If you’re looking to land top Gen Z talent fresh out of college this year, forget the snacks and exercise desks. Upcoming grads are working for the money. In fact, the top reason Gen Zers are getting degrees is to earn more money throughout their careers.

However, research by Clever revealed the average Gen Z undergraduate overestimates how much they’ll make by nearly $10,000. This presents a problem to your hiring team. Odds are, you’re not offering enough to make them bite at your entry-level positions.

Before you go looking for ways to stretch your budget even thinner this year, you need to look at how you can appeal to more than money-motivated grads’ wallets. Here are a few strategies to attract this young group of talent and keep them satisfied in your roles:

Meet in-person immediately

Although they’re focused on “making the dough,” attracting Gen Z talent should absolutely center around building relationships. While you may think the best place to start chatting with young job seekers is online, building offline relationships is a stronger move. 

There’s a common misconception that because Gen Zers were born with technology in their hands, they don’t appreciate personal interactions. But research shows they actually crave face-to-face communication. 

A survey of Gen Zers by the Center for Generational Kinetics found 40% want daily interactions with their boss and they feel they’ve done something wrong if they don’t get that personal time. 

Meet in-person to give Gen Z the direct interaction they need. If meeting face-to-face is unrealistic, chat through video messenger so they can put a face to your name as early as possible. This increases trust and enables you to build genuine relationships -- essential to appealing to Gen Z candidates regardless of your ability to meet their salary expectations. 

Rise up to meet their career expectations

When candidates have high salary expectations, recruiters often dive right into laying out advancement opportunities. Although this strategy has proven effective for millennials, Gen Z already have their plan in place.
 
They may be young, but most Gen Zers take ownership for what they want to achieve. In fact, 76% of those surveyed by Monster described themselves as driving their own careers. 

Instead of showing these candidates how they fit into your organization, find out their goals and show them how the company can make their vision a reality. Detail tuition reimbursement offerings, training opportunities, and mentoring programs to show how your open role is a logical step to get Gen Zers to the next step in their careers. 

Also, if a candidate’s career success is dependent on their earnings, be sure to explain overtime opportunities. In the same survey, 58% of Gen Z respondents said they would work nights and weekends for more pay.

Adjust benefits for their specific needs

Employee benefits still help when recruiting Gen Z talent, but they won’t be attracted by the same benefits as previous generations. 

Young talent doesn’t want to know about happy hour Fridays or your work-life balance initiatives. According to the Clever survey, Gen Zers rank money-based incentives above a fun work environment, flex time, and unlimited PTO.

They’re focused on tangible benefits like top-notch health insurance plans and 401ks. Take the focus off of salary by meeting these other needs. 

This may mean rethinking available benefits or tailoring them to younger talents’ needs. For example, many Gen Zers may still have health insurance through parents or a spouse. To entice these candidates, offer to put the company’s contributed money into a 401k plan.

While you may not be able to meet Gen Z’s optimistic salary expectations, you can still recruit money-motivated grads by showing them the true value of the organization.