Often students get to graduate with the belief that the most of the work is done, only to discover that the hardest part is still to come. Millennials face a complex labor market, where opportunities are scarce (recent data place youth unemployment in Italy around 40%) and it is difficult to find one’s way through, given the continuous evolution of both workplace and social context.

Competition is also becoming more and more intense, involving a pool of potential candidates which has now become an international one, with high levels of expertise (both from a studies point of view,  and a professional one) and with in-depth and specialized knowledge. And yet too often the focus  is too much on what companies and employers are looking for, ignoring an equally important aspect: what do young people look for in their potential employers, and what are they most attracted to?

This is a question that, by turning the usual perspective on its head, identifies key elements that could strengthen or improve corporate identity, ensure its success and continuity. This exact survey was carried out through a recent research by the LUISS Business School, supported by the Coca Cola HBC Italia Foundation, providing important information on how to promote corporate image on the internal and external labor market in order to retain human potential within the company and recruit valuable resources.

This study reveals that the first factor considered by young people in the selection of companies to look for work is their emotional appeal, that is to say a value system they share and recognize themselves into, to which work environment, financial performance and prospects for growth must be added. This shows that young people are looking for employers who are able to value and reward talent and who can ensure ways for incorporating newly hired personnel in their company as well as developing their skills. Companies are responsible for responding to these needs, to achieve the attractiveness needed to recruit the absolute best talents.