Here’s 4 Reasons Why Millennials Are Your Startup’s Saving Grace

This article first appeared on Inc-South East Asia. Visit their page for more business and leadership resources. 

Love them or hate them, millennials — that generation born between 1980 and 2000 — are now at the forefront of start-up companies. The reasons are practical. “There isn’t really much choice,” according to Daniel Olivan, content marketing manager of Kalibrr, a job matching start-up in Manila.

“Unless the company is looking for top-level positions that require years upon years of experience, every organization is really hiring millennials.” Anj Vera, chief executive of TalentView, a Manila-based employer branding firm, predicts that 50 percent of the Asean workforce will be dominated by millennials by year 2020.

In fact in the Philippines, Olivan says, they already make up 30% to 40% of the working population. “Whether we like it or not, millennials will be taking over the global workforce in less than a decade,” he says. “These will be the managers, professionals and CEOs of the very near future.” Here’s why they seem to click:

1. They know social media

Olivan says Kalibrr is a platform made for millennials by millennials. “Our team is mostly made up of skilled and brilliant millennials looking to change the way Filipinos find jobs,” he says.“It is this team composition that makes us more attuned to the millennial mindset, which translates into how we grow our product. For example, primarily, the way we use Facebook and other social media target jobs to our millennial audiences.”

2. Job-hopping doesn’t mean they’re aimless

One thing about most people in this age group is that they are never uncertain about what they want – and what they don’t want. This is why they are often accused of being restless. Vera says they may hop from job to job, not because they are aimless, but in fact the opposite. “

They are attracted to, and are attractive to, purpose-driven organizations.” And what they want, Olivan says, is impact, growth, and fit in a company. “They will want to see tangible and palpable results in their actions, as well as trajectory in their career when they take a job,” he explains. “

Fit is becoming more and more important as well, as the notion of work life integration—seeing life and work as harmonious union—is becoming more popular than the usual idea of work-life balance”

3. They are digitally adept

Employers, according to Olivan, “look towards millennials for their ability to navigate the digital world.” “They grew up with the internet and the rapid improvement of consumer technology. In fact a big portion of them has never experienced life without them,” he says. And precisely because of easy access to information amid changes in tech, millennials are more flexible and open to change.

4.They don’t settle for mediocrity

Vera says most millennials look for, not just any job that keeps them occupied and pays the bills, but a “stellar employee experience.” Among the factors are a dynamic work environment, a sense of purpose and strong mentors.

Yes, this demographic is typecast, fairly or not, as entitled and narcissistic. But these few distinct qualities make them assets to the workplace. These attributes will render them ready to assume greater roles in their respective organizations in the next few years.

Written by Melissa G. Bagamasbad for Inc. Southeast Asia. Dark chocolate, dogs, and adventure are just some of Mel’s passions. Aside from doing her best to live life to the full, she plans on writing her own fiction one day.

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