In our new book The M-Factor we help leaders understand how best to recruit, retain, manage, and motivate this next great generation.  We believe that the events and conditions that happen during the formative years of a generation shape who they will become as employees. Here are three of our favorite facts that we think employers should know:

79 percent of college freshman were accepted by their No. 1 college.

Many Millennials are used to getting what they want. College freshmen born around 1991 grew up in a time when things were plentiful, and most aren’t willing to settle for less than the best. Even in a down economy, we find that Millennials are still being choosy about which entry-level job is right for them. And if they can’t find it, rather than settle for less, many are opting for alternatives like travel or grad school.

Smart employers are realizing that, while the economy may be buying them time, Millennials are not going to fundamentally change in the long run. If you want to attract and keep the best and the brightest, you still need to show Millennials why you should be their number one choice.

48 percent of college freshman graduated from high school with an A- or better grade point average.

Millennials are a generation of over-achievers. Whether in the classroom or on the playing field, they like to succeed. We often hear from managers of Millennials that the first time they gave their new hire a bit of criticism, the tears started rolling. For many Millennials, their initial review at work is the first time they have been told that they aren’t perfect. But before you call them babies, let’s remember how they’ve been raised. In an age of grade inflation and parents who raised them during the self-esteem movement, Millennials aren’t used to hearing that they aren’t “all that.”

Of course employers will need to coach them and even criticize at times. However, we suggest that you use self-evaluations first, so that Millennials have a chance to think about how they have been doing. This also will give managers a heads up about where their opinions don’t match their employees’. Of course, for a generation who thrives on success, don’t forget to tell Millennials when they are doing A work.

53 percent have borrowed to attend college.

It’s not a surprise to most people that Millennials are destined to be the generation in the deepest debt as they enter the workplace. Before Millennials have bought a house or had kids, many are already facing huge debt. The culture of borrowing in which the Millennials were raised has definitely shaped their personal and professional lives. Most Millennials are not afraid of living beyond their means, and many do not even have hope that they will ever be completely debt free. Millennials didn’t let debt stop them from choosing the right college.

Therefore, when they enter the workplace, they will also put other factors before money. Many are willing to pay be paid less if it means having the right job. Remember to focus on benefits other than salary, such as meaningful work and opportunities to give back.

Lynne C. Lancaster and David Stillman are nationally recognized public speakers, generational experts, and coauthors of THE M-FACTOR: The Definitive Guide to the Millennial Generation in the Workplace. They are the founders and principals of BridgeWorks (www.generations.com), a consulting firm that specializes in educating organizations about the four distinct generations at work and identifying ways to bridge the gaps.

Almost always, recruiters work for employers not job seekers. A typical misconception is that although many recruiters can and often do offer career advice, technically they’re working for the other side. You don’t want to convey to them a lack of confidence about your job quest because a) they’re not your confessor and b) they must have confidence in you to present you to an employer.

Of course, you want their advice, because without them you may not get through the front or side doors of your target employer or field. And they can provide you with valuable insights into a company’s culture and management. Not surprisingly, the number one question recruiters hear from job seekers is how often should I contact you?

It’s not obvious – there are no rules. The toughest lesson that anyone from an executive to an entry-level job seeker needs to learn is when to ping a recruiter and when to keep your distance. “I don’t think there’s a scenario where you should call a recruiter every three days,” cautions Kim Bishop, senior partner at Korn Ferry in New York.

On the one hand you want to balance appearing interested with a need to not seem overly eager or desperate. If you ping them too often, they might dislike you despite the obvious charms of your qualifications.

What are the best times to touch base with a recruiter? Bishop recommends that job seekers:

• Share changes in your resume or employment status
• Share changes in your contact information
• When you win an award or accomplish something that improves your marketability
• When you’re thinking of making a career change

In the heat of a job search, many job seekers grow anxious about reaching “their” recruiter. Yet, unlike busy housing markets where pre-qualified buyers work closely with realtors to pounce on newly listed homes, Bishop says that jobs are rarely filled that quickly. “When we work with clients it’s a detailed process where we’re spending time with them, learning more about the position, the role and who it reports to. We’re writing job specifications with the client. And we tell the client there’s a period of time that it takes to spend in the market contacting [candidates], interviewing people. It would be very rare that we need people tomorrow afternoon.”

Loyalty is yet another confusing part of relationships between job seekers and recruiters. “It’s always a good thing to build your network,” says Bishop. “It’s good to have relationships with multiple recruiters – everybody working on different projects and opportunities. Be targeted about who you are reaching out to.” In other words you might work with one recruiter who is tied into consumer packaged goods or another one with deep connections in financial services. But you probably won’t ask both of them out to coffee at the same time.

There’s one unobtrusive way to stay on a recruiter’s radar screen without bothering them. Recruiting firms often offer confidential résumé tracking services that enable job seekers to log in and update their changes directly. This is an important touch point because the recruiters are notified when updates occur, particularly when you have already been flagged as a possible candidate in a field that coincides with one of their client’s needs. “It ensures that we have your most up to date information and it ensures that all of the partners will have access to your info,” says Korn Ferry’s Bishop.

Finally, how do you know if you’re having a relationship with a recruiter? “You won’t build a relationship with everyone,” concedes Bishop. But if you hear back from the recruiter every now and then, that’s a pretty good indication of where things stand.

