Want to Recruit Millennials? Get a Clue From Obama

Published by Ryan Healy on January 10th, 2008 in Recruiting | 13 Comments

Young people don't vote. It's been true for generations. Election after election, the winning candidates don't pay much attention to young voters because when all is said and done, they don't show up at the polls.

So why is Generation Y turning out to vote in both the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. And why are we overwhelmingly in support of Barack Obama?

If you were to ask Generations authors William Strauss and Neil Howe, they would tell you that because of our place in history, Millennials are next in line to follow in the footsteps of the GI or "The Greatest" generation, and become the next great civic-minded group that will quietly demand and create change for the better. Only time will tell if the '08 election is where we will begin to leave our mark, but it sure seems like a great place to start.

Barack Obama's campaign knows exactly how to target the Gen-Y audience. Interestingly enough, the same methods that Obama has used to recruit the Millennial vote can be used to recruit those ever-elusive Millennial employees to your company. It's all about viral marketing; generating a powerful and entertaining message, spreading that message and properly connecting with your audience.

The Message

Barack Obama has the "it" factor. The "it" factor means that every time I see his speeches on YouTube or on the television, I feel like I'm watching history unfold. He delivers a powerful speech with a clear message, and you can't take your eyes off of him.

Luckily for the Obama camp, the senator is blessed with an ability to captivate an audience. Your company probably doesn't have a once-in-a-lifetime speaker or a team of speech writers working around the clock. But what you can do is craft the important message that you want to get across to potential employees and hire someone to help you create an appealing and entertaining video or presentation.

Admittedly, this isn't cheap or easy. So, at the very least, take a cue from the Obama campaign and train your recruiters to be great speakers. There is nothing worse than a boring information session or an uninteresting recruiter at a career fair. Just like there is nothing worse than a presidential candidate who fails to connect with or engage their audience.

The Spread

After the Iowa win, my brother sent Senator Obama an email requesting an Employee Evolution interview (a huge shot in the dark, I know). He immediately received the following response:

Dan –

We just won Iowa, and I'm about to head down to talk to everyone.

Democrats turned out in record numbers tonight, and independents and even some Republicans joined our party to stand together for change.

Thank you for everything you've done to make this possible.

– Barack

This is a great email. It's short, to the point and personalized to make it very casual. Now my brother is on a permission-based email list with millions of other supporters. He receives constant updates and links to both text-based and YouTube videos of Obama's speeches.

People receive these emails and watch the entertaining speeches. Because the videos are so engaging they forward the email to friends, post links on their Facebook profiles, write about them on their blogs, and the next thing you know, Barack Obama's Iowa speech is on YouTube's most viewed page, being watched by millions of 18 to 25 year olds.

Your company's message can do the same thing. Or it can completely backfire. Every single preinterview information request or post-interview thank you note must be answered with a personalized response from a recruiter. After that, you need to follow up with consistent updates or the occasional "just checking in" email. You never know which recruit is just waiting to write about their experience with your company on their 10,000 subscriber blog.

Connecting

The first thing Obama did at his huge rally last Saturday in New Hampshire was introduce each of his young volunteers. He also sent these same people to campuses across the country to spread the message.

These were brilliant moves for a couple of reasons. The volunteers felt appreciated, and even more importantly, potential volunteers in South Carolina and Nevada and every other state were able to see that they would play an important role in the campaign. Secondly, young people connect with other young people. If a peer recommends a great band, I go check out a couple of songs. And if a peer recommends a great presidential candidate, I go check out his message. Of course, I make my own decision, but getting there is half the battle.

So put your company's young people on the front lines. Send your youngest employees to college campuses, ask your entry-level workers to write a weekly post on a corporate blog and pair up Millennials with your potential recruits. For the same reasons that nobody under 25 wants to hear the same boring political jargon from a candidate who is clearly behind the times, nobody under 25 wants to hear about your company's profits and losses or the huge contract you just landed. They want to hear about what they will do on a day-to-day basis as an entry-level employee at your company and they want to know how their contribution will help the company move forward.