Published Jul 13, 2026 8 min read
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For decades, employers built recruitment strategies around a predictable idea of what workers wanted: a stable paycheck, a clear title, and a ladder to climb. Today’s early talent is asking different questions. And the timing matters more than most organizations realize. Tallo’s research found that 70% of early talent decide on their future employers in high school or early college (The Resource Gap, Tallo and Morning Consult, 2025).
That research points to something else worth sitting with: what some employers read as a gap in talent’s abilities is actually a gap in resources. Only 19% of young adults feel very confident their current skills can land them a job in the career they want. And 43% feel isolated in their career exploration or unsure where to find support. The employers who close that resource gap early are the ones building the strongest talent pipelines. Here’s what the data says early talent wants, and how organizations can respond.
Career Growth Isn’t Linear Anymore, and Early Talent Prefers It That Way
Gen Z isn’t rejecting ambition. They’re rejecting the idea that ambition only moves in one direction. Where previous generations equated growth with climbing a fixed ladder, this generation is drawn to lattices: moves that build new skills, cross departments, or shift focus entirely, whether or not the job title changes right away. In Deloitte’s 2026 Gen Z and Millennial Survey of more than 22,500 respondents across 44 countries, only 6% said reaching a leadership position is their primary career goal. But 76% of Gen Zs still want executive leadership roles at some point in their careers, and 80% are interested in management. They want the climb to be sustainable, and they define progress by skills gained rather than titles collected. Roughly 20% told Deloitte they would move laterally, or even accept a more junior title, to gain experience they believe supports long-term success.
The lattice is already the reality across the broader labor market. Harvard’s Project on Workforce found that nearly half of workers’ career moves are lateral or reactive, and that careers now advance through repeated pivots rather than a single pathway (Pivots Without Pathways, Spring 2026). Gen Z isn’t inventing this pattern. They’re the first generation to plan for it from day one.
What this means for employers: Talk about growth in terms of skills and experiences, not just promotions. A candidate who can see a path to learning data analysis, leading a project, or trying a new team will often choose that over a slightly higher salary with a narrower future. The retention math backs this up: LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report found employees stay 41% longer at companies with strong internal hiring.
Skills Development Is the New Loyalty Currency
Early-career workers are clear-eyed about the job market. They know skills, not tenure, protect their mobility. They’re already acting on it: about three-quarters of Gen Zs and millennials now use AI in their day-to-day work, and 79% use it to identify learning and development opportunities (Deloitte, 2026).
But confidence hasn’t caught up with hunger. The Resource Gap found only 31% of young adults feel very confident they know the steps needed to advance on their chosen education and career path.
What this means for employers: Visible, structured development wins. Mentorship programs, certification support, and cross-training signal that you’re invested in a candidate’s future, not just their output today. Publishing the actual steps to advance (education, experience milestones, timelines) builds the confidence this talent group is missing, and it costs far less than replacing an early-career hire who left for an employer who spelled it out.
Skills-Based Hiring Beats Degree Filters
Nearly two in three young adults (62%) say they are not in the career they intended to pursue after completing their education. The top reason, cited by 27%, is not having the education requirements. Meanwhile, 74% of the early talent surveyed holds less than a college degree (The Resource Gap, 2025). Every degree filter on a job posting screens out most of this generation, including candidates who could do the work. Opportunity@Work estimates more than 70 million US workers are Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs). And the degree itself guarantees less than most job postings assume: 52% of bachelor’s degree holders are underemployed a year after graduation, working in jobs that don’t require the credential (Talent Disrupted, Burning Glass Institute and Strada, 2024).
What this means for employers: Audit your job postings. If a specific skill set would satisfy the role, say that instead of defaulting to degree requirements. Skills-matching widens your talent pool and surfaces candidates a credential filter would have hidden.
Purpose Is Practical for This Generation
It’s tempting to treat “purpose” as a soft ideal. The data suggests something more grounded. When Tallo asked young adults what drives them, the top answers weren’t accolades: 28% want to make enough money to comfortably provide for their families, and 25% want to spend their time doing work they love. Deloitte’s findings rhyme. Cost of living has been the top concern for both generations five years running, and more than half of Gen Zs (55%) have delayed major life decisions over their financial situation.
Practical doesn’t mean values-free, though. Around 40% of Gen Zs and millennials have rejected an assignment or a potential employer over their personal ethics or beliefs (Deloitte 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey). This generation wants a paycheck that covers rent and an employer they don’t have to apologize for.
What this means for employers: Lead with the practical. Transparent pay, benefits that address real financial strain (housing assistance, tuition reimbursement, student debt support), and an honest picture of how a role connects to work someone can care about. Purpose lands when it’s concrete. State the mission, then show candidates exactly how this role contributes to it.
Show Up Before the Job Search Starts
The support gap shows up directly in outcomes. Among young adults already in their intended career, 86% said they had enough resources to weigh their career options. Among those not in their intended career, that drops to 62%. Feeling supported follows the same pattern: 73% versus 45% (The Resource Gap, 2025).
Who do they trust for guidance? Friends (61%) and parents (55%) top the list, and respondents ranked family, friends, and mentors as more helpful than teachers, professors, and academic advisors. Harvard’s research adds a caution here: family-and-friend networks offer encouragement, but they tend to steer people toward the same narrow set of familiar industries (Pivots Without Pathways, 2026). Employers who show up early, with accurate information about their industry and honest answers about qualifications, step into a mentorship vacuum most institutions are leaving open.
This is already working in practice. BAE Systems has engaged early STEM talent throughout their educational path since 2019, connecting with students at key milestones and promoting intern roles the moment students become eligible. “Being able to stay connected with [early talent]… has been really useful for us to be able to see the return on investment for those pipeline programs that we run,” says Laurel Walleston Skiff, who leads Early Career Programs & Partnerships at BAE Systems (The Resource Gap, 2025).
What this means for employers: Don’t wait for talent to be “job-ready.” Connect with students at key milestones, share real information about pathways into your industry, and keep the relationship warm over years, not weeks. That’s how you get ahead of chance instead of scrambling when a role opens.
Early Career Experiences Shape Everything That Follows
First jobs and internships aren’t just a line on a resume for this generation. They’re formative. And most organizations are fumbling the moment: Gallup finds only 12% of employees strongly agree their organization does a great job onboarding new hires. The upside is just as measurable. Employees with an exceptional onboarding experience are 2.6 times more likely to be extremely satisfied with their workplace. Internships show the same pattern from the recruiting side: at the one-year mark, hires who interned with your organization are 32% more likely to be retained than hires with no internship experience (NACE).
What this means for employers: The first 90 days matter disproportionately. Structured onboarding, regular check-ins, and clear expectations are often the difference between an early-career hire who becomes a long-term advocate and one who’s already looking elsewhere. Pair that with the confidence gap in Tallo’s data (only 31% of young adults feel very confident they know the steps to advance): a manager who lays out expectations and milestones in the first month is delivering exactly what this talent group says it’s missing.
Meeting Early Talent Where They Are
Gen Z talent isn’t harder to recruit. They’re asking employers to be more specific. Specific about growth. Specific about development, pay, and pathways. Specific about what the first year will actually look like. Deloitte’s conclusion points the same direction: these generations are defining progress on their own terms, prioritizing stability, skills, and well-being over speed. The organizations winning early talent right now are the ones willing to answer those questions clearly, and early, before a candidate ever has to ask.