Latest news with #newgraduates
Forbes
14-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why The Future Of Remote Work Is Still Local
Companies have settled on the hybrid model to embrace both the benefits of working from home and ... More maintaining company culture. While most workers remember a time when daily commutes were the norm, millions of people joined the job market since 2020, and all they have known – up until the return-to-office (RTO) movement – is working from home. According to the AI-powered education data company Admissionsly, there are approximately 4.16 million new graduates a year entering the job force. That means up to 20 million recent graduates only know working from home (WFH), remote work, or have never been to the office five days a week. If you asked me five years ago about WFH, I would have told you that companies would exclusively hire remote employees indefinitely. Companies' talent pools increased exponentially (literally to all 50 states) and included strong candidates from lower-cost-of-living areas. It was a gift that kept on giving: more candidates at a cheaper price. Plus, companies could save money by decreasing or eliminating their commercial real estate footprint. Companies may spend upwards of 20% of their revenue on office space and commercial property. Time is the one asset you can never get back. WFH gave people hours of their time back because they didn't have to commute to and from their offices. On average, remote workers save 55 minutes per day, according to the U.S. Career Institute, by eliminating their commute. That was extra time to work, spend time with their kids, or have breakfast and dinner in peace. Those small perks were vital during such a tough time. And, on a side note, imagine how much better it was for our climate that we didn't have thousands of cars sitting in traffic! Lastly, many people, ironically, felt a sense of freedom and excitement (discounting the fear of a killer virus) because they could work from anywhere. I know people who traveled the country in an Airstream, sometimes working in one state one day and another the next. Some people, primarily younger and without children, traveled the world working through VPNs. Many people and families decided to finally make the move to their dream home, which was usually out of the city and into more remote areas of the country. Well, my prediction in 2020 was wrong. On May 5, 2023, the RTO debate began when the World Health Organization officially declared the pandemic over. But was it ever a debate? The statistics say WFH wasn't as common as you might believe. It Seemed Like Everyone Was Working Remotely, Right? Except for first responders, I felt all private workers were WFH 100% of the time. Only about 7.3% of employed Americans were working remotely before the pandemic, according to George Washington University Professor Hilary Silver. However, by the end of 2020 – the height of the pandemic – the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated only 22% of US workers were working remotely 100% of the time. The Federal Bank of Atlanta estimated it was only 15% by January 2021. Many more were working partly from home. Gallup's June 2022 poll found 70 million, 56% of full-time employees, said they can do their job remotely. Another five in 10 (35 million) worked at home part of the time. A large portion of the U.S. working population was already working the hybrid model. WFH Versus RTO is a Corporate Culture Battle Culture is a collection of values, principles, and beliefs that a group of people share. Before the pandemic, our corporate culture was based on a straightforward social contract: you commute to the office Monday through Friday. You take paid time off or sick time when you're not in the office. Pretty simple. After the pandemic, what changed was not our expectation that we would have the ability to work remotely exclusively; instead, it was our understanding of what it means to work remotely. The question became: how many days a week are we going back into the office? How safe was it to have people crammed into an office at the same time, while there were still seasonal spikes in COVID cases? How could we create hygienic and safe work environments? The simple social contract we had pre-pandemic was not nullified. It was renegotiated. And my prediction that WFH and exclusively remote work was the future was inherently flawed. Cities are heavily reliant on workers commuting. I live in New York City, and the pandemic brought the five boroughs back to the 1980s. Small businesses shut down, restaurants were closed, and the theater district was decimated. NYC lost its soul and culture. The same goes for the other major cities in the U.S., especially San Francisco, which has only recently regained its normalcy. The commercial real estate industry is vital to the U.S. economy. If people aren't going to offices, leases are broken, and loans default, we would have another Great Recession. We need businesses to pay rent. Office space attracts commuters, who purchase breakfast and lunch from local businesses, who in turn pay taxes that support their local municipalities' infrastructure and growth. It's a positive feedback loop. And, most importantly, human interaction. Humans are social beings. Zoom and Teams meetings and happy hours saved our sanity in 2020 and 2021, but there's nothing more important to mental health than physically being around other people, whether you like them or not. Along those lines, CEOs of companies of all different sizes are using company culture as the main reason for creating RTO policies. I, professionally, believe that companies can only maintain, control, and enhance their cultures by having people in the office interacting, gossiping, brainstorming, and engaging in all the activities we were doing before 2020. I also professionally believe the company culture reason is being overused, abused, and twisted. The New Social Contract: The Hybrid Model As a recruiting professional, I can say that my recruiting strategy is back to where it was pre-pandemic: focusing on finding local candidates. I do executive recruitment and contingent staffing. Contingent staffing is a fancy term for temporary workers