In August, EditMate’s CEO Rachel King, and Social Content Director, Nicole Stephens hosted a “Q&A with a Gen Z” webinar with Da’Shawn Hines, a card-carrying member of Gen Z and recruitment marketing professional at Delaware North.

Because Gen Z is now a significant portion of the workforce, organizations must understand how to attract and connect with this demographic. So Da’Shawn gave EditMate the inside scoop, answering questions about what Gen Z looks for when searching for a new employer, what platform they use for job searching, and what organizations can focus on to become an employer of choice for this next generation of talent.

Da’Shawn also dove into what he and his team at Delaware North do to attract and engage with Gen Z job candidates.

Here are the main topics discussed:

• Trust and flexibility are important to Gen Z in the workplace.
• Gen Z considers career progression, manager lifestyle, and community involvement when looking for a new employer.
• LinkedIn is a top platform for job searching among Gen Z.
• Gen Z values personal connections and recommendations from their network.
• Company culture and alignment with values are important to Gen Z.
• Gen Z relies on platforms like YouTube and TikTok for information and testimonials.
• Delaware North focuses on showcasing its internship program and career development opportunities.
• Corporate initiatives and commitments to nonprofits are important to Gen Z when researching a company.
• To encourage employee-generated video content, provide examples and allow individuals to share their own perspectives.

Here are a few of the video highlights from the webinar and scroll below for the full replay and transcript:

Gen Z Values Career Progression

Gen Z Values Team Member Stories

Q&A with a Gen Z Full Replay:

CHAPTERS:

00:00: Introduction and Importance of Gen Z in the Workforce
03:23: Factors Gen Z Considers in a New Employer
06:15: The Role of LinkedIn in Job Searching
08:07: Companies and Industries Gen Z Looks Up To
11:12: The Importance of Company Culture and Values
14:58: Content Creation and Platforms for Gen Z
18:07: Delaware North’s Focus on Internship and Career Development
21:10: The Significance of Corporate Initiatives and Nonprofits
24:26: Encouraging Employee-Generated Video Content

Favorite Soundbites from Da’Shawn:

“Trust and flexibility goes a long way.”

“Looking up at your manager and evaluating if that’s where you want to head.”

“Using LinkedIn to see where connections work and gather insights.”

Q&A with a Gen Z Transcript:

Rachel King – EditMate (00:20.843)
We’re here today because this was a topic that I thought might be interesting to a lot of our EditMate customers and anyone in the employer brand, talent acquisition and recruitment marketing space. There’s been a lot of interesting stats kind of floating around the internet, namely 27 % of all full -time employees are now Gen Z. And that 2024, this year is the year that Gen Z is going to officially overtake boomers in the workplace. So I know a lot of people, including myself, have sort of been thinking about Gen Z as teenagers, they’re the interns, but they’re here, they’re in the workforce.

It’s something that every organization really needs to start thinking about how to attract and connect with this demographic and this generation in order to really survive and thrive as an organization. And sort of related back to EditMate, which is my company, we’re an employer brand video platform. And we basically help companies create video content with their real employees, with our software.

And then also get that raw, authentic footage edited into on -brand, shareable videos that is great for employer brand, talent acquisition, and recruitment marketing content on social media and beyond. Because as we sort of know, Gen Z grew up in a very different world than the generations before them. They’ve been highly online, mobile phones were a part of their lives a lot earlier, and they sort of just use the internet differently and also because of world events in the last couple decades, they sort of have different expectations for their workplace, their career aspirations and all kinds of things like that. So I wanted to sort of dive into all of those topics today. So we’re gonna be talking to Da’Shawn Hines who is a card carrying member of the Gen Z generation and also works in recruitment marketing at Delaware North, which is one of the largest hospitality and entertainment companies in the world. So he’s also a professional in this space. And also with Nicole Stephens, who also works in recruitment marketing at Floor & Decor and has a ton of experience in the employer brand, recruitment marketing and talent acquisition space.

So we’re gonna be in conversation today and I have a few questions that I got emailed to us before that I’ll ask at the end. And if you have any questions, just pop them in the chat box and we’ll answer them. And then I’ll let Nicole and Da’Shawn take it away from here.

Nicole Stephens (03:23.196)
Awesome. Thank you so much, And thank you Da’Shawn Sean for joining us and educating all of us on all things Gen Z. So the first question we’re going to start off with is super broad. Rachel mentioned a lot of reports coming out around what you all care about. But what do you wish that people knew about Gen Z?

Da’Shawn (03:29.179)
Yeah.

