Changing expectations of Hungarian job seekers

Today’s job seekers are more aware of their needs than ever – they not only have a sense of the job they want, but also the type of company they want to work for. This is an ever-growing trend, particularly among younger workers, that are looking for meaningful jobs where they will have an impact. 

Where once employers were the ones to look carefully at who they were hiring, they can now expect the same from their potential employees. Professionals have clear ideas about the duties they expect in their role, the level of empowerment required and the scope for flexible conditions. This means they tend to complete a thorough background check about the target company based on information available publicly and in their personal network. 

Internet technologies like LinkedIn, Facebook and GlassDoor make it easy to ask their friends and colleagues for information, reliable data, and check the reputation of the employer. This makes it important for companies looking for the best candidates to keep their online presence populated and a good reflection of what the firm does. 

Salary, however, remains an important factor. The pace of change in what people are paid has not moved quickly in Hungary but sectors like IT, engineering and multilingual roles all expect a good starting rate. But this is not the only draw nowadays, millennials want a good atmosphere, extra-curricular activities and meaningful jobs. 

What makes a good job?

What we know about job seekers

So, what makes for a company that people really want to work for? Well-known customer brands and services have an advantage. We cannot yet identify clear trends in terms of preferred company size or structure or root of origin. As the job seekers become more and more conscious they have their preference of their own – depending on their personality, previous good and bad experience, feedback from their personal network and the key competencies they want to use. 

This is a huge shift away from the old approach in Hungary. It used to be that employers set the rules and workers complied. However, the younger generations are getting bolder in articulating their needs. Common requests include:

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