A student recruitment survey from Equals6 has revealed interesting views from the Millennial Generation, including that 91 per cent of respondents would relocate for a new job, that 42 per cent seek professional mentorship and that just 13 per cent wish to run their own business. 

Halifax-based Equals6 is an online community of 75,000 students who use the site to make connections with each other and employers. The company surveyed nearly 6,000 high school, college and university students across the country and across a variety of disciplines about their career choices. The report focuses on job search, work preferences and compensation, training, and mobile technology and social media in the workplace.

“This is our first survey of this type. The information will be useful to both students and employers,” said Andy Osburn, Equals6 President and CEO, adding that the report will in future be undertaken annually.

The survey revealed that about 32 per cent of respondents wish to work for a private company, around 55 per cent want to work in the public sector and government and just 13 per cent plan to run their own venture.

Future surveys may well show a rise in the number of Millennials wishing to become self-employed, Osburn said. “We will look into that. It would be interesting to know what that figure would have been even five years ago. We’d expect that number to start to go up as universities etc. are doing such a great job of advocating entrepreneurship.”  

Successive surveys will also seek to break down the numbers interested in working in the public sector – at 55 per cent this high figure may simply reflect the breadth of a sector that includes teachers, nurses and many other groups.

Osburn said the fact that 91 per cent of students are prepared to relocate for a new job and 40 per cent are prepared to move countries for work shows how important it is for employers to get their message before graduates, particularly in Atlantic Canada.    

Salary and benefits were cited as respondents’ most important consideration when choosing an employer, with environmental and social consciousness being named their lowest priority; although students also named other factors, such as a welcoming atmosphere, as important.

The majority of respondents would accept $10-$15 per hour for student co-ops and internships and 74 per cent of respondents would accept an entry-level salary of $50,000 or less.

More than 98 per cent of students said they felt they had been at least somewhat prepared for work by their education. And, no surprises here, 25 per cent expected to access Facebook from work.

Osburn said the company will welcome input from employers on the sort of questions to ask in future surveys.