“Gen Z” is a label for a large and diverse group, so we'd rather look at numbers. What did young employees (aged 15 to 27) find important in a job in 2024? At the top: good managers, a good salary and job security; almost all young employees found those three (very) important [1]. Young people in education more often than others found it important to set their own working hours (84% versus 74%) and to work part-time (81% versus 68%). They less often found a permanent contract important (75% versus 91%) [1].
Why do job titles say so little?
“Marketing employee” can mean creating content at one company and mostly maintaining spreadsheets at another. Candidates mainly want to know how a team works, what the first month involves and who is responsible for what. Put that in your vacancy, next to the title.
What does a CV not tell you?
A CV shows what someone has done, but not how they work under pressure, with ambiguity or in a small team. That's why VOIDS weighs motivation and working style alongside experience and education [2].
This works both ways
Matching on character doesn't only mean companies look past a CV; it also means candidates look more critically at companies. Does the culture fit? Is there room to grow? Is the pay fair? Those are fair questions, and a good company has an answer.
Why leaning less on CV signals can be fairer
CV signals such as a well-known internship are associated with access to opportunities, and that access is not equally distributed. An internship allowance, for example, is not mandatory by law: in March 2024, 42% of secondary vocational students received one, an estimated 75% of students at universities of applied sciences and 65% of research-university students with a compulsory internship [3]. In a report on graduates, CBS refers to a 2021 SER advice in which students whose parents did not study, students with a secondary vocational background, with a non-Western migration background and with a functional impairment experience barriers in or on the way to higher education [4]. Leaning less on signals that presuppose access gives more candidates a chance.
Does this mean experience no longer counts?
No. Research by SEO Economic Research found that graduates with a side job in a relevant sector found a first substantial job faster on average [5]. Experience stays relevant. In a junior role, where a lot is new, we simply also look at how someone handles new situations.
Sources
- CBS (2025): Werk: Jaarrapport Landelijke Jeugdmonitor 2025, accessed 11 October 2026.
- VOIDS: Werving & selectie (incl. cases), accessed 11 October 2026.
- Rijksoverheid (2025): Stijgende lijn stagevergoedingen voor studenten, accessed 11 October 2026.
- CBS (2024): Afgestudeerden in het hoger onderwijs (inleiding verwijst naar SER-advies 2021), accessed 11 October 2026.
- SEO Economisch Onderzoek (2023): Studie & Werk HO: de arbeidsmarktpositie van hbo- en wo-alumni (Bussink, Van der Ven & Klinker, in opdracht van EW Magazine), 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.
