Skip to main content
Log in

Being an Employer of Choice: Attracting Generation Z to Work by Building Brand via Social Media

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Corporate Reputation Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Generation Z has entered a labour market recently and most of its members are about to finish their studies and start their careers at the workplaces. It is the least numerous generation which is present at workplaces nowadays and some employers face lack of talents. To be able to recruit suitable job applicants they need to present themselves well. Since social media are natural way of communication of generation Z, they seem to be suitable tool for this purpose. This paper aims to investigate if employers are aware of specifics of generation Z and if they consider social media useful for recruiting the youngest generation at the labour market. Empirical research included combination of qualitative and quantitative method and based on findings several managerial implications were formulated.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akhras, Caroline. 2019. An exploratory look at a MENA leadership yardstick. International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering 8 (29): 510–516.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andheska, Harry, Dawud Suparno, and İmam Suyitno. 2020. Writing motivation and the ability in writing a research proposal of generation Z students based on cognitive style. Journal for the Education of Gifted Young Scientists 8 (1): 87–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bissola, Rita, and Barbara Imperatori. 2014. Recruiting Gen Yers through social media: Insights from the Italian Labor Market. In Social media in human resources management, 59–81. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

  • Bondarouk, Tanya, Huub Ruël, Elena Axinia, and Roxana Arama. 2014. What is the future of employer branding through social media? Results of the Delphi study into the perceptions of HR professionals and academics. In Social media in human resources management, 23–57. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing.

  • Braun, Virginia, and Victoria Clarke. 2006. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology 3 (2): 77–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpentier, Marieke, Greet Van Hoye, Sara Stockman, Eveline Schollaert, Bart Van Theemsche, and Gerd Jacobs. 2017. Recruiting nurses through social media: Effects on employer brand and attractiveness. Journal of Advanced Nursing 73 (11): 2696–2708.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpentier, Marieke, Greet Van Hoye, and Bert Weijters. 2019. Attracting applicants through the organizations social media page: Signaling employer brand personality. Journal of Vocational Behavior 115: 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cascio, Wayne F. 2014. Leveraging employer branding, performance management and human resource development to enhance employee retention. Human Resource Development International 17 (2): 121–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, E.G., M. Foulton, H. Handfield-Jones, S.M. Hankin, and E.G. Michaels Ill. 1998. THE WAR FOR TALENT. McKinsey Quarterly 3: 44–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandhok, Gunita Arun, and V. Nithya. 2019. Short lived content, a social media platform it’s purpose, perspective of generation Z. International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research 8 (12): 761–768.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chillakuri, Bharat. 2020. Understanding Generation Z expectations for effective onboarding. Journal of Organizational Change Management 33 (7): 1277–1296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Çobanoğlu, Omca, Pınar Tağrikulu Elif, and Ayça Cirit Gül. 2018. Games from generation X to generation Z. Universal Journal of Educational Research 6 (11): 2604–2623.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • da Motta Veiga, Serge P., Brent B. Clark, and Timothy R. Moake. 2020. Influence of job-dedicated social media on employer reputation. Corporate Reputation Review 23 (4): 241–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dabija, Dan-Cristian., Raluca Babut, Vasile Dinu, and Madalina Ioana Lugojan. 2017. Cross-generational analysis of information searching based on social media in Romania. Transformations in Business & Economics 16 (2): 248–270.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duffy, Bobby, Ffion Thomas, Hannah Shrimpton, Hannah Whyte-Smith, Michael Clemence, and Tara Abboud. 2019. Ipsos thinks: Beyond binary: The lives and choices of generation Z. London: Ipsos Mori.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, Sherese Y., Raeesah Chohan, and João José Ferreira. 2019. What makes the difference? Employee social media brand engagement. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 34 (7): 1459–1467.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dutta, Debolina. 2014. Tweet Your Tune—Social Media, the New pied piper in talent acquisition. Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers 39 (3): 93–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eger, Ludvík, Michal Mičík, and Petr Řehoř. 2018. Employer branding on social media and recruitment websites: Symbolic traits of an ideal employer. E M Ekonomie a Management 21 (1): 224–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Egerová, Dana, Lenka Komárková, and Ji.ří Kutlák. 2021. Generation Y and Generation Z employment expectations: A generational cohort comparative study from two countries. E M Ekonomie a Management 24 (3): 93–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellmer, Markus, Astrid Reichel, and Sebastian T. Naderer. 2020. #Australia in the morning, #Thailand by midday, #America in the afternoon. International Journal of Manpower 42 (1): 79–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fedosejeva, Jeļena, Aleksandrs Boče, Marija Romanova, Dzintra Iliško, and Oksana Ivanova. 2018. Education for sustainable development: The choice of pedagogical approaches and methods for the implementation of pedagogical tasks in the anthropocene age. Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability 20 (1): 157–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gajda, Joanna. 2017. Opportunities and threats for the representatives of thegeneration Z on the Polish labor market (in the opinion of students of Czestochowa University of Technology). Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego We Wrocławiu 499: 66–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Girard, Aurélie, Bernard Fallery, and Florence Rodhain. 2014. Integration of social media in recruitment: A Delphi study. In Social media in human resources management, 97–120. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