and contractors. Temporary and contract workers are the only subset of U.S. workers who can work remotely. This comes down to both cost and efficiency; temps and contractors are working on specific projects that have a beginning and an end. Companies engage contractors to help with projects that need to be completed without having to bring on permanent employees who require benefits, paid time off, and are eligible for bonuses. From an executive recruitment standpoint, I work primarily in financial services, so I can say that, based on empirical evidence, foreign banking organizations are my only clients that require their employees to be in the office five days a week. My fintech and crypto clients are the only ones that are open to fully remote employees. However, they are becoming less open to that option. They want people in the office. As a corporate culture, we have settled on a hybrid model, which we refer to as either two or three days a week in the office. The other days are WFH days. This is common across industries, as a Pew Research Center report in January indicated that 75% of survey respondents have employers who require some time in the office, and 72% of workers even indicated they prefer hybrid as opposed to working remotely full-time. Company culture only exists when people are in the office at the same time. Many companies have hybrid models that require employees to be in the office two or three days a week. It is useless and inefficient (and perhaps counterproductive) to have people come in on random days or whenever they choose. You are not building a company culture if employees come in on Mondays or Fridays to be on virtual calls all day. I highly recommend that, as you refine your RTO policy, you make sure that employees are in the office on the same days so they can interact in person, build relationships, maintain a healthy mindset through socialization, and get face time with executives who make decisions on promotions. Having people waste time commuting only to spend time doing what they could have done at home is going against the new corporate culture and social contract.
Daily Mail
28-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Surprising group are living in fear as they struggle to get hired despite strong job market
New graduates are struggling to find work despite recent data indicating a steady job market. For those graduating college it is the most difficult time in a decade to get that first foot on the career ladder, according to the latest figures. Young Americans are complaining that employers want years of experience even for entry level positions. Others are saying that they are having to apply for over 60 jobs before finally landing a tentative position. Overall national unemployment remains reasonably low at 4 percent, but this rises to 6.6 percent for new college graduates, Labor Department numbers show. The figures show a rise from the 6 percent unemployment rate for recent graduates the same time a year ago. It is part of a wider trend that has seen entry-level hiring fall by a staggering 17 percent since April 2019, according to data from LinkedIn. The bad news for new graduates comes despite a stronger-than-expected jobs report earlier this month which indicated that the labor market was holding steady amid the economic turbulence caused by President Donald Trump's tariffs. The economy added 139,000 jobs in May, above the Dow Jones estimate for 125,000. But despite the better than expected numbers, it was still a retreat in job growth from April, signaling remaining uncertainty about where the US economy is headed. Although young graduates tend to have a higher unemployment rate than those who have been in the workforce longer, the gap is only widening. The employment conditions for recent college graduates have 'deteriorated noticeably' in the first quarter of the year, according to a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This included college graduates aged 22 to 27 who have been in the workforce slightly longer. Unemployment for this group averaged 5.8 percent in the first three months of the year. That is the widest gap between young graduates and the broader population in 35 years, according to the study. Economists are blaming the general slowdown in hiring that is hitting new graduates hardest because layoffs for those already employed have remained low. This means it is harder for those without work to find it as companies look to tighten their belts in the face of economic headwinds. 'Businesses are hunkering down, and that creates a challenge for young workers entering the labor market for the first time,' Cory Stahle, an economist at jobs site Indeed, told the Wall Street Journal. Employers are less willing to take a punt on hires with less experience and thinner skill sets at the moment, Stahle explained. 'I'll think, "I could be good at this, but I haven't been given a shot yet,"' recent graduate Kirby Child told the Journal about her job search struggles. Child said one of the biggest barriers is that employers now want years of experience even for entry level positions. 'I don't have those three to five years of experience, and it feels really hard to get that,' the 22-year-old lamented. Zara Anwar, who graduated with Child from Lehigh University this year said she has applied for over 60 jobs before finally landing a position. However, her employer has pushed back her start date more than once. 'I worry for myself. I can only hope my job actually does start in August, but I truly don't know,' the cognitive science graduate told the publication. Guy Berger, director of economic research at the Burning Glass Institute think tank, agreed that a hiring slowdown is the biggest factor making it hard for graduates to find work. The situation could be even worse than the statistics let on since most of this year's college and high-school graduates are not yet registered in the unemployment statistics yet. The national unemployment level also managed to remain low in May because fewer people were registered in the workforce. The work habits of Gen Z — those born between 1997 and 2012 — are increasingly under scrutiny. Bosses are firing Gen Z in record time, a recent study revealed.