Da’Shawn (03:44.116)
Yeah, and first I want to thank Rachel and Nicole for having me on today. It really means a lot to come and speak to everybody. And getting back to your question and what I wish they knew is that trust and flexibility goes a long way. And I know that trust is often earned, not given. But I think it also comes into play with how you phrase the language you use around, you know, maybe some tasks that you’re giving Gen Z in terms of, all right, well, we need this completed by a certain date, by a certain time. And we really need, we want your perspective on, you know, what you did, how you did it, and maybe a way to improve it for the next person that does it. I think that kind of language goes a really long way.

Nicole Stephens (04:36.18)
Interesting. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And so when you’re considering, you know, a new employer, what are some of the things that you look for?

Da’Shawn (04:46.727)
One of the things that I often think isn’t really talked a lot about in school is career progression. What does it look like for you and what does that mean for you in terms of if you want to move up the ladder or if you maybe want to move side to side in a different area? I think these are all things that go into the question that you highlighted. And then also when you look up and you see your manager, do they have the type of life that you want, that you maybe, that could be you one day. So I think that’s also a big factor as well.

Nicole Stephens (05:24.212)
That’s such a good one, looking up at your manager and kind of evaluating if that’s where you want to head. And I wish I had that advice a lot of years ago. So when you’re talking with your friends about job searching and careers, what other topics come up?

Da’Shawn (05:41.183)
For me, specifically would be community involvement. How are they impacting the community and the surrounding people around them is definitely a big topic for myself. Trying to be more involved in the community. I myself volunteer my time at some community centers locally here in Buffalo. So seeing their impact as well is definitely something along with the community values and how it aligns with yourself.

Nicole Stephens (06:14.836)
That’s awesome. And that’s really cool that you volunteer locally as well as with your organization. So the actual process of job searching has changed a lot from boomers to Gen X, to millennials, and obviously now Gen Z. So when you are looking for open roles, where are you looking first?

Da’Shawn (06:39.103)
I think for me, would be LinkedIn is one of the top ones, especially within that 24 hour window. know you can search by because when, you know, a lot of things may not be on your side, I think time is one of the things that you can really utilize of being in that first 24 hour window to give you a better chance of, you know, your application being seen.

Also, I think LinkedIn is great because you get to see where your connections work and maybe where their connections work as well. getting, asking their connections, you know, if they work at a company, how do you enjoy it? What are you most looking forward to? What is your outlook on the company and things of that nature.

Nicole Stephens (07:24.56)
Yeah, doing research that way is so critical and a really good way to differentiate yourself, but also learn a little bit of the behind the scenes for sure. So for millennials for a long time, Rachel, you probably remember this, the companies that people were obsessed with were FAANGs. And, you know, a lot of the talk was about getting into a FAANG company. So are there any companies or industries or like groups of companies that are essentially the new FAANGs for Gen Z that you all kind of look up to and elevate a little bit as a potential employer.

Da’Shawn (08:04.733)
Yeah, and I think that group is still around and very strong today. For me personally, I looked at, I play basketball in college. I would like to be around, you know, some sort of sport in a company that I work for. What are the global headquarters in my hometown or wherever I’m going to be living that I can reach out to and maybe get, you somebody in person to talk to that maybe, like I said earlier, a connection on LinkedIn. So for me, was, the top companies are great and would be nice to work at, but it was also about like kind of that personal hometown, Buffalo touch that I was looking for.

Nicole Stephens (08:51.986)
Yeah, love that. And so related to that, a lot of studies have come out and research and talking points around return to office, like RTO and hybrid and remote work incessantly over the last few years. But in talking to some Gen Z people, like they’re actually more interested in hybrid and even in the office to get that connection that you were just referencing. So where do you…fall on the, you know, in the office, hybrid and remote kind of scale in terms of your work preference?

Da’Shawn (09:26.963)
Yeah, so give it a little background. I’ve worked now fully in person. I’ve done hybrid and I’ve done remote in my short career. And I think that, you know, depending on what industry you’re in, obviously being in recruitment marketing, there are some benefits to being in person. And I would say that the leaning towards the hybrid schedule is definitely something that I would say would have a lot of benefit to.

Nicole Stephens (09:54.834)
Yeah, that’s awesome. And can you just give the example that you provided earlier about the specific benefit of being in person and what you’re able to sort of do based on where you sit and who you interact with?

Da’Shawn (10:07.283)
Yeah, for sure. So my role specifically, there can be a lot of overlap with different departments in terms of if we’re doing a media campaign or if we’re doing an ad for a recruiter in a specific hiring event or team member event. And I think sitting next to some of them would help in terms of feedback and how we could essentially make each other better.

Nicole Stephens (10:34.888)
Yeah, that’s awesome. And I have a very similar experience now being in the office. So company culture is a big topic that comes down a lot in content marketing for talent acquisition and employer brand. And you touched a little bit on the volunteer and local aspects. Are there any other parts of company culture that you find important for companies to share as your job searching that you really want to know about before you apply and go through the interview process?

