Top recruiter exposes alarming work trend on the rise in Australia

Gen Z Aussies are so scared of job interviews they’re even bringing their parents, a top recruiter claims.

Tammie Christofis Ballis, 37, a specialist recruiter and career coach at Realistic Careers, told Daily Mail Australia that a growing number of young recruits are feeling incredibly anxious.

‘There’s something new: ‘I have job application anxiety,’ she told Daily Mail Australia. “You have to feel uncomfortable to get anywhere, and there’s no concept of that.

“They say, ‘This doesn’t fit into my safe environment, so I’m not going to do it.’ Then they are angry that they don’t have a job.’

She revealed that many have a crippling fear of picking up the phone to speak to an employer or going to a job interview alone.

‘I’m not a clinical psychologist, but I feel that because the younger generation is more aware of mental health and wellbeing – which is great and how it should be – this is holding them back from moving forward and taking risks, she said.

“And realize that sometimes you will fail.”

Ms Ballis noted that it was not unusual for some applicants to take their parents with them when looking for a job, especially in the hospitality industry.

‘It also happens in nursing. Two people brought their mothers to a group interview,” she said.

‘You have to show that you can do the job yourself.

‘They also don’t call an employer because they are afraid of being ‘ghosted’ and making phone calls. Pick up the phone and call.’

Ms Ballis also believes that a major challenge for the younger generation is their sense of entitlement and their desire to take shortcuts.

“I’ve even had kids, under 20, say, ‘Help me get a job from home.’ You have no work experience. Are you serious?’ she said.

“People who have the option to work from home are because they know how to do it, both in the office and on the floor.

‘You have to learn the trade first. How much right do you have to think you deserve that?’

She also warned of a shift away from traditional CVs, with more employers asking for video applications.

“There’s no point in reinventing the wheel and confusing people,” she said.

The fact is, if you go to Seek or Indeed, Linkedin or any of the job boards, most of them ask for a resume.

‘People don’t want to submit videos. They feel uncomfortable when someone watches a pre-recorded video.

‘An employer will let people apply, but they may not get the cream of the crop.’

However, Getahead’s 33-year-old CEO Sam McNamara believes that resumes will soon be outdated.

“I think resumes are very well suited to older demographics,” he said.

“Just like lawyers, accountants and government jobs, there are definitely some skills needed to structure your CV and ways to stand out because so many people in those sectors have such similar experience.”

Mr McNamara said that with the rise of AI, many candidates are no longer writing their own CVs.

“Canva and Sago did quantitative research on 10,000 people and more than 50 percent of resumes were written using AI,” he said.

“I think that’s an important sign: Are you actually hiring someone for a well-written resume that he or she didn’t write?

‘Or do you want to know who the applicant is and what the personality is?’

Mr McNamara said CVs had become less relevant because they were hardly looked at anymore.

“There are a lot of statistics that people will read resumes for a maximum of three to four seconds,” he said.

But surprisingly, Mr McNamara said office jobs “100 per cent” don’t require a CV either.

“Let’s say you needed someone to be front of house, talking to stakeholders and handling office scenarios,” he said.

‘Which would you rather have? A piece of paper from someone who says he worked at this company for three years?

‘Or a video in which they explain what their strengths are, who they are, what they liked about their last role, what they are looking for in their next role.

“It just speeds up the hiring process.”

And in a sign of how recruiting may be changing, Getahead has had more than 2,000 companies join the platform in the past year – that’s 2,000 companies that don’t require a resume.

“The applicant can upload videos of themselves making coffee if they wish,” Mr McNamara said.

“They can have an ‘about me,’ they can show their strengths, their passions and what they’re looking for.