1 in 6 recruiters hesitant of hiring Gen Z, but those who work with college students see cultural differences

Recent Gen Z college graduates are unprepared for the workplace and in need of etiquette training, according to a survey of business professionals.

According to the survey by Intelligent.com, which polled 966 business leaders involved in hiring decisions at their company, 46% of respondents said that recent college graduates should definitely take office etiquette training; 42% said they probably should. Intelligent.com is a Seattle-based online higher education publication that conducts college-related polls.

About 1 in 6 of respondents said they were hesitant to hire recent grads.

Only 25% of respondents said all of their recent college graduate hires from this year "worked out well," while 62% said only some hires were successful. Worse yet, among frequently cited reasons for why hires didn’t work out, 50% pointed to lack of motivation or initiative, 46% blamed lack of professionalism, and 39% said poor communication skills.

The survey, conducted in August and released in September, paints a bleak picture of young workers' ability to adjust to the workplace. But those who work closely with Gen Z and recent grads say surveys like this may rely on bias and don’t reflect the reality they see.

"I’m shocked by these results," said Marianna Savoca, associate vice president of career readiness and experiential education at Stony Brook University’s Career Center. "Stereotypes are fun to talk about, but it’s really hard to classify a whole generation of people."

Savoca, who took issue with some of the survey’s findings, says it’s been her experience that today's college grads, by and large, receive or seek out more job preparedness services than previous generations. Last year, 73% of Stony Brook’s undergraduate student body used to some degree the school’s career services, she said.

"The university messaging around career readiness is clear and consistent," Savoca said. "Because we’re really good at what we do, employers keep coming back."

The students she sees entering the job market are "really smart and they are motivated, and they are eager to get a shot at success," Savoca said. "You don’t have to drag students away from video games to make them care."

For companies like National Grid, which have partnered with Stony Brook on its Diversity Professional Leadership Network program — a yearlong career preparation externship aimed at traditionally underrepresented students — mentoring and working with soon-to-be grads has been fulfilling.

"They bring a very specific type of energy to the room," said Samantha Eddy, lead analyst of compliance execution for National Grid. "They are intrigued, they ask the right provoking questions. They have a broader sense of the world."

While many students come into the mentorship program a bit shy and hesitant to speak up, Eddy said in short order they grew confident and self-assured.

"They might be timid at first, but by the end of the experience, they are coming in asking us questions and they’re not waiting for us to take the initiative," Eddy said. "They are very invested in their own future."

Sandra Buatti-Ramos, senior associate director of Hofstra’s Center for Career Design and Development, said unflattering tropes regarding the work ethic or professionalism of younger workers was nothing new.

"Whenever I see surveys on generational tropes, I try to read them with an open mind. But I grew up in the workforce being told that if I just skipped the guac on my Chipotle order things would be easier," Buatti-Ramos said. "It’s an unfortunate thing that people keep promoting these narratives."

In her experience working with soon-to-be grads, Buatti-Ramos said students were motivated and wanted to learn, but may have different qualities they value in a job or workplace than older generations.

"They want transparency, inclusivity and equity in the workplace, and they are also less likely to want to work with organizations that don’t align with their values," she said. "They might just have different definitions of a lot of things like professionalism."