The Talent Pool

Recyclers have a variety of resources available for recruiting young talent to the recycling industry, and with the attention the environmental movement has been garnering lately from the mainstream print and broadcast media, interest in recycling is higher than in the past. Throughout the past few years, consumer awareness in recycling and environmental concerns has heightened, thus increasing the need for companies providing services in these areas.

Additionally, the recycling industry is multidimensional, and its increased exposure has generated a myriad of job opportunities. As a result, recyclers are able to attract talent from many candidates within the wider environmental industry.

Recruiting young talent provides several advantages to the recycling industry. Companies have an opportunity to illustrate the importance of the industry while emphasizing segments of the recycling industry that are often overlooked. Until recently, it was erroneously presumed by the public that recycling was limited to metals, plastics, glass and paper. Actually, the industry is involved in the recycling of various items including, but not limited to, oil, electronics, water and soil. Young talent should be exposed to the expansive opportunities the recycling industry affords. Particular focus on the industry’s future opportunities for growth solidifies the prospect of a promising career.

Recruitment firms can provide an indispensable resource in procuring young talent for the recycling industry. Effective firms use their knowledge of the environmental industry to attract qualified candidates. For example, my company, Environmental Recruiting Services, has received inquiries from many employees in the waste industry about clients with a focus in recycling. Further, our clients within the recycling sector are typically very attracted to candidates from the waste industry, as these industries operate with very similar business models.

Finally, several colleges and universities offer programs with environmental and/or recycling concentrations. Partnering with those institutions and offering internships and entry-level job placement will produce a greater awareness of the recycling industry, resulting in qualified candidates with an enduring interest in the industry.

It is essential for employers to target those colleges, universities or technical schools offering an opportunity to earn a degree in the environmental and/or recycling industries. The presence of recycling firms at career fairs and on job boards will give exposure to the industry, creating the initial steps to recruit young talent. Additionally, these companies should make a concerted effort to expose young talent to all facets of this expansive industry. This will introduce the environmental and recycling industry to some potential job candidates while strengthening the impressions of those individuals who have had previous exposure to companies in the industry.

It is equally important for companies to provide internship programs for field experience. Increasing field experience opportunities will improve candidate recruitment and subsequent retention.

Our experience has revealed some notable variances between the younger generation and its predecessors.

Young talent is often more technologically savvy as the result of exposure to computers in education. Such exposure has equipped the younger generation with the ability to multi-task and to complete some responsibilities with greater efficiency. Therefore, younger talent often seeks additional responsibilities and a more stimulating working environment. Perhaps these factors may be attributed to the increase in compensation that is often requested by young talent.

Historically, earlier generations focus more on the finite details and the completion of a single task before accepting additional and simultaneous responsibilities. Earlier generations often can be less familiar with technology, thus decreasing the speed in which a task involving technology is completed.

Additionally, more established employees often may have a level of comfort with their established work hours and methodologies. Conversely, employees new to the workforce traditionally demonstrate more flexibility while initially possessing less personal and family responsibility. This factor often can allow young talent the ability to accept greater responsibility and the capability to be engaged in several projects concurrently.

Once a young prospective employee has been identified, recruited, employed and committed to the opportunities offered by the recycling industry, effective managers will promote his or her exposure to facets of the business that extend beyond the role for which the recruit has been initially hired.

When entry-level or junior-level candidates are hired, it is often based on their strong interpersonal skills and their potential to thrive as they gain experience in the field. Initially, young recruits will implement their prevalent interpersonal skills and secondary strengths to assist in varied duties. As their knowledge of the industry is cultivated, they can often be of value to other departments within the organization. This will reveal undiscovered strengths, thus permitting the recruit to develop a sense of efficacy. Allowing for a comprehensive learning experience will also illustrate a company’s genuine interest in the young recruit’s growth.

Our clients who are most successful in retaining young employees have implemented orientation, training and a "steps to success" checklist. The recruit meets with the employer as each step is completed, discussing the experience he or she has gained, allowing the recruit the opportunity to provide feedback relating to his or her growth. Upon completion of each "step," the recruit is given additional responsibility, thus creating new challenges and continuity. Furthermore, the recruit has an established set of goals and anticipated achievements promoting self-motivation with an understanding of expectations. The new recruit becomes engrossed in a constant state of accomplishment, maintaining momentum toward professional and personal growth and development.

Challenging the new recruit while also establishing opportunities to excel has proven to be an effective management technique.

The author is with Environmental Recruiting Services, Milford, Conn., a national recruitment firm offering direct hire, contract/temporary and right-to-hire solutions focused in the environmental and industrial service industries. He can be contacted at jlipton@environmentalrecruiting.com.