5 Benefits Millennials Look For in Employers

November 7, 2018

Millennial employees are known for changing jobs faster than other generations, so it’s no wonder Millennial turnover costs the U.S. economy $30.5 billion annually. But instead of writing off this segment of employees, many companies are looking at what drives people in this generation to join a company, and how can you keep the younger allstars once they’re on your team? Many Millennials have college degrees with varied backgrounds and experiences, they’re loyal to causes they care about and connected in their communities. Keeping top talent is a key business driver for success, but there are some things you might not know that Millennials are looking for in employers.

Opportunity for Advancement

Millennials don’t want to get into one position and stay there forever. After seeing their loyal parents ousted from companies during the recession, young employees know not to settle and let skills stagnate. They might even leave for other opportunities, but you can attract and retain the best of them by offering development opportunities and continuing education. Millennials want to know that they can grow with the company and they won’t get stuck in one position. As a matter of fact, 59% of Millennials say this is extremely important to them.

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Support

Nothing is more frustrating than working in a space or with a team that doesn’t support you. Millennials want to be somewhere that they feel supported. Whether that’s the right computer for their job, a sit-to-stand desk, ergonomic work chair, or regular check-ins from leadership, support is crucial.

Work-Life Balance

Most would say it is not considered admirable to work a 60-hour workweek or to skip using your vacation time, because you’re that valuable. Millennial employees have no interest in being the first to the office and the last to leave because a work-life balance has become a mantra for this generation. Keep in mind these young workers had parents who were not as available for family time, and they are choosing instead to spend more time with their families or to disconnect from work to recharge their batteries. Since everyone is reachable through digital tools 24/7 getting away from the office and finding other ways to put work-life balance in harmony is crucial to avoiding burnout and keeping the best talent.

Recognition and Feedback

Some people balk at the Millennials for having gotten participation trophies as kids, but the result is this generation likes to be recognized for good work and need more feedback to feel secure. Whereas a typical Baby Boomer might be happy assuming things are fine if they aren’t getting criticism, a Millennial would likely want regular status updates from their boss. They usually want to be doing things that are meaningful and helping the team progress, so things like a weekly meeting or quick one-on-one session to talk about goals can really go a long way to helping your top Millennial talent stay engaged. Plus, giving your Millennial employees props for their good work can be more effective than other types of perks or bonuses. 68% of Millennials said they’d prefer being personally called out for their efforts.

Meaningful Perks

It’s a common misconception that all you need to attract and retain Millennials are things like pizza parties and bean bag chairs. In reality, they want more meaningful perks than this. Time off means more to them than raises because they’re driven to see the world and connect with other cultures. Options like bonuses that go straight to their student loans or more competitive benefits packages can be the difference between staying at your company or jumping ship for a competitor.

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Gain Work Experience While in College

There is often a catch-22 that applies to looking for a job after college: many entry-level positions require some experience, but you can’t gain experience unless you have already worked in that field. Although there are exceptions, one of the hard facts is that most employers prefer to hire a college graduate who has some work experience to put on the table. So, your best bet is to find part-time work in your chosen field while you are still in school. It might not be easy, as trying to keep up with a full course load and working at the same time can be a challenge. But the reward may be your dream job after graduation. ● Best-case scenario: You find a part-time job related to your field and then use your experience to segue into a full-time position once you have your degree. ● Worst-case scenario: You can’t find a part-time job directly related to your field, but you have demonstrated your ability to hold a job and you have some work experience to put on your resume.

Five Ways to Find the Right Part-Time Work

1. The Federal Work Study Program All federally accredited universities and colleges offer the Work Study Program. This program matches students with job opportunities which are located both on and off campus. Counselors do their best to pick positions closest to your field of study. These jobs are paid at the minimum wage rate or a little higher and are assigned at a maximum of thirty hours per week. 2. Freelancing If you have certain skills, such as writing or graphic design, you can make some extra cash using freelance sites such as upwork.com and contentrunner.com. The beauty of this kind of work is that you can choose your own hours. There are many internet platforms that are searching for part-time talent – just be sure to research them carefully to avoid scams. Even if you find work that isn’t in the field you are aiming for after college, you will be demonstrating initiative to any prospective employer. 3. Volunteering Volunteering usually means that you won’t get paid, which while admirable, won't make a big dent in your student loan debt. But getting involved with community organizations, charities, animal shelters, etc. shows initiative, a sense of responsibility, and your ability to work with others. It is often easier to find an unpaid position in the field that you want to work in after college through volunteering or an internship. Simply, if you can afford to volunteer you'll likely refine the personal and professional skills that will last a lifetime. 4. Internships Finding internships in your chosen field is one of the best ways to land your dream job after college. Companies love internships because it’s an easy way for them to find talent with hardly any risk or expense on their part. Internships represent the lifeblood of college work experience because nothing beats a hands-on education. The best internship is one that will help you launch your entry-level career.

