offers. In some cases, the hurdle to applying is set too high and is a deterrent. The motivation of applicants in particular is much easier to identify in a personal interview. My first tip for companies looking for employees is: hire on the basis of the value system, not on the basis of skills. Because skills can be learned.

My second tip is once again: go new ways in the search for employees. It is important to find out who the target group is and which networks they are in. Companies need to be exceptional — that is, worthy of noticing and being noticed.

Panik: You’re talking about matching. So is tomorrow’s recruiting nothing more than a dating app?

Pemsel: That’s exactly what it is in reality. Both parties are trying to find out how well they fit together. Because in the modern recruiting process, as in private life, the focus is on the credo: it has to fit together — and perhaps in the future we will also come up with some product that could greatly simplify precisely this process.