Understanding Generation Z job seekers’ expectations and job pursuit intentions can help organizations successfully attract them. However, there is limited research on this, especially for the transition and emerging economies. With these issues in mind, this study focused on two main objectives: (1) to examine Generation Z job seekers’ expectations and their job pursuit intention (JPI) in a transition and emerging economy, with samples from Vietnam, and (2) to advance the understanding of instrumental and symbolic attributes in recruitment literature. We apply the interpretive research method to explore the hidden reasons behind generation Z job seekers’ expectations and intentions of their job pursuit. Multiple combining questionnaires and group discussions were conducted with Vietnamese final year students soon to enter the workforce. The results showed that the Vietnamese Generation Z pays more attention to the job/organization in terms of intangible attributes (e.g. office atmosphere or workplace ethics) than physical features. Our study also found that Generation Z considered instrumental organizational attributes and symbolic meaning of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Although some studies have examined the Generation Z expectation in the workplace, no studies investigated the JPI of Gen Z job seekers. In addition, most recent studies investigated the Generation Z expectation in the workplace without using any solid, theoretical foundation underpinning human resource management. Therefore, using an instrumental-symbolic framework in recruitment, our study adds to the literature by examining how Generation Z job seekers react to instrumental attributes and symbolic attributes.