CTV News
17-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Young grads face a tough job market. Here's how to make your way in
Sandra Lavoy, regional director at employment agency Robert Half, seen in this handout photo, says networking is key for young graduates when looking for a job. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Robert Half *MANDATORY CREDIT* A slowing job market and economic uncertainty have made it harder for new graduates to get their foot in the door. 'It's a hard economy; it's a hard space to graduate into,' said Sarah Stockdale, founder and CEO of digital marketing certification platform Growclass. 'Even mid-career workers are struggling right now.' Canada's jobless rate rose a 10th of a point to seven per cent in May, the latest Statistics Canada labour force survey showed — the highest unemployment rate since 2016, outside of the pandemic years. The agency said young workers in particular are bearing the brunt of the tougher job market. However, experts say there are things new graduates can do to set themselves apart. Networking tops the list of recommendations for Sandra Lavoy, regional director at employment agency Robert Half. Lavoy recalled going to an event that could have been a great opportunity for new graduates to meet people higher up in the management chain. But the new graduates were nowhere to be found. Face-to-face interactions aren't happening as much with new grads, she said, as many continue to rely only on online forums and social media. The pandemic introduced online networking and Zoom interviews to a wider audience, changing the in-person interview norms for many young workers who previously may have had to meet in person. 'Networking is key to get to know the market and get to key hiring people,' Lavoy said. She suggested young grads go a little further and ask for one-on-ones with professionals from their fields or go for coffees, armed with questions about the job and what the companies could be looking for. Lavoy said job seekers can't rely on one method or the other — they need both in-person and online interactions to network effectively. Even with in-person meetings, Lavoy said, it's not as simple as being at an event, introducing yourself and shaking a few hands. 'Yes, that's important,' she said, 'but you need to follow up on your leads.' Lavoy said new grads need to take an extra step and ask for help from their connections to move forward. During followups, she suggested using statements such as: 'It was great meeting you ... Here's my resumé, if you know of somebody that could benefit from my skill set. I'm open to different environments.' Lavoy said cold emails with no followup don't do any good for job prospects either. 'Sending a resumé to somebody without a followup plan is not a plan.' Things like dressing right for in-person networking or alumni events count and show that you want a job, Lavoy said. 'You have 30 seconds to really impress somebody when you meet them,' she said. 'You don't go in with your Saturday comfortable outfits.' Stockdale said networking in professional settings shouldn't come across as transactional, such as showing up and passing people your business card. She suggested job seekers be more curious about other people's career journeys and seek mentorship. Having mentors from the industry you're hoping to break into can help you navigate the job market better, Stockdale said. For instance, she said, mentors could help decode what the job description means and what the company could be looking for better than someone new to the field. That insight can help you write a compelling cover letter instead of relying on artificial intelligence to write cover letters — which has been a growing trend lately, she said. Stockdale recalled reading two identical cover letters that came through for her marketing program. 'That will happen if you're just generically using AI tools to generate cover letters based on job descriptions,' she said. Applicants using AI-generated resumés and cover letters and even using a chatbot for help answering interview questions were some of the things both experts have noticed over the past few months. Lavoy said most employers are looking for an authentic person who would fit well into the company's culture. 'What's your passion? Explain to them that instead of just talking about you (having) this tool, that tool,' she said. 'Everybody has that.' Despite the efforts and making all the right moves, many new graduates are still finding it's not a guarantee to landing a job in their desired industry. Lavoy suggests getting any job while looking for a field-related gig. 'You need to be working,' she said. 'It's a lot easier to find a job when you're working and that is key.' Lavoy said she often recommends what she calls the 'grow' approach to her clients: gaining real-world experience through projects or something you did in school; short-term roles or even competing in debate teams. That would help build interpersonal skills when interacting and become a team player, she said. And will give confidence when pivoting careers. While the depressed job market continues to put young workers at a disadvantage, Lavoy said: 'Uncertainty when somebody graduates from university is normal.' She suggests younger workers stay focused on people skills, communication skills and technical skills — the core of what any company is looking for. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2025. Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Young grads face a tough job market. Here's how to make your way in
