The nation’s unemployment rate is slowly falling, but that doesn’t mean that the jobs picture is rosy. Just don’t tell the 75 million Millennials that are entering today’s workforce, finds a new study from I Love Rewards, an employee recognition firm with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Toronto and Experience Inc.

Nearly two-thirds of the 8,088 respondents expect to have a job within three months of graduation, and 91.7 percent see it only taking three to six months to land a position.

That may seem unreasonable given the current economic landscape and some may say that Millennials’ view of their job prospects might be overly optimistic. “The current climate is certainly challenging. That said, I don’t see evidence that Millennials’ expectations are “out of touch with reality”—they know it’s a tough economy, but they also know they have much to contribute,” says Jenny Floren, CEO and Founder of Experience Inc., a college career services website provider that reaches 4.2 million students and alums, and co-participant in the study. “Employers need new thinking to fuel innovation. The type of fresh ideas and perspective that Millennials bring is critically important. They are the future. They are naturally accustomed to the global landscape, uber-connected, tech-dependent, 24/7 world that we must all compete within, and the Millennials are the natives. They speak the language and have a lot to teach the rest of us about how we can adapt and stay relevant.”

Razor Suleman, CEO and founder of I Love Rewards, believes that the jobs market will be a competitive one for rising graduates, but adds that while “Millennials bring unique expectations to the workplace, they are also a well-educated generation that offers critical skills in high demand. Companies will want to add them to their workforce, and to do so they will have to become more aligned to their values and expectations.”

And what might those expectations be?

Just like their generational counterparts, Millennials rank salary as a top factor when considering future employment, with 44.7 percent projecting earnings of $25,000 to $49,000 and 30.8 percent expecting to start at the $50,000 to $74,999 range. These eye-popping figures come with a sense of commitment as 24 percent of respondents believe they’ll stay with their first employer for more than 10 years and 64 percent say they expect to work for two to five years in the same company.

That’s a sharp contrast to current Labor Department figures that show the average Millennial only stays with a first employer for 1.5 years. Their perceived impatience with traditional ladder-climbing methods—such as on-the-job learning and merit promotions—can be a detriment, especially early in their careers, says Miriam Quart, founder and owner of virtual marketing and public relations company Madison Avenue Consortium, based in New York City. “Millennials are an amazing generation, but they don’t really understand the value that comes with experience. They expect every opportunity to happen as soon as they’re ready for it, notwithstanding clients’ positions or current market conditions.”

One of the students quoted in the study’s results says “I believe that the older generations do look down upon the younger crowd because we have grown up in a disposable world and don’t take time to recognize how much harder they had it back before technology.”

Adds another, “older generations probably feel as if we’re less hard-working or committed to our jobs and that we possess a greater sense of entitlement. But they also probably feel as if we’re more creative and open-minded.”

It is the generational gap that employers should work diligently to bridge, urge Floren and Suleman. “By 2014, Millennials are predicted to make up 50 percent of the workforce. Recruiting, retaining, and inspiring them will be one of the greatest challenges growing and emerging companies will face in coming years,” they say. But employers, by embracing tools like social media, can conquer this demand of generations, the study suggests. By opting to recruit—and recognize—talent through various social media platforms, companies can keep Millennials more engaged. Add to that a more relaxed work environment, collaborative work spaces and access to the latest and fastest technologies and that goes a long way to retaining the younger generation. Finally, Millennials care about a company’s core values and commitment to give back to its community. “If I were given the choice of picking my own employer some of the things that I would consider would be … the moral values by which the company is guided and operates under,” says a student respondent. “And last, but not least, the work environment. A good relationship among employees [is key because] at the end of the day you can’t do all the work by yourself and that’s when the importance of teamwork sets in.”