MeetingMentor Magazine

September 2025

5 Fun Ways to Engage Gen Z

From apps and games to career days and job fairs, here are a few ways to grab the attention of the newest additions to the work force.

Now that Gen Z is joining their Millennial peers as members of the professional work force, the race is on to attract their attention toward considering a career in the profession supported by your meeting or event.

But how do you get the attention of this notoriously difficult-to-engage generation — and perhaps entice them to consider your chosen professional focus and attend your meetings and events into the future?

Encourage them to up their game. Traditional social media is almost passé for many Millennials and Gen Zers. Now digital gaming is becoming their primary social space — nearly three-quarters of Gen Zers are anticipated to participate in some form of digital gaming by 2027. So why not meet them where they live and create an app or digital game centered on the profession your meeting or event supports?

That’s what manufacturing giants Rockwell Automation and PTC did a few years ago. Manufacturing in general has long had a difficult time recruiting the next generation to work in factories and other manufacturing facilities, having to overcome outdated perceptions of the industry as unwelcoming work spaces with low pay and few opportunities for advancement, rather than the high-tech, career-focused environments they are today. The two companies teamed up to create a free smart manufacturing comic book app that lets the next generation explore the reality of modern manufacturing through a kid-friendly comic-book design and augmented reality. Users enter the game to experience what it’s like to solve real problems — in this case, role-playing a superhero trying to build a drone — from creating the initial design through assembly and quality testing, along with troubleshooting challenges along the way.

Meeting and event organizers can integrate the game into their event app, as well as make it available for exhibitors, sponsors and participating companies and organizations to share on their websites’ career opportunities section, as well as through the below opportunities.

Hold a job fair. Partner with local high schools and colleges to showcase your profession during a job fair held in conjunction with your event — what better way to provide education about all the facets of the profession, as well as give attending companies, sponsors and exhibitors the change to showcase career opportunities available to graduating students and those who are early in their careers.

Organize a career day at a local school. While high schoolers may not yet be ready to commit to a profession, it’s never too early to educate youth about career opportunities. Ask speakers, VIPs and other top examples of the profession who are already in the area to attend your meeting if they would be willing to hold a session at a local school to teach about the different career paths available in your specific field.

Host a tour. You likely have several local businesses in your host destination that plan to send employees to your show. Invite them to work with you to organize a tour of the facility to give job-seeking participants, and even local college and high school students, a chance to meet some of the working professionals at various different points in their careers. Your host destination marketing organization (DMO) can help connect you with local businesses, organizations, schools and facilities.

Organize an alumni day. Ask local attendees and/or the DMO to help you locate local high school and college alumni to come in for an alumni day where they can meet with the next generation and give them the low-down on their career. The local connection can make it feel more comfortable for Gen Z and Millennials to approach, ask questions and see for themselves what a career in that profession entails. They may even find a local mentor to help them get to the next steps in their careers — and give them a taste of what a meeting dedicated to that profession can provide.

Image from Freepik.com

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About ConferenceDirect
ConferenceDirect is a global meetings solutions company offering site selection/contract negotiation, conference management, housing & registration services, mobile app technology and strategic meetings management solutions. It provides expertise to 4,400+ associations, corporations, and sporting authorities through our 400+ global associates. www.conferencedirect.com

About MeetingMentor
MeetingMentor, is a business journal for senior meeting planners that is distributed in print and digital editions to the clients, prospects, and associates of ConferenceDirect, which handles over 13,000 worldwide meetings, conventions, and incentives annually. www.meetingmentormag.com