A slowing job market and economic uncertainty have made it harder for new graduates to get their foot in the door. "It's a hard economy; it's a hard space to graduate into," said Sarah Stockdale, founder and CEO of digital marketing certification platform Growclass. "Even mid-career workers are struggling right now." Canada's jobless rate rose a 10th of a point to seven per cent in May, the latest Statistics Canada labour force survey showed — the highest unemployment rate since 2016, outside of the pandemic years. The agency said young workers in particular are bearing the brunt of the tougher job market. However, experts say there are things new graduates can do to set themselves apart. Networking tops the list of recommendations for Sandra Lavoy, regional director at employment agency Robert Half. Lavoy recalled going to an event that could have been a great opportunity for new graduates to meet people higher up in the management chain. But the new graduates were nowhere to be found. Face-to-face interactions aren't happening as much with new grads, she said, as many continue to rely only on online forums and social media. The pandemic introduced online networking and Zoom interviews to a wider audience, changing the in-person interview norms for many young workers who previously may have had to meet in person. "Networking is key to get to know the market and get to key hiring people," Lavoy said. She suggested young grads go a little further and ask for one-on-ones with professionals from their fields or go for coffees, armed with questions about the job and what the companies could be looking for. Lavoy said job seekers can't rely on one method or the other — they need both in-person and online interactions to network effectively. Even with in-person meetings, Lavoy said, it's not as simple as being at an event, introducing yourself and shaking a few hands. "Yes, that's important," she said, "but you need to follow up on your leads." Lavoy said new grads need to take an extra step and ask for help from their connections to move forward. During followups, she suggested using statements such as: "It was great meeting you ... Here's my resumé, if you know of somebody that could benefit from my skill set. I'm open to different environments." Lavoy said cold emails with no followup don't do any good for job prospects either. "Sending a resumé to somebody without a followup plan is not a plan." Things like dressing right for in-person networking or alumni events count and show that you want a job, Lavoy said. "You have 30 seconds to really impress somebody when you meet them," she said. "You don't go in with your Saturday comfortable outfits." Stockdale said networking in professional settings shouldn't come across as transactional, such as showing up and passing people your business card. She suggested job seekers be more curious about other people's career journeys and seek mentorship. Having mentors from the industry you're hoping to break into can help you navigate the job market better, Stockdale said. For instance, she said, mentors could help decode what the job description means and what the company could be looking for better than someone new to the field. That insight can help you write a compelling cover letter instead of relying on artificial intelligence to write cover letters — which has been a growing trend lately, she said. Stockdale recalled reading two identical cover letters that came through for her marketing program. "That will happen if you're just generically using AI tools to generate cover letters based on job descriptions," she said. Applicants using AI-generated resumés and cover letters and even using a chatbot for help answering interview questions were some of the things both experts have noticed over the past few months. Lavoy said most employers are looking for an authentic person who would fit well into the company's culture. "What's your passion? Explain to them that instead of just talking about you (having) this tool, that tool," she said. "Everybody has that." Despite the efforts and making all the right moves, many new graduates are still finding it's not a guarantee to landing a job in their desired industry. Lavoy suggests getting any job while looking for a field-related gig. "You need to be working," she said. "It's a lot easier to find a job when you're working and that is key." Lavoy said she often recommends what she calls the "grow" approach to her clients: gaining real-world experience through projects or something you did in school; short-term roles or even competing in debate teams. That would help build interpersonal skills when interacting and become a team player, she said. And will give confidence when pivoting careers. While the depressed job market continues to put young workers at a disadvantage, Lavoy said: "Uncertainty when somebody graduates from university is normal." She suggests younger workers stay focused on people skills, communication skills and technical skills — the core of what any company is looking for. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2025. Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
