Two-thirds of college graduates are stressed because of tight job market – how to stand out from the crowd, says career counselor who has advised thousands – NBC Connecticut

The class of 2025 is just beginning their final year of study, but is already skeptical about their career prospects after graduation.

A majority, 57 percent of aspiring seniors, are pessimistic about their future career plans – last year, this figure was only 49 percent. — according to a new report from Handshake, the college career resource, based on responses from 1,925 students who will graduate with a bachelor's degree in 2025 were surveyed between June 14 and July 5.

Rising seniors cite the tight job market as the main reason for their pessimism, and nearly two-thirds say competition for entry-level jobs is a stressor to their overall post-graduation prospects.

At Handshake, job creation has slowed this year compared to 2023 levels, consistent with national patterns of job openings and hiring.

As a result, students in the class of 2025 are applying for more jobs. Today's seniors have submitted, on average, 24% more applications per job than students in the class of 2024 did at the same time last year.

“I applied for over 100 jobs before I got my current internship. And I think applications for full-time positions start very early,” said a finance student in the class of 2025, according to the Handshake report. “Some companies are already making offers to students who will graduate in spring 2025. I'm going through the process at one company right now and it's going well, but if that doesn't work out, I'll start applying for as many jobs as I can.”

In addition, students say their worries about student loan debt, the November election, and generative AI are clouding their outlook for the years after college.

However, “even though they're pessimistic in the short term, they're still optimistic about their careers in the long term,” says Christine Cruzvergara, senior education strategy officer at Handshake. “So it's about helping them overcome that initial hurdle. How do we get them to even start?”

How to stand out in a competitive job market

According to Cruzvergara, one of the best ways for students to gain a foothold in a competitive market is to expand their range of roles.

Take a computer science student who originally wanted to work for a technology company. She says, “The number of tech jobs has dropped by about 20,000 this year compared to last year. So instead of going into the tech industry, you might think about what other industries you could go into where you can still use your tech skills.”

Many students who originally wanted to work for a technology company have focused on jobs in public service and healthcare, according to Handshake's data. These industries are considered stable and are constantly hiring.

“Secondly, start building networks and making sure you actually meet people in your field, whether they hold the job you want” or are in an industry you're just exploring, Cruzvergara advises.

However, she warns against applying for too many different positions, as this could lead to burnout.

“Make sure you're clear about what interests you, where your skills lie and what types of jobs you're applying for,” Cruzvergara advises. “Once you've figured that out, be sure to apply to as many jobs as possible that meet those criteria.”

Mass, random applications “will catch up with you later,” she adds. “Even if you end up getting an interview, you're probably not going to do a good job if you haven't thought about some of the things I just mentioned.”

Student loan repayment is back on the table

The job market is not the only thing that worries the class of 2025.

Federal student loans are back in the conversation after years of suspension, and about half of today's college graduates say their student debt is a major source of stress. That share increases among women, black students and first-year students with student loans.

Students in debt prefer employers that offer assistance with loan repayment. Cruzvergara says more and more employers are offering this benefit because young people are pushing for it.

Nearly 9% of jobs posted on Handshake last year offered student loan repayment assistance as an employee benefit. This is most common in government jobs, where 18% of jobs offer student loan repayment assistance, followed by jobs in healthcare (14%), nonprofits (9%), and education (6%).

Students believe the November election will impact their careers

More and more college students are applying for jobs in the public sector because they offer job security. On the other hand, many are also concerned about the influence of elected officials on their future.

Almost half (46%) of students in the class of 2025 believe the election will impact their careers.

It is worth noting that the poll closed in early July, before the assassination of former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden's termination of his re-election campaign, and the nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee.

“This generation places a high value on representing values ​​in the areas of stability, economics, climate change and mental health,” Cruzvergara says, and students are well aware of the impact each candidate could have on their work in these areas.

Students realize that “no matter what field people work in, there will be some ripple effects” in terms of the impact of national policies on their jobs, she says.

Long-term optimism

And while today's students regularly use generative AI, they are concerned about the impact on their jobs. Students in the class of 2025 do not believe generative AI will increase productivity, create jobs, or make hiring more equitable. A majority (70%) believe generative AI needs to be more tightly regulated.

Cruzvergara says that pragmatic view could be beneficial: “I feel like this class and those that follow are going to be the ones that are really going to lead our country and think about what that regulation should look like,” she says. “It's an opportunity for employers to seriously think about hiring people from this class who have both ethical and moral convictions and want to grapple with some of these bigger issues.”

Despite their short-term concerns, the class of 2025 graduates are overall ambitious about their future: 61% are very interested in leading a team one day, 48% want to work as a manager in a company, 47% want to start their own business, and 46% hope to go back to school later.

They are open to new paths and understand the value of developing new skills in the face of changing industries and needs: 43% expect to work in the same type of job for most of their careers, while another 38% say they are likely to redirect at least once during their career.

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