Drawing on new research from the ABPI, Tiffany Barwick of We Communications unpacks what gen Z really wants from employers – and why your next hire might come via social media, not the careers page.
What does gen Z look for in a job?
You don’t need a focus group to know it – gen Z is already checking you out. Before your HR team reads their CVs, they’ve already combed through your Glassdoor reviews, watched your TikToks, and stalked your Instagram. They’ve decided whether your workplace looks inclusive, whether your culture feels authentic, and whether they see themselves in your story.
A new report published by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), and compiled with We’s social impact team, ‘Engaging with Gen Z: Cultivating a Diverse Talent Pipeline,’ pulls back the curtain on how today’s youth think about work. In a nutshell? It’s emotional, intuitive, and on their own terms. They’re not rejecting employers – they’re overlooking them.
So the question for employers is, how can they show up in a way that feels real?
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Forget the glossy recruitment fair. TikTok and Instagram now outrank company websites and LinkedIn as gen Z’s go-to career sources. Half of young people turn to TikTok to inform their career decisions, while 46% use Instagram. And 36% prefer ‘day-in-the-life’ content shared by real employees over any form of polished careers marketing.
This isn’t a passing trend. Rather, it’s a generational shift in how trust is built and decisions are made.
That means your brand narrative is being written in real time, across channels you might not even own. And it’s being judged by standards that are less about what you say, and more about what you show. Your team photos, your interns’ TikToks, your comments on social issues: these are all part of a new employer brand ecosystem.
Gen Z’s expectations might be high, but they’re not unachievable.
They’re not asking for kombucha taps or beanbags. They want transparency, inclusion, and proof that, more than a buzzword, your culture is somewhere they can see themselves thriving.
Examples of green flags can include employees speaking positively (and naturally) about their roles; evidence of team belonging, not just individual success; leaders who speak plainly, own mistakes, and elevate others; and consistent, positive, and people-first social presence.
And the red flags? Tokenistic DEI campaigns with no follow-through; performative diversity in decision-making roles; silence during key social or political moments; and stale corporate language or jargon are all things gen Z look out for.
Gen Z expects companies to be present, rather than perfect, and to show up consistently and transparently.
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The traditional recruitment funnel – awareness, consideration, application – is broken. It assumes young people already understand who you are and what you do. But, for example, the ABPI research shows that just 17% of young people know what the pharmaceutical industry does.
This lack of understanding isn’t just a challenge for industry. In a changing world of work, businesses across all sectors risk missing out on talent before the conversation even begins.
The fix isn’t another corporate video or careers page. It’s myth-busting, real-world content that shines a light on the roles they didn’t know existed. Like many other sectors, the pharmaceutical industry relies on a wealth of interesting roles, from UX design and logistics to patient advocacy. Spotlighting them can help attract this new generation of young talent.
This generation has grown up swimming in content. As a result, they’ve developed a sixth sense for insincerity. A highly produced, hyper-polished clip often reads as corporate spin. But a ‘homemade’ phone video of an employee showing their desk, their team, their lunchtime routine, or the marketing exec who never thought they’d end up in industry? That cuts through.
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If you’re serious about building an employer brand that resonates with gen Z, you don’t need to tear everything down. But you do need to rewire your approach.
Here are four practical ways forward:
No matter how innovative or impactful your work is, if gen Z doesn’t see or trust you, they won’t apply. So, flip the script. Show up where they are. Speak their language. Share the stories that reflect who you really are, not just who you say you are.
Because gen Z is watching you. And that’s not a threat: it’s an invitation.
We. Communications
We. UK is a strategic communications agency that turns complexity into clarity, uniting deep expertise, diverse thinking and creative problem-solving, side by side...
