There is no shortage of studies, insight, and advice when it comes to the topic of Millennials. What motivates them when it comes to employment and how they work has been well documented. However, what AllWork found in a new survey conducted with Women’s Marketing and presented at Millennial 20/20 is that their path to employment is also unique. The paradigm between employer and employee has shifted—the employer no longer controls the process. Similar to the path to purchase for consumers, the path to finding a job has changed. The process is no longer a linear one; it is multifaceted with potential employees entering the “path” at various touchpoints. Today there are 53 million Millennials employed, but in 2025 Millennials will represent 75% of the workforce.

The study dives into how employers must adapt to recruit and retain the right talent for their business. AllWork and Women’s Marketing surveyed 1,000 people in the job market in order to understand the good, the bad, and the effective, in how Millennials look for work today.

The Help Wanted: How Millennials Look For Work survey found:

• Millennials are not just seeking jobs. They are looking for an employment experience with a company that shares their philosophy. This changes how they conduct a job search.
• The employment path is no longer linear and controlled by the employer. Today the employee controls the search through a lot of research that is both active and passive.
• They hate looking for a job. 42% of Millennials would rather sit in traffic and 41% would rather go shopping for a bathing suit.
• The lack of responsiveness was consistently a pain point for Millennials. 56% said the worst part was the lack of response from companies. 40% said they got no response after an interview.
• 38% felt filling out an online application felt like a waste of time and felt impersonal.
• 43% say bad reviews on sites like Glassdoor would make them not want to work for a company.
• 25% would not apply for a job if the company had a bad website.
• Once hired, 77% of Millennials feel getting proper training is important for success.

Glenn Laumeister, CEO of AllWork, said, “Our focus is to help companies adapt to a new workforce that is being influenced by the millennial generation who have a great desire for flexibility. We want to help companies understand how to adapt to millennial preference when it comes to the future of work. This study provides unique insight into how millennials look for work, select the places they work, and plan their career path.”

One could argue that this change in the path to employment was not driven by Millennials but rather by how we engage with brands, businesses, and each other in this new hyper-connected world. As an employer, you need to put your best face forward—first impressions and plain old good manners matter.

Download the full report here.