Gen Z Australians are so scared at job interviews they even bring their parents with them, a top recruiter has claimed.
Tammie Christofis Ballis, 37, a specialist recruiter and careers adviser at Realistic Careers, told Daily Mail Australia that a growing number of young recruits are incredibly anxious.
“There’s something new: ‘I have interview anxiety,’ he told Daily Mail Australia. ‘You have to be uncomfortable to get anywhere and there’s no concept of that.’
‘They say, “This isn’t in my safe space, so I’m not going to do it.” Then they get angry because they don’t have a job.”
It revealed that many suffer from a paralyzing fear of picking up the phone to speak to an employer or going to an interview alone.
“I’m not a clinical psychologist, but I feel like the younger generation being more aware of mental health and wellbeing (which is great and how it should be) is holding them back from moving forward and taking risks,” she said.
“And understand that sometimes you’re going to fail.”
Ballis noted that it was not uncommon for some applicants to bring their parents with them when looking for work, particularly in the hospitality industry.
The careers coach (pictured) has become popular online for her blunt and direct advice to job seekers.
‘This also happens in nursing. “Two people brought their mothers to a group interview session,” he said.
‘You have to prove that you can do the job yourself.
‘They also don’t call an employer because they are afraid of being ‘tricked’ into talking on the phone. Get on the phone and call.
Ballis also believes that a major challenge for the younger generation is their sense of entitlement and their desire to take shortcuts.
‘I have even had children, under 20 years old, who told me: “help me get a job from home.” You have no work experience. Are you serious?’ she said.
‘People who have the ability to work from home do so because they know how to do it from the office or from the ground.
‘First you need to learn the job. What right do you have to think you deserve it?
He also warned against a move away from traditional resumes as more and more employers ask for video applications.
“There’s no point in reinventing the wheel and confusing people,” he said.
‘The fact of the matter is, if you go and look at Seek, Indeed, Linkedin or any of the job boards, most of them ask you for a resume.
‘People don’t want to send videos. They feel uncomfortable because someone is watching a pre-recorded video.
“An employer will get people to apply, but they may not get the best of the crop.”
However, Getahead CEO Sam McNamara, 33, believes resumes will soon become obsolete.
“I think resumes are very well suited to older demographics,” he said.
“Like lawyers, accountants, government jobs, there are definitely some resume-structuring skills and ways to stand out because a lot of people in those industries have similar experience.”
McNamara said that with the rise of AI, many candidates no longer write their own resumes.
“Canva and Sago did quantitative research on 10,000 people and more than 50 percent of the resumes were written using AI,” he said.
‘I think it’s a great sign: are you really hiring someone for a well-written resume that they haven’t actually written?
‘Or do you want to know who the applicant is and their personality?’
McNamara said resumes have become less relevant because they are rarely vetted anymore.
Getahead chief executive Sam McNamara (pictured) said 2,000 employers have registered on its platform in the last year. The app allows applicants to upload a video of themselves instead of a resume. Getahead has had more than 536 million views in the last 12 months in Australia.
“There are a lot of statistics that show that people read resumes for three or four seconds at most,” he said.
But surprisingly, McNamara said “100 percent” office jobs don’t require a resume either.
“Let’s say you needed someone who was front of house, talking to stakeholders and dealing with office scenarios,” he said.
‘What would you prefer? A piece of paper from someone saying they worked for three years at this company?
‘Or a video of them explaining their strengths, who they are, what they liked about their last position, what they are looking for in their next position.
A recruiter has called on Gen Z Australians to be more confident in job interviews, revealing some are so scared they even bring their parents with them. (File image of young Australians at a music festival)
Ballis noted that it was not uncommon for some applicants to bring their parents with them when looking for work, particularly in the hospitality industry. (File image of young Australians at a music festival)
“It just speeds up the hiring process.”
And in a sign of how recruiting may be changing, Getahead has had more than 2,000 companies join the platform over the past year; that is, 2,000 companies that do not require resumes.
“The applicant can upload videos of themselves making coffee if they wish,” McNamara said.
‘They can have an ‘about me’, they can show their strengths, their passions and what they are looking for.