There’s a narrative I hear over and over again in hospitality:
“Gen Z just wants to know how fast they can get promoted.”
“They don’t want to work hard.”
“They expect too much, too soon.”
First, this is a lot of judgement coming from an industry that has been talking about a labor shortage since before COVID… and second, after working with Gen Z for more than a decade, I can tell you, these assumptions couldn’t be farther from the truth.
What they want isn’t a shortcut. They want a PATH.
And the reason they’re asking about growth early in the hiring process isn’t entitlement. It’s trust. (Read that again.)
The Generational Trust Gap
Gen Z grew up watching instability. The older ones saw their families impacted by the 2008 recession. The younger ones have come of age during a global pandemic. They scroll through headlines about mass layoffs across industries on a daily basis. They are acutely aware that a job no longer equals security.
So when they ask, “What does growth look like here?” what they’re really asking is:
Is there a future for me here?
Research supports this shift. LinkedIn’s Workforce Learning Report consistently shows that opportunities for learning and career growth are among the top drivers of job choice and retention. In fact, 94% of employees say they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development. So yeah, that’s nearly ALL OF THEM.
A Gallup study found that lack of career development opportunities is one of the top reasons people leave jobs. And Deloitte research shows that Gen Z ranks growth and learning among their highest priorities when evaluating employers, often above compensation alone.
This isn’t impatience, y’all, it’s pragmatism.
The Reputation Problem We Talk About But Don’t Fix
For years, I’ve heard the same refrain: “labor shortage, labor shortage, labor shortage.”
But here’s the reality: if candidates don’t see a future in your organization, they won’t choose it. And if they can’t see where a role leads, they’ll assume it leads nowhere.
Hospitality has an extraordinary story to tell when it comes to career mobility. Front desk agents become revenue managers. Line cooks become executive chefs. Sales coordinators become general managers. Owners started as bellhops.
There are more career pathways in this industry than most people can count. So why aren’t we talking about them in the hiring process?
Growth Isn’t a Threat — It’s a Signal
Sometimes I wonder if leaders hesitate to discuss career pathing because they’re afraid it will create expectations.
But here’s another way to look at it: If someone is asking about their future, they’re imagining one with you.
That’s not a red flag. That’s a green light.
Highlighting clear career growth opportunities during hiring doesn’t just attract ambitious candidates—it builds retention from day one. SHRM research shows that organizations with structured career development programs experience higher engagement and lower turnover. And internal mobility studies consistently show that employees who make internal moves are more likely to stay longer than those who don’t.
When candidates can see a pathway, they’re more likely to commit to the journey.
What To Do? Make the Path Visible
The beautiful thing about hospitality is that the opportunities already exist. The skills are transferable. The ladders are real. The stories are everywhere.
But if you don’t paint the picture during the hiring process, candidates can’t imagine themselves climbing it.
This is where intentional career pathing becomes powerful. When hotels clearly articulate growth trajectories – when they show what year one, year three, and year five could look like – they stand out immediately.
Technology can help here. Platforms like Hireology enable teams to showcase advancement pathways upfront, so applicants don’t just see a job description, they see a future.
And for a generation that doesn’t automatically trust that the future exists, that visibility is everything.
It’s Time to Show What’s Possible
If “labor shortage” has been the rallying cry, then we owe it to this industry to do everything possible to demonstrate the power of what’s possible.
Gen Z doesn’t want a title without effort. They want transparency. They want growth. They want to know that the hard work leads somewhere.
And the good news? In hospitality, it does.
