Hiring’s never been easy. But when it comes to younger employees, especially those just out of school or entering the workforce during and after COVID, it’s gotten even trickier.
At Kaizen CPAs + Advisors, we’ve worked hard to build a team that aligns with our values and brings real hunger to the table. And while every hire is different, there are a few patterns we’ve noticed that might help if you’re trying to hire and keep younger employees in your business.
This is our north star when hiring:
And when it comes down to it, we’ll take people smarts over book smarts any day.
🔍Recommended reading: The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni
There’s been a noticeable shift in recent years. Ten years ago, the challenge was hiring young people who just went through the motions. They clocked in, clocked out, and didn’t bring a lot of drive.
Now, we’re seeing a new challenge. Many of the young employees entering the workforce today went through high school or college during COVID. And what we’re hearing, from business owners and from experience, is that some of the basics didn’t stick.
We’re talking:
It’s not every young person. Far from it. But enough that it’s something we now pay attention to.
We still prioritize character over credentials. But we’ve started layering in light assessments for things we used to assume came standard:
If someone’s the right fit on values but missing a few fundamentals, we’ve had success pointing them toward online refreshers. The key is spotting whether they’re open to learning.
Honestly? It’s tough.
A lot of people can talk a good game. So instead of trying to “guess right” in an interview, we do two things:
Even you ask good questions, it’s a 50/50 shot. That’s why the big companies say: hire slow, fire fast. It’s not easy, but there’s truth in it.
We don’t expect someone to fully embody our values on day one. What we do expect is that they’ll absorb them over time by watching how we work, how we treat each other, and how we support our clients.
If someone’s the right fit, those values will start showing up in their behavior without us having to enforce it.
We use the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to create structure and accountability across our team. Everyone knows what’s expected, and we hold each other to it.
For younger employees, this is helpful. It gives context. They begin to understand how their roles matter and how their efforts contribute to the team’s progress.
Younger employees aren’t just looking for a job. They want to feel like the work has purpose. Not just what the task is, but why it matters.
That means taking time to explain how the day-to-day work connects to something more meaningful, whether that’s helping a client solve a meaningful challenge, reducing stress for a teammate, or playing a key role in moving a project forward.
When people understand the impact of what they’re doing, they’re more likely to take ownership, bring new ideas, and stick around.
If you want them to care about the work, help them see that it actually matters.
Hiring isn’t about finding the perfect résumé; it’s about finding the right person and giving them a path to grow.
If someone’s hungry, humble, and people-smart, the person has a strong foundation.
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