Da’Shawn (11:09.267)
Yeah, that is a great question. And I think one of the things that I’ve also been able and had the pleasure to work on is team member stories, getting those up and really putting a visual, either whether it’s on the website or on LinkedIn or different social media outlets and things like that. Just putting a picture or a name to the face as you will, and being able to let them speak for themselves and how they enjoyed their time with the company and where they kind of see themselves in the future.

Nicole Stephens (11:48.188)
Yeah, I love that. And I also love working on employee stories. They’re so much fun. And last question, kind of for you specifically, before we transition to your work in this space, are there any creators or brands that you follow and really appreciate their content in terms of career tips or behind the scenes or company culture or anything in that kind talent acquisition recruitment marketing vein?

Da’Shawn (12:17.459)
So I will say I’m bored. Yeah. I will say I’m a little boring. I like the investor content on YouTube. So these would be kind of programs like Minority Mindset, The Money Guys Show and The Graham Stephan Show. These are things that go into investing heavily investor content, news and things of that nature. And I think this will be growing in terms of people seeing that, you know, people are living longer and we need to be able to put more money away for the long term and have that money grow and work for us. And I also saw this trend when I worked at Damon University and financial literacy was one of the topics that was growing while I was there for the students.

Nicole Stephens (13:12.084)
That’s awesome that that initiative was in place. And how long typically are these videos that you watch? Is it short? Is it more long form? Or can you speak to that a little

Da’Shawn (13:24.913)
I would say depending on the time, I really switch between both. I do like the longer videos because it goes a little bit more in depth in terms of maybe what’s happening now in terms of headlines or the political climate and things like that. And on a global scale, how that impacts the stock market as well. So I would say the longer videos are really where it’s at. I know everybody likes the short clips and the attention grabbing and all that stuff. But when you really sit down and look at, know, they’re putting so much time and investing so much time that the final product is definitely worth it.

Nicole Stephens (14:05.96)
Yeah, interesting. it makes sense that people, you know, we’re used to scrolling and our thumbs are probably so strong now, it’s, you know, insane. But I think when we get interested in a topic, then we’re more willing to devote, you know, that time to kind of watching those longer form videos. Like years ago, I was watching McKinsey videos because I thought I wanted to go into consulting. So I was watching, you know, videos on how to interview in that style and willing to devote that time because at the time I was really interested in that. So, okay, that’s awesome to hear. And so switching a little bit to your work in this space now, can you tell us a little bit about what your team is doing to, you know, focus on the preferences and needs of your generation?

Da’Shawn (14:55.751)
Yeah, for sure. And it would be focusing on maybe a platform that they would see not only, I would say an example would be a handshake. Now this is a place that is mainly used for internships and things like that, but their eyes are going to be there. And if there’s a chance that, you can maybe catch some extra eyes in that age range, I think it’s definitely worth it.

Nicole Stephens (15:21.938)
Yeah. And so are there any other platforms like Handshake that you are investing time in right now or have on your radar for the future?

Da’Shawn (15:32.295)
I think so handshake has been fairly new for us. So it’ll be building that out as well. We run some campaigns on there that I’ve been directly involved with and, you know, writing copy for and things, things like that. Just trying to use language that that really relates to maybe what they’re looking for.

Nicole Stephens (15:55.026)
Mm -hmm, that’s awesome. Are there any other kind of tips and tricks aside from using language that will resonate with Gen Z when you’re creating content for this audience?

Da’Shawn (16:10.969)
Touching on the point you brought up earlier in terms of strong thumbs and having the shorter clips, I would say that keeping things concise and to the point is definitely something that we’re working on. For a job description, in my opinion, it really needs to be right to the point. Some things always don’t need to be explained in terms of what are the main bullet points that this person will be responsible for, I think is definitely very helpful.

Nicole Stephens (16:52.978)
Yeah, the classic and other duties as assigned at the bottom of all all duties. Yeah, we’re actually undertaking the same project right now, trying to like shorten them. know, people spend so little time on those that it’s really important to make them concise. So definitely we can chat tips offline about that. And then last question, because I think there was some sent as well. How do you at Delaware North showcase culture and values for Gen Z, but really for everyone as well. Do you focus a lot on social content? Is it email campaigns? Like you mentioned Handshake. Like what avenues are you focusing on for this type of content?

Da’Shawn (17:37.299)
I think a lot of it is definitely social media and content in that way and also having some projects that I can’t speak to yet, but that will be coming out fairly soon that I’m excited to see come into the public eye that I think will be very great in terms of getting another look, another angle into some of the things that we have going on.

Nicole Stephens (18:06.612)
Nice, we’ll stay tuned for sure. That’s awesome. That’s awesome. And Rachel, were there any questions that came in?

