Why Gen Z Trust People, Not Brands with Alex McVeigh from She Graduates

For years, employer brand teams have focused on polishing messages, refining careers pages and optimising campaigns to stand out in crowded markets. But as Gen Z moves further into the workforce, many of those playbooks are starting to show their age.

In a Sydney edition of the VMJPod Employer Brand Series, David Macciocca and Brie Mason sat down with Alex McVeigh, founder of She Graduates and a long-time employer brand leader, to explore what is changing and why trust has become the defining factor in talent attraction today.

With more than 15 years of experience spanning Deloitte, Deutsche Bank, Commonwealth Bank and Alinta Energy, Alex has seen employer branding evolve from the inside. What she is seeing now feels less like an incremental shift and more like a reset.

A new generation, a different relationship with brands

Gen Z is not rejecting work or employers. They are questioning how information is presented and who they can trust.

As Alex explains, attention is harder to earn, but not impossible. “Attention spans are ever decreasing,” she says, “but people are willing to engage with longer-form content if it’s really speaking to them.” The implication for employer brand teams is clear. It is no longer about producing more content, but about producing content that feels relevant and human.

That shift is also changing how polished employer branding is perceived. “I think slick content is kind of on the way out,” Alex says. “You can tell when something has gone through the brand machine, when it looks very shiny and perfect.” In an environment where audiences are increasingly sceptical, perfection can feel manufactured rather than credible.

Trust, AI and the decline of traditional employer messaging

The rise of AI has added another layer of complexity to employer branding. Candidates are no longer certain what is real, what is automated and what has been curated for effect.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty about what’s real and what’s not,” Alex explains. “Trust in traditional brands and traditional news outlets is really declining.” As a result, corporate messaging is no longer the default source of truth for many jobseekers.

Instead, people are gravitating towards sources that feel unfiltered. “We’re seeing an explosion in the influence of peer-to-peer marketing,” Alex says. “That’s going to really influence our space.” Employer brand credibility is now shaped as much by what others say about an organisation as what the organisation says about itself.

How candidates are researching employers today

Search behaviour has changed dramatically, particularly for younger audiences. Rather than clicking through multiple websites, candidates are increasingly asking direct questions of AI tools.

Alex notes that the questions themselves are not new. “They’re probably asking the same things they would have asked friends or family,” she says. “Is this a good place to work? Where is the best place to work in my industry? Where is a good place to work for women?”

What has changed is where answers are being pulled from. “You’re seeing more content being drawn from places like Reddit, forums and Glassdoor,” Alex explains, “because it’s peer-to-peer and it’s seen as more trustworthy.” For employer brand teams, this means influence extends well beyond owned channels.

Why advocacy has become the strongest lever

In a low-trust environment, advocacy has become the most powerful tool available to employer brand teams.

“If I was starting from scratch and had absolutely nothing,” Alex says, “I would just focus on advocacy.” That belief is grounded in the idea that real experiences carry more weight than branded narratives.

Advocacy is not a new concept, but its importance is accelerating. “It’s only becoming more critical rather than going anywhere in this new world,” Alex explains. Employees, not campaigns, are increasingly shaping how organisations are perceived.

Social media is no longer optional

Social media was once a signal that an organisation was progressive or experimental. That is no longer the case.

“Previously, social media was more of a nice to have,” Alex says. “Now, it’s really table stakes.” For Gen Z in particular, absence from social platforms often equates to invisibility.

TikTok plays a central role in this shift. “TikTok is the number one search platform for Gen Z,” Alex explains. “That’s crazy, but it’s true.” As trust in careers sites declines, social platforms are becoming the primary discovery channel for employer brands.

Getting comfortable with imperfection and risk

One of the biggest barriers to social-first employer branding is organisational discomfort.

“I’ve been in big corporates. I know what it’s like,” Alex says. Brand teams are often wary of content that feels unpolished, unscripted or hard to control.

To move forward, Alex suggests creating space to experiment. “Grad is always a great place to try this stuff,” she explains. “Companies tend to get more leeway when they’re doing something different there.” Others may turn to third parties or partners to test new approaches without placing pressure on internal teams.

Virality versus value

Despite the obsession with viral metrics, Alex is clear that virality is rarely the right goal in employer branding.

“Virality is not really the goal, especially when you’re targeting a niche audience,” she says. Smaller, highly engaged communities often deliver more meaningful outcomes.

“What matters is reaching the right eyeballs,” Alex explains. “A video seen by a million people isn’t important if they’re the wrong audience.” Employer branding has always been about attraction and deterrence, and that principle still applies on social platforms.

What success really looks like on social

Most employer brand content on social sits at the top of the funnel, and expectations need to reflect that.

“The majority of what we’re doing on social is brand building,” Alex says. “I wouldn’t expect people to take action straight away.” Social platforms are not job boards, and treating them as such undermines their purpose.

“You can’t just post and say, ‘Apply for our job,’” she adds. “That’s not how social works.” The goal is familiarity and trust, built over time through consistent exposure.

Paid social and the real cost comparison

Organic reach alone is no longer enough to cut through.

“You have to pay to play,” Alex says. “That’s just the way the platforms are set up.” The upside is precision and scale at relatively low cost.

Alex puts the numbers into context. “For something like a $5,000 spend, you could be reaching over 100,000 people at a decent frequency,” she explains. Compared to careers fairs, where organisations may spend similar amounts for limited interactions, the efficiency gap is stark.

Why organisations struggle to let go of old tactics

Despite the data, many organisations continue to invest heavily in traditional channels.

“It’s what they’ve always done,” Alex says. “No one questions it.” There is also a strong element of fear. “If you change something in a grad cycle and it doesn’t work, that’s a big risk.”

This hesitation is often driven by habit and FOMO rather than evidence. But as Alex notes, holding onto familiar tactics can prevent teams from reallocating budget to more effective channels.

From applications to relationships

High application numbers no longer guarantee success.

“We’re being overwhelmed with applications,” Alex explains, “but it’s because people are applying to ten times more places.” The real challenge is not attraction, but commitment.

“It’s about making sure they actually choose you at the end of the day,” she says. Employer brand plays a critical role in building that relationship over time, long before an offer is accepted.

Influencer thinking in employer branding

Influencer marketing may feel unfamiliar, but Alex reframes it as trusted expertise, not popularity.

“An influencer is a third-party trusted voice,” she explains. “Someone your audience already looks to.” That influence can come from external creators or internal employees who speak authentically about their work.

Advocacy remains the foundation. “Nothing is going to be more valuable than that,” Alex says. The organisations that learn how to support and scale these voices will be better positioned to earn trust in a crowded market.

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