Indeed Hiring Lab Reports on Practices of Multiple Generations of Job Seekers

 The Indeed Hiring Lab, a global research institute focused on human resource and talent management, has uncovered the key differences and similarities in job search behavior between Baby Boomers (aged 51-70), Gen Xers (aged 31-50) and Millennials (aged 21-30).

The report, Three Generations of Talent: Who’s Searching for Jobs Today, suggests that by 2020, as Baby Boomers set out for retirement, Millennials are projected to make up almost half of the workforce. The talent gaps left by the Baby Boomers open up a number of opportunities for Millennials in key industries such as healthcare.

Younger generations overwhelmingly prefer mobile job searching: 73.4 percent of Millennials click on jobs from a mobile device and 71.3 percent of Gen Xers do the same. However, Baby Boomers have a fairly high rate of mobile adoption at 48.4 percent.

Other key findings from the report include:

• Baby Boomers have the most interest in Healthcare Practitioner and Technical occupations as well as in Architecture and Engineering.
• Millennials, Gen Xers, and Baby Boomers all search more often in occupations and locations where there are many job postings. However, Millennials are slightly less responsive to the labor market than older generations, due to their lack of experience and familiarity with market conditions.
• Millennials’ share of clicks in urban areas is much higher than the US average with Boston and New York as top destinations; while Gen Xers are attracted to established tech hubs like Seattle, or high-populated Healthcare areas like Charlotte.
• While Millennials search more than other generations on Monday mornings, Gen Xers are most active in the evenings.
• Gen Xers are less generationally distinct, showing similar occupational interests to both Millennials and Baby Boomers when it comes to specific industries.