Excuse Me, But What’s The Purpose? The priorities of candidates on the job market are changing towards wanting a greater purpose beyond high wages and a company car. Consequently, a company’s mission and role in society will become vital parameters in the competition for talented employees in the future, experts predict. Written by Erik Lillelund
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he world is constantly turning and rapidly changing, and enterprises will have to change direction or completely redefine themselves if they want to be able to attract the most talented candidates for job openings. Conventional benefits like high wages or an impressive job title will no longer suffice; more and more candidates are demanding purpose. Meaningfulness. Impact. “When we started The Hub in 2015, this was not a topic of conversation anywhere, but since then many employers have integrated the Global Goals, i.e. the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, into their DNA, and I dare say that it is no longer possible to establish a successful startup or attract talents without a clearly defined mission. You can not have one without the other,” says Ninna Wicki Olsen-Stryhn, CEO of The Hub, a recruitment platform for startups. Three years ago, the platform was used by 600 Nordic SDG enterprises.
This number has now increased to 1,655, which is reflected in the actions of the candidates: At The Hub, the number of applications received by SDG enterprises exceeds the number of applications received by other enterprises by on average 25 per cent. And though the trend has mostly applied to the younger generation, the older candidates now seem to be adopting the purpose-driven agenda as well. “Five years ago, this phenomenon was thought to affect only young people, but more and more candidates between 35 and 50 seek out jobs based on these parameters. It’s no longer a youthful thing to chase after purpose, rather it’s becoming a general candidate expectation of employers,” the CEO of The Hub explains. The senior candidates have become parents Emil Fuglsang, co-founder and COO (Chief of Operations Officer) in Matter,
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