Universum's 5 Career Profiles

The Employer-Employee Profile Gap: A Growing Challenge

What happens when companies prioritize ambition, performance, and innovation—but the incoming talent pool prioritizes balance, purpose, and personal well-being?

You get a growing gap between supply and demand in the talent market.

Universum’s analysis across the EB Now 2025 and Talent Outlook 2025 reports reveals a misalignment that many organizations are just beginning to recognize. While employers are doubling down on attracting Go-Getters, Ground-Breakers, and Change-Makers, student self-identification trends paint a very different picture.

🔍 The Profile Gap in Action

Here’s what’s playing out in real-time:

This disconnect creates tension. Roles go unfilled. EVP messaging fails to convert. And companies misfire with recruitment campaigns that don't resonate.

🧩 Why This Gap Exists

The causes are complex—and not entirely generational:

• Burnout & Mental Health: A SHRM 2024 study shows that 44% of workers feel burned out, which is even more pronounced among younger professionals​.

• Post-Pandemic Values Reset: Students graduating during COVID-affected years report higher desire for stability, community, and personal time.

• Redefined Success: Many young people are shifting from “climbing the ladder” to “building a life.” This reframing deprioritizes profiles like the Go-Getter.

Meanwhile, companies—especially those in high-performance sectors like tech, consulting, or finance—are still operating with pre-pandemic expectations of hyper-growth talent.

🔄 The Cost of Misalignment

The implications of this profile gap are significant:

• Longer Time-to-Hire for roles needing performance-driven or entrepreneurial mindsets

• Misfired Employer Brand Messaging, especially on platforms like LinkedIn or Instagram

• High Attrition Rates from employees hired under the wrong EVP promises

• Wasted Recruitment Spend targeting profiles your brand may not authentically attract

If your career page screams “rocket to the top” but your candidates dream of balance and belonging, something’s got to give.

“It’s not a talent shortage—it’s a branding misalignment. If you’re not attracting the right profiles, maybe it’s time to rethink what you’re signaling.”

What Are the Five Universum Career Profiles?

Here’s a closer look at the five profiles shaping the workforce of tomorrow:

1. Balance-Seekers

Balance-Seekers are all about harmony between their professional and personal lives. They gravitate toward small to mid-sized organizations that feel like a family—places that offer flexibility, fair compensation, and a culture of support. These individuals value time with loved ones, hobbies, and health just as much as career success.

• Top Traits: Sociable, Flexible, Home-Oriented, Life Enhancer

• Ideal Workplace: Friendly, stable environments with strong work-life balance policies

2. Change-Makers

Purpose-driven and socially conscious, Change-Makers want to contribute to the greater good. They're the heartbeat of DEI initiatives and thrive in mission-driven environments—whether public sector, NGOs, or socially innovative companies. These are the people who want their work to matter.

• Top Traits: Ethical, Socially Aware, Equality Seeking, Future Maker

• Ideal Workplace: Organizations with a clear societal impact and inclusive values

3. Globe-Trotters

With an insatiable curiosity and cosmopolitan mindset, Globe-Trotters seek out roles in multinational companies that offer international exposure. They view change as a stimulus, love to travel, and flourish in diverse, fast-paced environments.

• Top Traits: Cosmopolitan, Big City Lover, Open-Minded, Explorer

• Ideal Workplace: Global companies with opportunities to travel or relocate

4. Go-Getters

These are your high-achievers. Go-Getters are laser-focused on progression, recognition, and performance. They want challenges, responsibilities, and the chance to climb quickly within an organization that values top talent.

• Top Traits: Ambitious, Determined, Challenge Seeking, High Performer

• Ideal Workplace: Fast-paced, results-driven companies with structured career paths

5. Ground-Breakers

Entrepreneurial to the core, Ground-Breakers are your innovation engines. They’re excited by disruption, new technologies, and the start-up ethos. These individuals thrive when they can experiment, collaborate, and build something from the ground up.

• Top Traits: Entrepreneurial, Tech-Savvy, Team Player, Innovator

• Ideal Workplace: Agile, innovation-centric environments—especially start-ups

Together, these profiles provide a lens for understanding today’s dynamic workforce. By identifying which of these profiles you’re currently attracting—and which you should be attracting—you can build a more strategic, future-ready employer brand.

Methodology

Universum surveys over 200,000 students in business, engineering and IT each year, sampling from 10 of the world's largest economies. Students are asked which employer characteristics are most influential s they consider future employment, and which employer brands they most admire. From this study, Universum has isolated the five key talent personas listed above.

These personas are a tool to help employers optimize their employer branding activities to ensure they are attracting the right profiles to their graduate programs and other roles.