5. Career Services Department

Most colleges and universities have a Career Services Department whose main goal is to help students fine-tune their professional skills in hopes of landing a great job. From resume tips to mock interviews, they're a wealth of knowledge. Every day they're working with students just like you who have varying amounts of student loan debt and actively want to help you get rid of it! ● Why the Big Companies Aren’t Always the Best Choice: Many academic advisors recommend choosing internships in smaller businesses where they really need hands-on help so you won’t be stuck just making printer copies and coffee runs. Research a few local small to medium-sized companies in your field, and then contact their HR departments to ask whether they have programs for interns. Don’t forget to talk to your professors - they are probably aware of a few good companies that you can contact. As an added perk to employees, many companies are also adding competitive benefits, like tuition reimbursement, helping pay of student loan debt, or providing generous time off. ● When to Start Looking for an Internship - After your freshman year, begin to contact companies that interest you. A good resource is your college’s career-planning office. You may be fortunate enough to be enrolled in a college that offers grants to enable students to accept unpaid (or poorly paid) internships. Or you can consider combining a part-time unpaid internship in the field you want with other work that pays. Fortunately, some high-paying fields also pay their interns quite well, especially if those students are close to graduating.

The Bottom Line

Carefully planning your part-time jobs or internships while you are working toward your degree will give you the best chance of achieving your career goals. And the sooner you begin to earn money out of college, the sooner you can start to pay off your student loan debt. Talk to ELFI about our private student loan offerings by giving us a call today! Subject to credit approval. Terms and conditions apply. NOTICE: Third Party Web Sites Education Loan Finance by SouthEast Bank is not responsible for and has no control over the subject matter, content, information, or graphics of the websites that have links here. The portal and news features are being provided by an outside source – The bank is not responsible for the content. Please contact us with any concerns or comments.

2019-09-19

Adulting Tips: 8 Resume Keys to Help you Score that Next Job

Whether you are in the process of heading off to college, or you are graduated and looking to continue your path to financial freedom through student loan refinancing – the work ethic you developed to get into and through school will be a major part of your continued success. But as you enter or progress through your career, the way you present yourself holds even more weight. It’s time to start thinking of your personal brand. Your resume is a key component of how your personal brand comes across to employers. It’s your first opportunity to impress hiring managers and will determine whether you get that in-person interview. For these reasons, it’s essential that is promotes you in the best light possible. Follow these steps (and avoid these mistakes) to achieve the perfect resume.

1. Customize it.

Submitting a vague, boring resume is a sure way to get yours moved to the bottom of the stack, or out of the pile altogether. No matter where you are in your career path, whether looking for a part-time job in high school, an internship in college, or applying for a job after school, you should always take the time to customize your resume to the job you’re applying for (check out Huffington Post’s tips for customizing your resume). But remember, a little goes a long way here.

2. What does your email address say about you?

Your prospective employer shouldn’t look at your resume and think “this person is cool.” In fact, you probably don’t even want them thinking twice about it. You should always avoid email addresses that use nicknames, profanity, or have humorous connotations. Use a simple email address that consists of variations of your first, middle, and last name. We love the tips on creating a professional email address from Hubspot.

3. Organize it.

You want the employer’s eyes to be drawn to the most important parts of your resume – so be sure to highlight them and make them prominent. If you’re fresh out of school with no work experience, highlight your academic accomplishments; if you didn’t have a great GPA in school but have good work experience, highlight the experience first. Know what your selling point is and prioritize it over your supporting facts.

4. Don’t be passive or lazy in your use of language.

Showing laziness in your resume? A recipe for unemployment. Be sure to explain your duties at each job, and don’t sell yourself short. Even if two jobs are similar in nature, be sure to express how the experiences were different because it will exemplify some versatility. Using statements like: "same as above" and "etc." when writing your resume shows poor effort and undersells your experience.

5. Choose the right font.

Be sophisticated, not flashy. Choose a standard font that will be readable by the hiring manager on their phone, laptop, tablet, or any operating system. Your resume may be scanned by automated applicant tracking software, so using a basic font is probably best. Some common examples of “resume-safe” fonts are:

Calibri
Arial
Garamond
Georgia
Helvetica

Check out some more tips on choosing font size and weight from Indeed.

6. Show that you are detail oriented.

Typos and other errors are one of the most common blunders that would cause a hiring manager to discard a resume. Submitting a resume that has typos only confirms that your attention to detail is lacking. Don’t be that person. Just like your credit score can reflect your attention to detail in your personal finances as you seek out student loans or to refinance student loans, your resume is that short summary of your professional experience. Don’t let a typo drop your score with your future employer.

7. Why you?

Most importantly you want to make an impact on a hiring manager. You need to put emphasis on your accomplishments. Think of instances where you achieved success at previous jobs, on classroom projects, or during extracurricular activities. Your goal is to demonstrate measurable successes to the greatest extent possible. Maybe you were you able to help a previous employer increase revenue by 10%. Or you created marketing campaigns in your college courses that five actual companies were able to use and implement. Or you organized a fundraising event that raised funds for a charity in your community. For some inspiration, here’s JobScan’s list of examples of accomplishments you can put on your resume.