  • Goh, Edmund, and Fevzi Okumus. 2020. Avoiding the hospitality workforce bubble: Strategies to attract and retain generation Z talent in the hospitality workforce. Tourism Management Perspectives 33 (1): 1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halová, Dagmar. 2024. Generation Z in a center of interest of research papers: Who is Generation Z and how to become an employer of choice for them. In review.

  • Halová, Dagmar, and Michal Müller. 2024a. Impact of Generation Z to the workplace and implications for personnel marketing. In review.

  • Halová, Dagmar, and Michal Müller. 2024b. Personnel marketing mix: Recruiting Generation Z. In review.

  • Halová, Dagmar, and Michal Müller. 2021. “Innovative Approaches to Recruiting: Using Social Media to Become the Employer of Choice for Generation Z.” In 16th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship ECIE 2021, Florinda Matos, Maria de Fátima Ferreiro, Álvaro Rosa, and Isabel Salavisa 2nd ed., 1135–1143. Lisabon: Academic Conferences International Limited. https://doi.org/10.34190/EIE.21.093.

  • Hanzel, Taylor, Jessica Richards, Paige Schwitters, Kirsten Smith, Kyle Wendland, Jamie Martin, and Jaciel Keltgen. 2017. #DocsOnTwitter: How physicians use social media to build social capital. Hospital Topics 96 (1): 9–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herrando, Carolina, Julio Jimenez-Martinez, and M.J. Martin-De Hoyos. 2019. Tell me your age and I tell you what you trust: The moderating effect of generations. Internet Research 29 (4): 799–817.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howe, N., and W. Strauss. 2000. Millennials rising: The next great generation, 1st ed. New York: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jung, Hyo-Sun., and Hye-Hyun. Yoon. 2021. Generational effects of workplace flexibility on work engagement, satisfaction, and commitment in South Korean deluxe hotels. Sustainability 13 (16): 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keppeler, Florian, and Ulf Papenfuß. 2021. Employer branding and recruitment: Social media field experiments targeting future public employees. Public Administration Review 81 (4): 763–775.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khanna, Vandana Tandon, and Manish Naresh Bharthi. 2020. Employer branding through crowdsourcing: Understanding the sentiments of employees. Journal of Indian Business Research 12 (1): 93–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kissel, Patrick, and Marion Büttgen. 2015. Using social media to communicate employer brand identity: The impact on corporate image and employer attractiveness. Journal of Brand Management 22 (9): 755–777.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Könsgen, Raoul, Mario Schaarschmidt, Stefan Ivens, and Andreas Munzel. 2018. Finding meaning in contradiction on employee review sites—effects of discrepant online reviews on job application intentions. Journal of Interactive Marketing 43: 165–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Korombel, Anna, and Olga Ławińska. 2019. Building relations with generation Z as a challenge for social customer relationship management faced by modern enterprises: A case of generation Z students. International Journal of Supply Chain Management 8 (4): 1019–1025.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kucherov, Dmitry, and Ekaterina Zhiltsova. 2021. Social media in employer branding in FMCG in Russia: Millennials’ perspective. Journal of East-West Business 27 (2): 160–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kyzlinková, Renáta, Petr Pojer, and Soňa Veverková. 2019. Nové formy zaměstnávání v České republice. I. vydání. Praha: VÚPSV.

