The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week

Gen Z gets a bad rap. The newest generation to enter the workplace, they’ve developed a reputation for being almost comically disengaged and allergic to hard work.

But what if they’re simply misunderstood? 

“We need to stop expecting the same damn people who bought a four-bedroom home and a brand-new Cadillac convertible off of a $30,000-a-year salary to understand what it’s like to be working 40-plus hours a week with a master’s degree and still not be able to afford a 400-square-foot studio apartment,” 27-year-old TikToker Robbie Scott was quoted saying in a recent Fortune article.

The reason Zoomers come across as “angry and entitled and whiny,” Robbie explains, is because they’re working just as hard as previous generations — without anything to show for it. While Zoomers are one of the most educated generations in history, they’ve been thwarted by an economy in which housing prices have increased more than twice as fast as income. Many Gen Z employees now have to work three or more jobs to keep up with the rising cost of living.

To understand more fully the challenges this generation faces, read the Fortune article at the top of our list of must-read articles for talent professionals below. Further down the list, you can learn why some U.S. workers are having better luck finding remote jobs working for companies based abroad; how one recruiter handled a candidate who seemed to be something different than he claimed to be; and why it’s better to look for a can-do attitude in a candidate than the right combination of qualification, education, and skills.

Here are the must-read articles from this week:

1. Gen Z Are Over Having Their Work Ethic Questioned: ‘Most Boomers Don’t Know What It’s Like to Work 40+ Hours a Week and Still Not Be Able to Afford a House’ (Fortune)

2. Wanna Hear a Recruiting Horror Story? (Tony Riggins on LinkedIn)

3. Don’t Overlook This Important Trait When You’re Hiring (Ruth Gotian on LinkedIn)

4. U.S. Workers Are Getting Scooped Up by International Companies Hiring Remote Roles (CNBC)

5. The Productivity Boost Missing from Your To-Do List (The Wall Street Journal) 

6. 4 Tips on How to Make Learning Addictive from Duolingo’s CEO (LinkedIn Talent Blog)

7. The Stay Interview: Smart Questions to Keep Your Best Employees (Jill Grozalsky Roberson on LinkedIn) 

8. Think Twice Before Taking the Top Job (The Atlantic)

9. DEI Training Is Linked to Better Staff Competence and Work Culture in the Healthcare Industry (Rohini Anand on LinkedIn)

10. College Degrees No Longer Essential for Some State Jobs (Government Technology)

Here is the must-listen podcast:

How Penn State Health Thinks About Career Development and Employee Retention (The Edge of Work Podcast with Al Dea)