“Gen Z” is a label for a large, diverse group, so we look at what CBS measures. In 2024, young employees (aged 15 to 27) named good managers, a good salary and job security as the most important working conditions. They found the possibility of working from home least important [1]. What does that mean for your vacancy and your story as an employer?
What do the figures say about satisfaction and expectations?
According to CBS, in 2024 78% of employees aged 15 to 27 were (very) satisfied with their work and 89% were satisfied with their manager. 78% were satisfied with their salary, less than with job security (93%) [1]. If you show a good salary and good guidance concretely in a vacancy, you match what young employees find important.
What can you show in your vacancy and your story?
- What employees themselves say about the work, not just what the company account posts
- Salary and hours, right in the vacancy
- Concrete examples of how junior talent grows with you
- Clear guidance and a clear point of contact
Is pay transparency important?
The topic is a live one, including in legislation: the EU pay transparency directive gives applicants the right to receive, before the interview, information about the starting pay or range [2]. The Dutch bill was submitted on 21 May 2026 and still has to be adopted [3]. So just state the salary or a range.
How do you put current working students to use for employer branding?
Let a real working student describe what the first month looked like. It's less polished than a campaign. Let the people who do the work describe what it's like, in a way they stand behind themselves.
What's the fastest way to improve your employer brand without a big budget?
Get the fundamentals right before you start campaigning: an honest vacancy with a concrete salary and concrete tasks, an onboarding process that actually works and satisfied working students who are willing to say so. That doesn't cost a marketing budget, just that what you promise externally holds up internally.
It starts with how you treat junior talent
The best employer branding doesn't come from a campaign but from how a company actually treats junior talent. Start there.
Sources
- CBS (2025): Werk: Jaarrapport Landelijke Jeugdmonitor 2025, accessed 11 October 2026.
- EUR-Lex (Europese Unie) (2023): Richtlijn (EU) 2023/970 ter versterking van het beginsel van gelijke beloning (artikel 5), accessed 11 October 2026.
- Rijksoverheid (2026): Meer openheid over loonkloof tussen mannen en vrouwen, accessed 11 October 2026.
Transparency: VOIDS connects working students with organisations and therefore has an interest in this topic. We back up facts with sources and connect research and trends to our own experience from practice.