4 financial tips for new grads kicking off their careers
Recent college graduates are facing a challenging job market. Ameriprise Financial vice president of financial planning and advice, Deana Healy, sits down with Brad Smith to outline her top four tips for new graduates starting their first jobs. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. New graduates are entering into one of the toughest job markets in recent history, with unemployment rates for recent grads hitting 5.8% compared to just 4% for all workers. So, it's a crucial time for young people to make smart financial moves. I want to bring in Deena Healy, who is the Amerprise Financial Vice President of Financial Planning and Advice. Great to have you here in studio with us. You have four pillars of advice for new graduates. Study your benefits, establish a strong credit history, develop a budget, and take advantage of uncertainty. So, let's start with benefits. Why is it important to study those benefits? It's an exciting time for new graduates into the workforce to think about what benefits they have. It's a great time to take a look what at what's offered, whether they have a 401k. This may be the first time that they've had access to a 401k. So, making sure that they can max out at least the employer match, but also looking at health insurance. This is probably the first time they've had to pay for health insurance. And then, what are the other benefits available to, to new grads into the workforce and taking advantage of what's offered to them. So, why is it also important to establish a credit history, and, I mean, this is really going to set folks up for life basically. It absolutely will. It will set the foundation. You think about your credit history and whether you're renting an apartment for the first time, whether you're buying a car, you're buying a house, all of those things will look at your credit history to determine whether you're a worthy risk. And so, if new grads, new folks into the workforce can manage to live within their means, making sure that they understand what their expenses are, and then, if they can start to think about, can they get a credit card to start to establish that credit history, making sure that they don't overcharge on that card and pay off the, the balances every month, that'll put them in a really solid foundation for future financial decisions that they may make. Yeah, that's great advice. Also, here, we know that you've got to develop a good budget, even if your funds are limited. So, how, how can you go about really setting the foundation there? Yeah, I think, first it's important to understand what you have to work, work with. What's your income? What are your expenses? I think the areas where you can run amok a little bit are eating out and spending a lot of money on going to restaurants or bars, and just focusing in on how much can you afford on a monthly basis for some of those extras, and trying to live within your means. That'll be super helpful. Now, young investors, how can they take advantage of uncertainty? I mean, there's been plenty of that permeating and, and really rattling around over the course of 2020 to 2025 in the first half of this year. Yeah. Absolutely. If I were a new graduate, while obviously the job, job market may be challenging, the volatility and the market uncertainty can play in their favor. They have a long time to invest. And so, when I think about saving into a 401k or saving into, uh, into the stock market, you're actually having the opportunity to dollar cost average. That means buying in over time, and if the market is down, you're buying things on sale essentially. So, if you were to go to Target and buy laundry detergent, and it's on sale two for one, you're going to buy two because it's cheaper, right? The same thing is happening with the stock market. If you're new into the market, you have plenty of time. This is, to me, exciting for you because you're buying in at potentially lower prices that long term, you'll see that long term appreciation. Going to ask you a bonus one here, uh, especially as we have even more of a mindset among younger folks, new graduates, who are looking across the gig economy, the influencer economy, and looking at the job market as well, and trying to say, okay, if I can't get into the job market right now, how do I start my own business and generate my own income? What is the best way that they can set a foundation for generating different streams of income as well over their careers? I think that's a great question, and certainly, owning a business is a way to generate wealth. What I would say is making sure you have good personal financial fundamentals, having a savings account, building up a cash reserve, understanding your expenses, understanding tax implications. All of those things will help you if you're thinking about starting a business, making sure you have some sort of foundation to protect the downside in the event that things don't go as planned. Great advice, Deena. Thanks so much for taking the time here with us in the studio. Thank you. Appreciate it.
