{"id":165730,"date":"2025-08-22T05:53:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T05:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/165730\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T05:53:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T05:53:16","slug":"college-graduates-struggling-to-find-jobs-have-plenty-of-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/165730\/","title":{"rendered":"College graduates struggling to find jobs have plenty of company"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Growing up as the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica, Stacey Watson didn\u2019t see herself in the characters of the books she read. Now 28, she wants to be a book editor who helps promote a more diverse range of story protagonists<\/a> so her nieces and other young people feel represented.<\/p>\n

But an entry-level job in publishing has proven elusive. Two years after earning her master\u2019s degree,<\/a> with four internships and several part-time jobs under her belt, Watson hasn\u2019t landed a full-time staff position. She lives with her parents<\/a> in Brooklyn to make ends meet.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re hoping every year is the year you can tell your parents, \u2018I got the full-time job, you don\u2019t have to worry about me anymore,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Watson\u2019s experience echoes the difficulties facing many job seekers who are trying to start their careers at a time when economic uncertainty has discouraged employers from adding staff and workers from leaving their jobs. <\/p>\n

The U.S. unemployment rate for college graduates<\/a> aged 22 to 27 has outpaced the joblessness rate for the general population since the coronavirus pandemic<\/a>. Many degree-holders<\/a> seeking their first jobs report spending months submitting applications. <\/p>\n

In a tight job market<\/a>, companies often choose more experienced candidates because they can, said Laura Ullrich, economic research director for job search website Indeed. \u201cQuit rates are low … and companies aren\u2019t hiring many people. So it\u2019s this stagnant environment where there\u2019s not a lot of room being created for these new grads.\u201d <\/p>\n

Below, career experts and candidates who landed jobs share how to persevere in the search.<\/p>\n

Building your network<\/p>\n

When some employers are using artificial intelligence to filter<\/a> through hundreds of resumes, having a connection within a company can help candidates by providing an introduction, experts say.<\/p>\n

An internship or part-time job can provide a starting point for building relationships with professionals in your chosen field. Alumni networks<\/a> and professional organizations are other avenues for meeting people.<\/p>\n

When Jennifer Moglia, 22, was interning in the music business, she made a spreadsheet to record the names of everyone she met during meetings, what they talked about and any interests she shared with them. She then looked them up on LinkedIn, the social networking platform, and requested time to meet one-on-one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI typically reached out to pretty much anyone that I had worked with, just to say, \u2018Hi, I\u2019m interning here. I would love to talk to you about your job if you have 30 minutes,\u2019\u201d Moglia said. \u201cI would just try to make it as easy as possible for them,\u201d saying, \u201c\u2018If your calendar is up to date, I could find a day and time that works. I can book the room.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The networking paid off. In the months before her college graduation, Moglia applied for 70 jobs, reaching out to contacts she\u2019d made to ask about vacancies. \u201cMost of the interviews that I got were for companies that I had connections at,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

After receiving two offers, Moglia now works as a venue marketing coordinator for Live Nation Entertainment in New York.<\/p>\n

Keep an open mind<\/p>\n

Consider looking for jobs outside your college major or ideal career path if there are way more than applicants than open positions in your area of choice. Your skills may be transferable to other fields and positions. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ask a lot of 40-year-olds, they\u2019re not working in the exact field they went to college for,\u201d Ullrich said. \u201cSo casting a wide net is smart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luke Sutton, 24, who graduated college in 2023 with a degree in dramatic writing, wanted to work in television, but a strike by Hollywood writers<\/a> halted hiring at studios and production companies as he began his search. Sutton applied for more than 1,000 jobs before getting one as a creative assistant at healthcare advertising agency Patients & Purpose.<\/p>\n

At times, he felt desperate. The hardest part was hearing nothing after filling out applications. \u201cMy head\u2019s sort of like spinning, like I just want to be able to eat. Is that too much to ask?\u201d Sutton recalled. <\/p>\n

He worked part-time jobs and kept an open mind, putting himself forward for a wide range of positions that involved writing and focusing on jobs with assistant in the title. His current role is not his dream job, but \u201cI\u2019m one of the lucky ones because I\u2019m doing at least something creative,\u201d Sutton said. <\/p>\n

Adapting to artificial intelligence<\/p>\n

As use of artificial intelligence<\/a> grows, employers are looking for people who understand how to use the technology and incorporate it into workflows, said Efrem Bycer, LinkedIn\u2019s head of workforce and climate policy partnerships. Because technology is shifting so rapidly, however, adaptability is also a sought-after skill. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat employers are going to want to know is, can you work through that change?\u201d Bycer said.<\/p>\n

Some employers are holding off on hiring entry-level workers because they\u2019re finding that some tasks can be done<\/a> by artificial intelligence, said Betheny Gross, research director at WGU Labs, the innovation arm of Western Governors University, an online school based in Utah. <\/p>\n

But AI can also be used to help bridge the experience gaps<\/a> of entry-level candidates. The university is offering virtual internships and apprenticeships that simulate scenarios workers would encounter on a job. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor the time being, the labor market is going to segment into people who understand what AI can do, are able to use it themselves, and understand the strengths and also limitations of it, and those who do not,\u201d Gross said. <\/p>\n

Give yourself grace<\/p>\n

One of the most important things to remember in a prolonged job search<\/a> is that you\u2019re not necessarily the reason it\u2019s taking a long time, said Peter Cappelli, a management professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. If new would-be workers are feeling discouraged, \u201cI think the big thing for them and for their parents is to recognize, this is not your kid\u2019s fault.\u201d<\/p>\n

Securing a job since she was laid off from a nonprofit organization in May has been a brutal process for Aileen Ryan, 23, who has supported herself and helped her mother pay bills since she finished high school. <\/p>\n

None of her 400 applications has brought an offer. Out of the 70 contacts Ryan sent messages to on LinkedIn, only three replied; one of them wrote, \u201cI wish I could help, but my best recommendation is to pray.\u201d<\/p>\n

With her unemployment benefits and student loan deferment<\/a> set to end in December, Ryan plans to move in with her mom, if she doesn\u2019t have a job, ideally in the nonprofit sector, by then. Nevertheless, Ryan keeps going because she has to, she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know what I have to offer and I\u2019ve worked really hard to get to this point,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cI also know what I want for myself, and I\u2019m just going to keep going until I get to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Share your stories and questions about workplace wellness at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>. Follow AP\u2019s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/be-well<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Growing up as the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica, Stacey Watson didn\u2019t see herself…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":165731,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[95334,738,3384,64,7824,95333,65,95332,420,63,12229,606,95331,1165,95330,95329,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-165730","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jobs","8":"tag-aileen-ryan","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-be-well","11":"tag-business","12":"tag-coronavirus","13":"tag-efrem-bycer","14":"tag-information-technology","15":"tag-jennifer-moglia","16":"tag-jobs","17":"tag-jobs-and-careers","18":"tag-jwd-evergreen","19":"tag-labor","20":"tag-laura-ullrich","21":"tag-lifestyle","22":"tag-luke-sutton","23":"tag-stacey-watson","24":"tag-united-states","25":"tag-unitedstates","26":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115070868119029068","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}