The millennials are coming! The millennials are coming! According to Angela Preston, vice president of compliance and general counsel at EmployeeScreenIQ, the generation born between 1982-2004 is expected to outnumber baby boomers in the workplace for the first time by the end of this year.
“Hiring this growing generation of workers introduces a whole new set of legal challenges to the HR department, and the background screening process is one of those challenges,” she says. Here are some of her tips for making the transition as smooth as possible:
- Limit Social Media Searches: Many millennials grew up with an iPhone in hand and a propensity for oversharing via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other outlets. But be careful before you use any of that information against them, because it may not be legal in the hiring process. “Information about a candidate’s religious affiliation, national origin, sexual orientation, marital status or health condition may all be prohibited under state and federal anti-discrimination laws,” Preston says.
- Don’t Rely on Credit: According to Preston, millennials rely on traditional bank loans less than any other generation. “If a credit report is one of your job requirements, you can expect to get little or no information about unbanked millennials,” she says.
- Change Your View of History: “Millennials job hop,” warns Preston, and are more mobile, like to live in large, urban areas and are less motivated by pay. “All of this leaves a prospective employer with less to work with in terms of reference checking and verifications,” she says, noting employers may need to get more creative when it comes to evaluating and screening for work experience.