Why These Profiles Matter in a Shifting Talent Landscape

The world of work is being reshaped by forces that were once seen as distant trends—now, they’re front and center. The impact of AI, a dramatic shift in leadership aspirations, growing demands for flexibility, and a wave of employee disengagement are all reshaping the expectations talent has of employers. In this environment, generic talent strategies simply don’t cut it anymore.

That’s where Universum’s five career profiles come into play.

These personas offer a data-backed framework for talent segmentation, helping employers understand not just who they are trying to hire, but what drives them—and how to tailor their messaging accordingly.

📊 A Snapshot from the Talent Outlook 2025

Universum’s Talent Outlook 2025 reveals critical challenges and opportunities in talent management:

• Leadership aspirations are declining: Interest in leadership roles is falling across all age groups, especially among Gen Z and Millennials​.

• Flexibility remains non-negotiable: 45% of European professionals prioritize flexible work conditions—an increase of 6 points since 2020​.

• Challenging work is losing appeal: Only 33% of professionals today say they prioritize “challenging work,” down from 40% in 2020​.

These trends are more than just numbers—they reflect changing values that influence which career profiles are rising in importance. For instance, Balance-Seekers thrive in flexible environments. Change-Makers are drawn to companies with strong values and social impact. Go-Getters, though fewer in number, remain critical to leadership pipelines. Understanding these dynamics lets employers stay ahead of shifting motivations.

🧭 Navigating Complexity with Clarity

For employer branding leaders, HR strategists, and talent acquisition teams, the profiles serve as navigational tools:

• Need to fill international roles fast? Focus on attracting Globe-Trotters with global mobility benefits and multicultural team experiences.

• Struggling to retain tech talent in a competitive market? Highlight your innovation culture to attract Ground-Breakers.

• Building a purpose-led employer brand? Position your DEI and CSR work to resonate with Change-Makers.

This kind of strategic alignment between employer offer and employee persona is essential in a competitive hiring market where candidate expectations evolve faster than most companies can keep up.

🚀 Why It’s Time to Act

As white-collar hiring slows and automation changes skill demands, companies must get smarter about who they attract—and how. The career profiles aren’t static labels. They are dynamic, research-based insights into the psychographics of your talent audience, helping you to refine job ads, optimize messaging, and even guide EVP development.

Employers who understand and act on these profiles will be far better positioned to build high-impact teams—and retain them.

Closing the Gap: What Employers Can Do to Attract the Right Talent

Understanding the disconnect between what employers want and how students see themselves is only half the battle. The real value lies in what you do with that insight. The good news? There’s a clear path forward.

By using Universum’s career profile framework, companies can craft targeted, authentic employer branding strategies that align with both business goals and talent expectations. Here’s how to start closing the gap.

🎯 1. Recalibrate Your EVP by Profile

Not every employer needs to attract every type of profile—but every employer should know which profiles align with their business needs. Start by identifying your priority personas and assess how well your current EVP supports them.

• Need Go-Getters? Your EVP should emphasize career acceleration, performance rewards, and elite talent networks.

• Want Balance-Seekers? Talk about mental wellness programs, hybrid work, and a culture that respects boundaries.

• Looking for Ground-Breakers? Showcase innovation labs, startup-like teams, and autonomy in building new solutions.

This persona-based EVP development is one of Universum’s strengths—crafted from data, not guesswork.

🧠 2. Shift Your Messaging from What You Want to What They Value

Too often, employer branding speaks the language of internal ambition instead of external relevance.

For instance:

• Instead of “We’re growing fast, join the rocket ship,” a message that resonates with Go-Getters,

• Consider “Build your future with flexibility and purpose,” to attract Change-Makers and Balance-Seekers.

Use your social media, job ads, and career pages to mirror the motivations of your target profiles.

🤝 3. Design Hiring Journeys That Match Profile Expectations

Each profile responds to different engagement tactics:

• Globe-Trotters want stories about international mobility, language diversity, and cross-cultural teams.

• Change-Makers care deeply about employee stories, CSR efforts, and inclusion narratives.

• Go-Getters want to hear about top performers and where they are now.

Use storytelling strategically to appeal to the aspirations of your desired talent segment—and validate your claims during interviews and onboarding.

🔗 4. Leverage Universum’s Tools to Analyze Your Own Profile Attraction

Want to know which profiles your employer brand currently attracts? Universum offers Employer Brand & Talent Insights tools that provide exactly that, using real talent data to map your current brand position against the five profiles.

📌 CTA: Want to uncover your brand’s profile alignment and unlock smarter recruitment strategies? Get in touch!