I'm a recruitment expert - here's the real reasons Gen Z are struggling to get jobs, and how you can stand out from the crowd

A recruitment expert revealed the reasons why Gen Z are struggling to get jobs and has given her tips and tricks on how to stand out from the crowd when applying for roles. 

Ursula Colman, Recruitment Director for Zetter Recruitment, based in Cambridge and London, said Gen Z have higher expectations than previous generations, adding that they expect to be able to work from home and be paid a generous salary. 

She said that her company often sees young graduates apply for senior roles because they expect to be handed their 'dream job' without being prepared to do work experience first. 

'[There's an attitude] that you should get the life that you want and get paid for it. It's made internships seem unfashionable,' she told MailOnline.

She said that factors that put young canidates off include employers who 'want someone full-time in the office' or the 'salary may not be deemed to be high enough.' 

'Whereas before this would be a stepping phase, there is a real desire of "I want it here and now". It's a sense of entitlement,' she said.

The recruitment expert, with 22 years of experience under her belt, said there is a desire among Gen Z to go travelling rather than apply for jobs.

However upon their return, they are left with a giant gap on their CVs which is unattractive to recruiters because they are older but still lack experience. 

What's more, these days higher education is not enough to make you stand out from the crowd. 

'Having a degree is almost normal, whereas, before it was the thing that so many companies would [think] is a good way of filtering,' Ursula explained. 'Nowadays it's actually more about experience and what you've done alongside the degree.

'The amount that people are willing to work for has definitely changed. We will often have entry level roles and Gen Z are like: "No, that's not paying enough, I'm looking for more".

She said what Gen Z set the bar high when it comes to the working conditions they will accept. 

'We are seeing more and more Gen Z wanting to work from home and historically those first roles in your career are grafting roles where you're having to commute and work long hours,' she said.

'But we're having graduates who will say: "I want to work from home, I don't want to be in the office everyday, the salary is not enough" in a way that we never used to see.'

Ursula revealed her top tips on how Gen Z can stand out from the crowd and bag themselves high-skilled jobs straight out of university.

'Experience is the best way because that is how you stand out,' she said. 'So many people if they're good end up finding a paid role. It's also really confidence boosting.'

The recruitment expert said that the way that people apply for jobs affects how they come across. 

To stand out among hundreds of applications, Ursula said picking up the phone and calling the company to introduce yourself and speak about your background will help stick in potential employers' minds and is a more personal touch than applying online. 

She also said going into their offices for an interview rather than optin for a video call also makes a huge difference, because it shows the employer that you have gone that extra mile. 

Ursula added that participating in extra sports clubs at university or societies can highlight to employers skills such as being a team player. 

Yesterday, the Mail reported shocking statistics that more people under 25 are now 'economically inactive' than ever before - increasing by about 700,000 since the Covid pandemic.

Young people have been seen posting jokey TikToks about not working.

One video captioned 'What life is like living off the dole' shows a young man walking through a shopping centre and saying: 'Today I'm going to be day drinking and smoking cigarettes at 2pm in the afternoon, which I am quite excited to do.'

Another video shows a group of young people nodding their heads to music with the caption: 'When the dole is doubling the money.'

A third example shows a woman showing a weekly benefits entitlement of £1,151 per week and saying: 'Somebody please tell me why I would get a job when this is my weekly universal credits that I get? 

'I mean, why would I get a job. I get your monthly wage in a week... I'm living my f***ing best life.'

When asked about Gen Z TikTokers joking about being on the dole and not wanting to get a job, the recruitment director said: 'If you have a gap in your experience the perception is that you couldn't get a job and there it makes it even harder to get a role.

'If you're seeing someone who isn't working and hasn't worked in a year, why are you going to interview them next to somebody who has? It's really counterproductive and makes it harder [to get a job].'

Nearly three million Britons under the age of 25 are not working or looking for a job.

Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that, overall, more than a fifth of adults in the UK are deemed to be economically inactive.

It means around 9.25million people aged between 16 and 64 are not in employment and are not seeking work – a rise of about 700,000 since before the Covid pandemic.

Almost three million of them are under-25s – an increase of 384,000 since February 2020.

The figures come amid concerns about the impact of worker shortages on the economy. More than 900,000 jobs are currently unfilled.