Rachel King – EditMate (18:15.844)
Yeah, sure. So one that we got emailed and this kind of spoke to a topic we talked about last month with Abby when we talked about employer branding in general is from your own experience from working at Delaware North and just sort of being, you know, a person in the world and on the internet. What kind of content do you think is the most powerful and impactful for job applicants, especially Gen Z, like when they’re researching a company, like for you, the stuff you’re putting out for Delaware North, or maybe you were interested in seeing when you were looking for a job, like is it, you know, employee testimonials, day in the life videos, you know, more info about, you know, the company mission and values, like what are the things that really get your attention and you think companies should sort of invest a bit more time and energy into creating?

Da’Shawn (19:14.607)
One of the highlights that I think goes into it a lot on LinkedIn would be like our portrayal and the capturing we do for our internship program. It is great in terms of how they capture what’s really going on behind the scenes in the internship program and how they weave the company’s values into it as well, having a visual aspect  is also great and then you get the involvement from people in the internship and that just it spreads from there.

Rachel King – EditMate (19:50.755)
Yeah, that makes sense. And one thing that I keep reading a lot about, and this is something that I feel like, I don’t know if it was fully available when I was starting out in the career, is sort of this idea of having, when you join a company and have the career trajectory in mind, does Delaware North do a lot with career development and mentoring and sort of thinking, you know, you can start at this job and move up this way or go on this track. Is that something that you guys focus on a lot?

Da’Shawn (20:24.551)
And this really started way back when I was just starting with the company and seeing and having conversations with my manager in terms of, where do you see yourself? I know everybody says where you see yourself in five years, but we did it a little bit closer than five years just to seeing what your short term versus long term goals are, how that aligns with maybe a position that is or a department that’s within the company. Or also maybe trying to create your own path as well. So I think that Delaware North has done a great job seeing where your values and your interests are and how it can really shape that next step within the company.

Rachel King – EditMate (21:09.754)
Well, that makes a lot of sense. And then also purely from like a, we got another question about this over email is, you I think the Gen X millennials, when we sort of do our searching online, it tends to just like, you immediately go to Google and type something in. And I’m sort of learning now more and more that Gen Z is sort of they sort of are going to YouTube immediately or TikTok and that’s actually how they’re getting a lot of their information because it is sort of like an immediate testimonial from like a real person. Have you been thinking about that at Delaware North or from your own experience? Is it sort of, are those social media platforms becoming more of a standard search engine?

Da’Shawn (21:58.665)
I would think so and doing a little bit of research into other companies like Amazon and things like that, they have direct YouTube links in some of their pages so that it directly aligns with what you just mentioned. And I think it’s ultimately getting that testimonial from a person is the next step and that’s what has really allowed some of these companies, the FAANG companies, I believe you called it, to really thrive.

Rachel King – EditMate (22:08.675)
Mmm.

Rachel King – EditMate (22:28.406)
That makes sense. And one last question that we get is, is corporate initiatives and showcasing like big corporations commitments to nonprofits and other like volunteer organizations like you talked about, is seeing that a company you’re curious about working for, that they sort of are dedicating time and money into investments like that? Do you think that’s something that is more and more important to Gen Z and aligns with what they’re interested in learning about when they’re researching a company?

Da’Shawn (23:03.059)
Yeah, because I think that not only aligning with the company’s core values, but also aligning with the individual’s values as well is definitely very important. It’s definitely, we’ve had multiple outings while I’ve been here at Delaware North that I’ve been able to be a part of cleaning up the community. We have a field day coming up pretty soon. So things of that nature. And then also being able to capture that and have that, you know, be somewhere that somebody that’s researching your company can access fairly easily is very important.

Rachel King – EditMate (23:40.632)
Great. And this is more from our last question, because I know we’re just about at time at 1130. How would you, from your experience as a Gen Z, one thing we’re always doing is sort of providing our customers information about how they can encourage their employees to submit employee -generated video or user -generated video to contribute to projects for video content.

Is there any kind of like tips or tricks that you can think of off the top of your head, like if Delaware North was to ask you to submit an employee testimonial, like what would you say would be a way to make it as easy as possible?

Da’Shawn (24:23.571)
So I’m submitting this internally and that, okay. I think the easiest way would be to send out an example that has worked really well and that’s already live. Like I had mentioned earlier with Amazon having their testimonials. And I would just say, try to kind of have a conversation like this where you really can put your own input into it as

Rachel King – EditMate (24:25.759)
Yeah.

Rachel King – EditMate (24:50.114)
Awesome. All right, great. Well, we’re at 11:30 now. Thank you so much, Da’Shawn and Nicole, for joining us today. I think we learned a lot about Gen Z and a lot of interesting stuff to think about. So thanks so much, and we really appreciate your time.

Nicole Stephens (25:08.456)
Awesome, thank you Rachel, thanks Deshaun. Okay, you too.

Da’Shawn (25:10.889)
Thank you, Rachel. Thank you, Nicole. Bye.

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