At Ampersand, we are helping businesses and universities who are often left scratching their head and wondering, “How can we reach Gen Z?” “How can we market to Gen Z?” “How can we hire Gen Z?” “How can we retain Gen Z?”
Recently dubbed by Natalie Harms, “the Gen Z whisperers” Ampersand is fully immersed in the needs, goals and talent of Gen Z because we have trained thousands of young professionals, aged 18 to 23 years old, in the last year. As we act as the intermediary between young professionals and employers, teaching and sharing real-world lessons new hires can benefit from to be better employees, and teaching businesses how to recognize their worth maximizing the potential for both employee and business, we have recognized many trends.
Gen Z learns differently than previous generations. Growing up in a tech savvy world of gamified apps and life hacks has conditioned an entire generation to problem solve using technology. Gen Z looks for ways to level-up, learning shortcuts and tricks through watching and modeling successful influencers. Technology has transformed education from K-12 all the way into college. Everyone wants to find a way to work smarter, not harder, because after all, there’s an app for that. From learning a new language, to learning to cook, trying new fashion trends or training for marathons, there is a how-to app for just about anything now. Wayfinding and navigation give users multiple options for getting around via public transit, on foot or driving. Navigating the business world and exploring job opportunities while preparing to enter the workforce and acquiring necessary job readiness skills should be no different. No matter where a person is in life and no matter what the means of transportation may be, we help young professionals get from point A to point B the fastest, most efficient and effective way possible.
At Ampersand we designed our training courses geared towards Gen Z, in an effort to teach the skills necessary to succeed in the workplace and in their careers. We’ve gamified best practices to be a candidate who stands out by teaching sought-after soft skills through 50 hours of short, asynchronous, skill building courses -- including corporate structure, how to succeed, personal branding and network development.
Think of us as the driving instructor, ski instructor, gymnastics coach, or music teacher. Anyone can learn the basics of operating a vehicle, or how to ski, do a backflip or play an instrument… just give them the instructions and let them figure it out, right? Well, while that may be partially true, the majority will be mediocre at best. We know that to succeed in anything, proper training is imperative and practice alongside that training is necessary. Coaching technique, proper form, and even investing in the right gear and equipment can make or break anyone trying to perfect a skill.
While we can find parallels between sports and training all day, we like to think of ourselves as the coaches who nudge them into how to be a team player and give them the opportunities to practice those skills through their internship. On top of that, our interactive learning method allows our Gen Z candidates to hone their skills, while getting paid. We’re giving Gen Z the opportunity to learn, develop and apply job readiness skills simultaneously. For our Gen Z young professionals, Ampersand has proven to be the life hack they need.
As we help Gen Z to unlock the life hack to being candidates who stand out, we are also on a mission to help organizations best understand what they can do to be a top talent attractor. We so often hear that businesses are looking to diversify their workforce. Sounds like a simple solution to tackle, so why are businesses struggling to quickly hire diverse entry-level talent? One reason is access. While Gen Z is abundantly diverse, access to opportunity is scarce. Ampersand bridges this divide. We are diversifying the workforce by providing equitable access to quality paid internships for entry-level young professionals from all demographics. Gen Z might label this as a “come-up” or a “hook-up” because we foster relationships that produce meaningful outcomes for our candidates. We flipped the old script of “it’s not what you know but who you know” into “we know what you’re capable of and here’s who wants to hire talent like you”.
We are fast tracking access to great talent paired with meaningful work experiences through a gamified experience that keeps the attention span of a fast moving generation. We are thrilled to have you as part of the Ampersand community.
