The role of recruitment marketing and employer branding in attracting Gen Z talent

One of the current changes in working life is the entry of Generation Z (people born between 1995–2012) into the workforce. This thesis explored how organizations implement recruitment marketing and employer branding strategies to attract Gen Z job seekers by examining how companies implement recrui...

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Päätekijät: Saari, Ronja, Koivunen, Ninni
Muut tekijät: Jyväskylän yliopiston kauppakorkeakoulu, Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics, Jyväskylän yliopisto, University of Jyväskylä
Aineistotyyppi: Pro gradu
Kieli:eng
Julkaistu: 2025
Aiheet:
Linkit: https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/102979
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author Saari, Ronja Koivunen, Ninni
author2 Jyväskylän yliopiston kauppakorkeakoulu Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä
author_facet Saari, Ronja Koivunen, Ninni Jyväskylän yliopiston kauppakorkeakoulu Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä Saari, Ronja Koivunen, Ninni Jyväskylän yliopiston kauppakorkeakoulu Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä
author_sort Saari, Ronja
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description One of the current changes in working life is the entry of Generation Z (people born between 1995–2012) into the workforce. This thesis explored how organizations implement recruitment marketing and employer branding strategies to attract Gen Z job seekers by examining how companies implement recruitment marketing and employer branding when the target group is Gen Z, how the employer branding is adapted to meet their expectations, and what role social media plays in this process. The findings show that there is a shared understanding of the growing importance of recruitment marketing and employer branding efforts as the workforce demographics shift. To appeal to Gen Z, companies emphasize authenticity, employee produced content, and value-based messaging that yields from real organizational culture and employee experiences. Social media plays a central role as both visibility and engagement tool, especially platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Different social media channels each require a channel-specific content strategy. The results also highlight the significance collaborations with educational institutions in recruitment efforts and building connections with young talent. This research contributes to the understanding of how organizations can adapt their recruitment and branding practices to resonate with new generations and offers practical implications for employers wanting to build a strong and attractive employer brand in the eyes of young job seekers. In the thesis, the GPT-4o language model has been used to improve the language. The language model has not created new knowledge, nor has it been used in the analysis of the results. Instead, the tool has been used to support text formulation. Yksi ajankohtaisista muutoksista työelämässä on Z-sukupolven (vuosina 1995–2012 syntyneet) siirtyminen työelämään. Tässä pro gradu-tutkielmassa tutkittiin, miten organisaatiot toteuttavat rekrytointimarkkinointia ja työnantajabrändäysstrategioita Z-sukupolven työnhakijoiden houkuttelemiseksi selvittämällä, miten yritykset toteuttavat rekrytointimarkkinointia ja työnantajabrändäystä, kun kohderyhmänä on Z-sukupolvi, miten työnantajabrändäys mukautetaan vastaamaan heidän odotuksiaan ja mikä rooli sosiaalisella medialla on tässä prosessissa. Tulokset osoittavat, että on olemassa yleinen käsitys rekrytointimarkkinoinnin ja työnantajabrändäyksen kasvavasta merkityksestä väestörakenteen muuttuessa. Z-sukupolven houkuttelemiseksi yritykset korostavat aitoutta, työntekijöiden tuottamaa sisältöä, sekä arvoihin perustuvaa viestintää, joka kumpuaa yrityksen todellisesta organisaatiokulttuurista ja työntekijöiden kokemuksista. Sosiaalinen media on keskeisessä roolissa sekä näkyvyyden että sitouttamisen välineenä. Tehokkaina alustoina esiin nousevat erityisesti TikTok, Instagram ja LinkedIn. Eri kanavissa korostuu merkitys räätälöidylle, kanavakohtaiselle sisällölle. Tulokset painottavat myös oppilaitosyhteistyön merkitystä, kun halutaan tavoittaa nuorta kohderyhmää ja luoda yhteyksiä nuorten työnhakijoiden kanssa. Tutkimus edistää ymmärrystä siitä, miten organisaatiot voivat mukauttaa rekrytointimarkkinointi- ja työnantajabrändäyskäytäntöjään uusia sukupolvia puhutteleviksi ja tarjoaa käytännön ehdotuksia työnantajille, jotka haluavat rakentaa vahvan ja houkuttelevan työnantajabrändin etenkin nuorten työnhakijoiden silmissä. Opinnäytetyössä on käytetty GPT-4o-kielimallia kielen parantamiseen. Kielimallin avulla ei ole luotu uutta tietoa, eikä sitä ole käytetty tulosten analysoinnissa. Sen sijaan työkalua on käytetty tekstin muotoilun tukena.
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This thesis explored how organizations implement recruitment marketing and employer branding strategies to attract Gen Z job seekers by examining how companies implement recruitment marketing and employer branding when the target group is Gen Z, how the employer branding is adapted to meet their expectations, and what role social media plays in this process.\n\nThe findings show that there is a shared understanding of the growing importance of recruitment marketing and employer branding efforts as the workforce demographics shift. To appeal to Gen Z, companies emphasize authenticity, employee produced content, and value-based messaging that yields from real organizational culture and employee experiences. Social media plays a central role as both visibility and engagement tool, especially platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Different social media channels each require a channel-specific content strategy. 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spellingShingle Saari, Ronja Koivunen, Ninni The role of recruitment marketing and employer branding in attracting Gen Z talent Markkinointi Marketing
title The role of recruitment marketing and employer branding in attracting Gen Z talent
title_full The role of recruitment marketing and employer branding in attracting Gen Z talent
title_fullStr The role of recruitment marketing and employer branding in attracting Gen Z talent The role of recruitment marketing and employer branding in attracting Gen Z talent
title_full_unstemmed The role of recruitment marketing and employer branding in attracting Gen Z talent The role of recruitment marketing and employer branding in attracting Gen Z talent
title_short The role of recruitment marketing and employer branding in attracting Gen Z talent
title_sort role of recruitment marketing and employer branding in attracting gen z talent
title_txtP The role of recruitment marketing and employer branding in attracting Gen Z talent
topic Markkinointi Marketing
topic_facet Marketing Markkinointi
url https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/102979 http://www.urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202506024786
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