I wanted to share this video on “How to speak Gen Z” that my recruiting manager, Zach Jensen, from my office found. Zach is a millennial and his original comment was something like “I don’t get it!” Zach gets most everything; he’s a complete rock star in recruiting! So, this made me laugh out loud!
Check out the video and then I’ll break it down.
The Gen Z phrases in the video and their meaning:
- “Suh” – Hello (short for what’s up – or “whatsup”
- “Fam” – Friends – short for ‘family’
- “FamJam” – Family – short for I have no idea
- “The Fest was Lit” – It was a fun event
- “Okurrrrrrr” – Okay – which I’m assuming is OK – with some Cardi B “r” rolling at the end
- “I’m finna Dipset” – I’m getting ready to leave
- “Them kicks are drippin” – Those are some neat shoes (FYI – I’ve actually heard this exact statement in the wild with a Gen Z)
- “BET” – I would be glad to help – or another form of ‘sure’
- “Dudes took an L” – My favorite team lost
- “He little mad” – He seems upset
- “He big mad” – He seems very upset
- “No cap” – He’s not lying
- “Weird flex but okay” – That’s an interesting statement
- “Facts” – I completely agree with that statement
- “Yee Yee” – I agree
- “YEET” – That’s exciting news – or – excuse me – or – congratulations on your baby boy – or – basically anything. “YEET” is used for almost anything!
So, I have to be honest, I’ve actually heard about half of these in the wild many times, primarily from my 22-year-old son’s college baseball team. When you get 36 boys together between 18 and 22, this is basically much of their language between each other, not really with those older or younger than themselves.
So, how can we use some of these in HR for our young Gen Z employees?
Don’t. Just don’t ever use these with your Gen Z employees! Unless you write a talk for your CEO for something like a new employee orientation and you sprinkle some of these phrases in and tell her that the “fam” will love it! And while she might be big mad when she finds out you played this joke on her, it will be really funny! YEET!
This post first appeared on The Tim Sackett Project.