  • Lee, Sang Bong, and Taewon Suh. 2020. Internal audience strikes back from the outside: Emotionally exhausted employees’ negative word-of-mouth as the active brand-oriented deviance. Journal of Product & Brand Management 29 (7): 863–876.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marie, Aniella Sheryl, and Palvinderjit Kaur. 2020. Digitizing the teaching process to best meet the needs of generation z a study in understanding the importance of digitizing education to match gen z needs. International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research 9 (1): 3213–3216.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCrindle, Mark, and Emily Wolfinger. 2014. The ABC of XYZ: Understanding the global generations, 3rd ed. Sydney: UNSW Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mičík, Michal, and Kateřina Mičudová. 2018. Employer brand building: Using social media and career websites to attract generation Y. Economics and Sociology 11 (3): 171–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen, Minh Ha, and Vinh Luan Nguyen. 2018. The effect of employers’ attraction and social media on job application attention of senior students at pharmaceutical universities in Vietnam. International Journal of Business and Society 19 (2): 473–491.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nichols, Thomas, and Meghan Wright. 2018. Generational differences: Understanding and exploring generation Z. In Southwest academy of management proceedings: Annual meeting, ed. B.W. Kulik, 198–206. Albequerque: Southwest Academy of Management.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pandita, Deepika. 2021. Innovation in talent management practices: Creating an innovative employer branding strategy to attract generation Z. International Journal of Innovation Science. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJIS-10-2020-0217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reeves, Thomas C., and Eunjung Oh. 2008. “Generational Differences.” In Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology, J. Michael Spector, M. David Merrill, Jeroen van Merriënboer, and Marcy P. Driscoll 3.rd ed., 295–303. Abingdon: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Taylor & Francis Group. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.955.5090&rep=rep1&type=pdf#page=328.

  • Reis, Germano Glufke, Beatriz Maria Braga, and Jordi Trullen. 2017. Workplace authenticity as an attribute of employer attractiveness. Personnel Review 46 (8): 1962–1976.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, Jeandri, Sarah Lord Ferguson, Theresa Eriksson, and Anna Näppä. 2019. The brand personality dimensions of business-to-business firms: A content analysis of employer reviews on social media. Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing 26 (2): 109–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ronda, Lorena, and Garazi Azanza. 2021. Employer femvertising: Women empowerment in employer brand messages. International Journal of Communication 15: 514–544.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schawbel, Dan. 2014. Gen Y and Gen Z global workplace expectations study. Workplace intelligence: Creating more intelligent workplaces using data-based insights.

  • Shabib, Maryam, Maria Saberi, and Rami Mohammad Abu. Wadi. 2021. The role of digital business in achieving generation Z human capital sustainability. Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Business, Education and Healthcare. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72080-3_3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sivertzen, Anne-Mette., Etty Ragnhild Nilsen, and Anja H. Olafsen. 2013. Employer branding: Employer attractiveness and the use of social media. Journal of Product & Brand Management 22 (7): 473–483.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, Heather, David Sarpong, and Gareth R.T.. White. 2018. Meeting the needs of the Millennials and Generation Z: Gamification in tourism through geocaching. Journal of Tourism Futures 4 (1): 93–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sriprom, Chaisri, Atichat Rungswang, Chirawan Sukwitthayakul, and Natthicha Chansri. 2019. Personality traits of Thai Gen Z undergraduates: Challenges in the EFL classroom? PASAA 57 (1): 165–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stergiou, Dimitrios P., David Airey, and Alexandros Apostolakis. 2018. The winery experience from the perspective of Generation Z. International Journal of Wine Business Research 30 (2): 169–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suen, Hung-Yue., Kuo-En. Hung, and Fan-Hsun. Tseng. 2020. Employer ratings through crowdsourcing on social media: An examination of U.S. Fortune 500 Companies. Sustainability 12 (16): 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sugiarto, Eko, and Wahyu Lestari. 2020. The collaboration of visual property and Semarangan dance: A case study of student creativity in ‘generation Z.’ International Journal of Innovation: Creativity and Change 10 (12): 100–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanwar, Karnica, and Amresh Kumar. 2019. Employer brand, person-organisation fit and employer of choice. Personnel Review 48 (3): 799–823.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tato-Jiménez, Juan L., María Buenadicha-Mateos, and Óscar. R. González-López. 2019. Evolution and sustainability of benefits offered to employees in on-line recruitment. Sustainability 11 (16): 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoganathan, Vignesh, Victoria-Sophie. Osburg, and Boris Bartikowski. 2021. Building better employer brands through employee social media competence and online social capital. Psychology & Marketing 38 (3): 524–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu, Eunjyu, and Suny Canton. 2020. Student-inspired optimal design of online learning for generation Z. Journal of Educators Online 17 (1): 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This article was supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic within the project IGA_FF_2021_015 of Palacký University Olomouc.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dagmar Halová.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Halová, D., Müller, M. Being an Employer of Choice: Attracting Generation Z to Work by Building Brand via Social Media. Corp Reputation Rev (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41299-023-00172-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41299-023-00172-0

Keywords

Navigation