Since the term Millennial was first coined, so many unpleasant adjectives have come synonymous which, as a Millennial yourself, probably hurt you a little. These are words like lazy, overly ambitious, submissive, unprofessional and basically any other word that suggests you want everything without wanting to work for it.

Well, not only is this harsh and untrue, it also doesn’t matter because we Millennials are here. We are now dominating the workforce and, as such, any company that doesn’t get on board with what we align with is going to lose out when it comes to attracting and keeping top talent.

As a Millennial, the biggest problem for you is finding an employer that aligns with your wants and needs. The reason this is a problem is that it is predicted that Millennials will change job an average of six times in their professional career.

This is partly because we want to enjoy a myriad of experiences instead of being stuck in one job for forty years. However, the other major component is that it is taking more time for us to find a workplace that offers us what we want.

So, to help you with this, we have come up with a list of things that you should look for in an employer during your next job hunt. This will allow you to better identify which job offer you go with and hopefully allow you to reduce your job hopping as you’ll find the right role for you a lot quicker:

Excellent Ethics A Must

As a Millennial, you inherently care about society, something that has been seen recently in your voting behavior with regards to politics. This care and concern carry over into business too, with almost 80% of Millennials choosing not to go with a business on the basis they seem to care more about their profits than they do improving society.

Strong corporate ethics and social missions is one of the defining features that Millennials look for in a business and the reason for this is it will hugely affect your happiness levels. Deep down, you want to work for a company that chooses to do good in the world, whether locally or overseas, as well as produce a great product or service.

The reason being you’ll find it much easier to work for a company that has social values that match your own; it is motivating and inspiring and that will allow you to work with more passion and produce better results. As such, always make sure you understand the ethics of a business before you take a role with them.

Work-Life Worries

Technologies have been developed that allow remote working to be achieved with relative ease. However, for all the amazing talk surrounding these advancements, they came off the back of one thing and one thing only; demand. In short, Millennials are concerned about the work-life balance of any prospective job because people don’t want to live to work.

As such, in terms of flexibility, the things you should be looking at for are flexible working hours, the ability to work from home, paid time off. That is at a basic level. The other things that could assist your want to work somewhere include the chance to enjoy a sabbatical down the line that will help you achieve the things you want to achieve, whether that be travel the world or write a book. The more a job offers you in terms of a work-life balance the more settled you will be in that job, so don’t be afraid to ask.

If your prospective employer feels unhappy about this question then you know the job isn’t for you.

Skill Development

Most Millennials want to do as much with their time as possible and that means improving as a person and learning new skills, which is why it is so important you ask what prospective employers ask in the way of skill development.

Enhancing your skills should be at the top of your list because it is a great way to see how much an employee values you and how much they are willing to invest in your growth. It could be that they offer an online CPR renewal course, which would be a valuable life skill to learn.

However, it could be that they are one of those forward-thinking companies that offer tuition reimbursement programs to help you gain more and more qualifications and attributes that would see you become a more integral part of their operations.

We don’t work our butts off at school to them stop learning and growing, and that is something that you should make sure is accounted for at any job you decide to take.

Delightful Diversity

When it comes to working in a workplace, on of the things many Millennials want to see is diversity. They want to see that a company is diverse in terms of gender, culture, religion, and race, and they want to see evidence of equal opportunities.

This is a trait that seems to have encouraged change in the workplace over the years, with almost fifty percent of the American workforce now consisting of non-white workers; this is the highest it has ever been.

Working in a company that has an open-mind when it comes to culture and the chance for everyone to be promoted to positions of power shows that you are working for a company that embraces change, that values equality and, once again, proves its ethics align with yours.

Not just that, but Millennials prefer working in an environment that is culturally diverse; something that affects their productivity.

Respectable Reputation

There is no smoke without fire, and that is something that Millennials have embraced when it comes to deciding on whether or not to join and stay with a company. Reputation matters and one of the things that matter most in terms of a company’s reputation is its social impact on the world.

For example, Nestle has a terrible reputation for being one of the most morally bankrupt businesses in the world, and that has drastically affected their ability to lure top talent. This is no doubt something that you relate to, and working for a company that embodies a positive and proactive mission is something that attracts you, something that you will be able to get passionate about in your day-to-day role.

By having admiration for the company you are part of you will be more willing to go the extra mile, and that can have a huge impact on your ability to climb the ladder.

Better Performance

Almost every point we have made up this point has alluded to the fact that Millennials want to be able to maximize their performance, which is something that goes against the reputation the Millennial generation has acquired. Getting a job that brings out the best in you, rather than a job that is going to be mundane and stagnant, is something that is well worth considering in your next job search.

In terms of how you go about asking this, ask your potential employers about how they create a positive environment in the office and how the encourage an employee’s interests, knowledge, and passions.

From this answer, you will be able to better understand which career options best suits your talents and how your abilities, qualities, and traits align with the way in which they promote and help with maximizing individual performances.

It is important to mention that these aspects should not substitute a healthy salary and remuneration package, but rather they should accompany it. And remember, money is fine, but it isn’t everything. The chance to learn, grow and be inspired is what matters most.

This post has been contributed by Ryan Gatt, it may contain affiliate links.