As many Gen Zers know all too well, job hunting as a young person is a challenge. Actually a study from Intelligent found that one in six companies is reluctant to hire them in their 20s.
However, the younger cohort is judged unfairly. Often labeled as lazy and unwilling to work, many workplace experts are starting to sound the alarm that the real problem is toxic work culture and not the newbies who are unwilling to be treated badly. One young woman, Alejandra, experienced this distaste for Gen Z firsthand. “A Gen X hiring manager told me I wasn’t hired because I’m Gen Z and it made me cry for the better part of the last five hours,” she admitted in a TikTok.
A woman lost a job because the company didn’t like her ‘Gen Z traits’.
“I interviewed for this job that I was a shoo-in for three weeks ago,” she shared. “I had worked in this department before, I had worked with this team before, and I excelled when I worked there.”
Alejandra felt good about the interview and was anxiously waiting to find out if she got the part. “A week goes by, don’t hear anything,” she recalled. “I send an email asking HR if the position has been filled, (and) they said they hadn’t heard anything from the department. I send an email to both the hiring manager and the panel. No one responds to that email.”
It wasn’t until she bumped into the hiring manager in an elevator that Alejandra got her answer. She was informed that they “found someone who was just a better fit for the team.”
The hiring manager said Alejandra was too honest in her interview and they found she lacked a 5 year plan regarding
“Finally, I ask, ‘Can you be honest with me and tell me why I wasn’t chosen? Is there anything I can do better in future interviews?'” Alejandra shared. The answer she got had everything to do with her generational traits.
The hiring manager didn’t like Alejandra sharing details about her social media presence and medical condition, information the company was already aware of from her previous employment. She added that the company also didn’t like that she didn’t have a concrete five-year plan.
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“To be completely honest with you, I think it’s a Gen Z problem,” the hiring manager said. “You have to understand, you know, it’s about perception. It’s about optics.”
“When people ask you about your five-year plan, it’s very worrying when you say you don’t have a plan,” she continued. “It shows that you’re not good at engagement, even if you just have to make something up on the spot. And I just think Gen Z has a really hard time with that.”
While Alejandra asked for this feedback, it was still upsetting. “It’s just sad to know how they really feel and how really shallow this world is,” she captioned her video.
She defended her lack of a five-year plan, explaining that she had just graduated last year and intended to become a doctor. However, due to her disability, her plans were adjusted. “I don’t know what I want my future to look like because of the circumstances of my life, but I’m a good worker and my CV shows it,” she insisted. “How about Gen X and boomers start investing in us, start taking a chance on us.”
Alejandra and many Gen Zers are unwilling to play games to secure a job.
The previously mentioned Intelligent survey found that many employers claim that Gen Zers lack motivation and professionalism. They refuse to hire young workers and graduates because they believe they are entitled, easily offended and lack work ethic.
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Alejandra has another hypothesis. she said in a follow-up video that many Gen Zers refuse to accept old-fashioned corporate culture and traditions, upsetting many older workers who did just that.
“I don’t want to play the game,” she said. “I just want to put a roof over my head. But I don’t want to put a roof over my head and food on the table at the expense of who I am in the heart of my heart.” She added: “I want to be able to afford things and pay the bills, but I also don’t want to do that while tearing down every single part of who I am and changing myself just for capitalism coins.”
“I think the older generations see that and they get so angry because they didn’t have the strength not to do it,” Alejandra continued. “They gave in to the game. Even though they knew the game was wrongly set up, even though they knew the game was rigged, they gave in to it instead of walking away from it and changing it.”
Nia Tipton is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics focusing on psychology, relationships and the human experience.
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