8. Algorithms are everywhere.

Many employers use electronic databases to store applicant resumes, and scanning tools are programmed to look for key terms in your resume. Using the right keywords may help you get noticed and earn an interview. Use the job posting or description to help you determine which keywords, such as specialized degrees, languages, skills, etc, to include on your resume. We hope this Adulting Tip lets helps you score that next big career move. Education Loan Finance is here to help you along your financial journey from funding your college career to refinancing student loans – we want to empower your path to financial freedom. Terms and conditions apply. Subject to credit approval. NOTICE: Third Party Web Sites Education Loan Finance by SouthEast Bank is not responsible for and has no control over the subject matter, content, information, or graphics of the websites that have links here. The portal and news features are being provided by an outside source – The bank is not responsible for the content. Please contact us with any concerns or comments.

2019-07-03

Measuring the Costs of Employee Turnover

Best-selling business management author Jim Collins was asked during a 2001 interview if he had identified a good business response to the economic slowdown that had gripped the nation. His widely quoted answer is as relevant today as it was at the time: “If I were running a company today, I would have one priority above all others: to acquire as many of the best people as I could [because] the single biggest constraint on the success of my organization is the ability to get and to hang on to enough of the right people." Nearly 20 years later and in a highly improved economic climate, Collins’ words still encapsulate the biggest challenge facing HR departments of corporate giants and small start-ups alike: finding and retaining quality team members. In an era of competitive recruitment and job-hopping staff, your company risks losing monetary and human capital each time a valued employee chooses to leave. Employee turnover impacts your bottom line and your company's culture. To set wise employee retention policies, you first need to assess the costs of staff turnover accurately and measure the full impact of employee loss.

Direct Costs of Replacing Employees

A talented employee exiting your company costs you money. Estimates of how much employee turnover costs can vary by industry and employee salary. A study by Employee Benefit News estimates the direct cost to hire and train a replacement employee equal or exceed 33% of a worker’s annual salary ($15,000 for a worker earning a median salary of $45,000). Cost estimates are based on calculatable expenses like these:

HR exit interview & paperwork
Benefit payouts owed to the employee
Job advertising, new candidate screening & interviewing
Employee onboarding costs
On-the-job training & supervision

You can track the expenses of your company’s employee turnover using this online calculator, or create a spreadsheet to determine how actual costs add up to affect your bottom line.

Full Impact of Employee Loss

Josh Bersin, a human resource researcher, writing for LinkedIn, refers to employees as a business’s “appreciating assets.” Good employees grow in value as they learn systems, understand products and integrate into their teams. When one of these valuable employees leaves, the business loses more than just the cost of hiring and training a replacement. Bersin cites these additional factors contributing to the total cost of losing a productive employee:

Lost investment: A company typically spends 10 to 20% of an employee’s salary for training over two to three years.
Lost productivity: A new employee takes one to two years to reach the level of an exiting employee. Supervision by other team members also distracts those supervisors from their work—and lowers the team’s collective productivity.
Lost engagement: Other team members take note of employee turnover, ask “why?” and may disengage.
Less responsive, less effective customer service: New employees are less adept at solving customer problems satisfactorily.

According to Bersin, studies show the total cost of an employee’s loss may range from tens of thousands of dollars to 1.5 to 2 times that employee’s annual salary.

Strategies to Slow Employee Turnover Rates

An effective exit interview helps you and your HR team pinpoint the drivers of your company’s employee turnover. You may find that hiring practices need to be refined or employee engagement should be enhanced. Changes to the break room space, such as fresh fruit or games, will allow your employees to relax and come back to work with fresh eyes and a better attitude. This will keep up the workplace morale, shaping your company culture to include perks appealing to younger workers and will lead to increased job satisfaction. Today’s employees are career-oriented and highly motivated. Keep them on your team with other opportunities such as:

Pathway for advancement within the company
Professional development & advanced education
Flex-time & work-from-anywhere options
Management support & recognition
Lifestyle rewards or amenities like catering & concierge services
Culture of shared values & volunteerism

Add Student Loan Benefits Through ELFI

Student loan repayment tops the financial-worries checklist of many recent graduates. Older team members question their ability to pay for educating their children. New, highly desirable HR benefits like student loan contributions and financial literacy education are emerging from these employee concerns—and ELFI for Business is leading the way for employers to incorporate them into hiring packages. You can connect with ELFI directly from your HR portal and access multiple ways to contribute to employees’ student loan debt. We offer new-hire onboarding booklets, educational newsletters and onsite consultations filled with information for you and your employees. Reach out to us at 1.844.601.ELFI to add cutting-edge benefits to your HR employee package!

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NOTICE: Third Party Web Sites Education Loan Finance by SouthEast Bank is not responsible for and has no control over the subject matter, content, information, or graphics of the web sites that have links here. The portal and news features are being provided by an outside source – The bank is not responsible for the content. Please contact us with any concerns or comments.