“Success, defined as business achievement, comes to a wide range of people. For some, it has little correlation to their classroom successes,” writes Guarino in his new book, Smart is Not Enough!

Of course, the prevailing wisdom is that academic performance is a proxy for the ability to learn new skills, even though it’s no guarantee of future success. Are there a lot of underachieving former valedictorians in our midst? (A brief look at some of the research in this area shows mixed results with regard to linking academic performance, academic testing and future success.)

Guarino highlights the business efficacy of academic underachievers. “When it comes to talent, the world is round with two very important poles – the North Pole, where the top-ranked academic achievers are found, and the South Pole, where the bright and savvy winners are found.”

It’s not an anti-intellectual rant; Guarino argues that companies should hire a mix of North and South Pole types. We have all known some ‘South Pole’ people who have achieved far beyond what their teachers and perhaps their friends may have expected of them. We admire people who overcome long odds and push forward with new ideas – that’s the hallmark of many innovators and entrepreneurs.

Will other recruiters be persuaded by Guarino’s thesis that ‘South Polers’ are an underappreciated talent pool?

Typically it’s unhappy employees that seek new opportunities. Apart from these active job seekers, most employed workers are considered “passive” job candidates who may leave if the right opportunity finds them. Frankly, the grass is often greener elsewhere.

To help nudge talented, yet passive job candidates to test the waters, a Silicon Valley startup has identified sponsors willing to pay top candidates up to $500 or more for an interview. NotchUp, as it is known, hopes that this incentive will entice talented workers to forsake job boards and recruiters.

For employers, paying $500 for an interview is a relative bargain compared to the cost of job board ads and recruiters.

The radical part of the business model is the disintermediation (which is to say eliminating) of middlemen in the talent supply chain -job boards and recruiters.

I asked several recruiters I met on LinkedIn to share their views about NotchUp vs. a recruiter.

“I’m looking at building a relationship with a candidate,” says Heather Gardner, a recruiter at Volt Services Group. “And that’s more important than a job posting. Sometimes the best candidates have a crappy resume. And when I talk to them I discover hidden jewels. Plus a resume doesn’t tell you what their ultimate goals are. I think in my job I’m sort of a professional matchmaker too.”

Krista Bradford, Principal, The Good Search, is a bit skeptical about the concept. “I doubt mid or senior level executives and technologists will be motivated to interview at a company purely for the amount of coin that is being thrown to them,” says Bradford. “Also, this reminds me of a rule we had in my former career as an investigative journalist: never to pay for interviews. The reason? You couldn’t tell whether someone was saying something because you paid them or because it was the truth. The same could possibly apply to NotchUp. Is someone interviewing because they’re genuinely interested or because they’re motivated by the ka-ching? ”

Bradford suggests that employers should “take a different route, which, from my perspective, is far more direct. Identify the best people. Recruit them to the best opportunities. Done.”

But money talks and if NotchUp produces results, it may well catch on. On NotchUp, like Priceline, job candidates get to name their price and most choose $200 to $500 per interview. Of course, naming your price doesn’t guarantee you an interview.

If a job candidate receives an interview, they earn money regardless of whether they receive a job offer. In a viral-style move aimed at building the site’s traffic, members can earn a 10 percent referral fee if a job candidate they invite to join is interviewed.

The fine print of the NotchUp terms of service includes this yellow flag: “You agree to hold NotchUp harmless for any failure by the Company to pay the Interview Fee. The Interview Fee is the sole responsibility of the Company. Your sole recourse for non-payment of the Interview Fee is to contact the Company.”

If you give this a try, let us know how it turns out for you.

Yet, when it comes to recruiting “creatives,” that is, problem-solvers and innovative thinkers, size alone is not enough of a draw. The companies that gather the most global talent are applying creativity to the recruitment process itself.

I sat through an illuminating presentation at the Human Capital Institute Summit by the head of recruiting for industry leader Electronic Arts, a video game software company that has chalked up $2.85 billion in revenue while its expanding its operations to 22 countries.

“Innovation is the penultimate skill we need at EA – more than any other thing,” says Jeff Hunter, EA’s head of recruiting. Hunter, who is a terrific blogger both on his own and for Simply Hired, concedes that EA’s stature sometimes undermines its appeal to global talent. “It turns out that creatives don’t want to work for the 800 pound gorilla – they want to work for a smaller company and have more say,” adds Hunter.

When the company attempted to ramp up talent in the UK to develop its next Harry Potter game, they were in search of 60 new people. This meant they needed to lure talent away from their competitors. Someone at EA found a list of local creative talent and sent out invitations to a beer party in London. “We expected 400 people but only 50 showed up,” he recalls. They hired no one.

EA regrouped and considered that perhaps its competitors were discouraging their talented employees from attending the event. Someone had a bright idea though – invite EA’s competitors to attend the next event. And not only that, says Hunter, “We gave our competition higher billing.” They even made their list of local talent available to their competitors.

At the collaborative event, 1,000 prospects showed up, says Hunter. Following a free exchange of ideas between the game developers, EA walked away with 50 new hires. The upshot? If you want to hire creatives, try something fresh and counterintuitive. But don’t forget the beer.