Landing a first “real” job is a challenge for a lot of people. Most people don’t know what they want to do after graduation.  If they are lucky, they have the resources of a strong career services center at their school.

Others, rely on a variety of connections and hopefully land in a job where they can learn valuable skills and grow a career.

But what happens when you graduate during a tough job market? I’ve seen some rough trends for folks that graduate during a recession. Unemployment spikes during a recession (duh). But it hits young professionals especially hard. And it isn’t just a 1-2 year blip. When someone graduates can have a tremendous impact on the rest of their lives.

Unemployment for 20-24 year olds is (almost) always higher than for people 25-35. The difference is more pronounced during recessions. The delta between the two ages gaps spiked to an all time high during Covid. While it disappeared completely in January 2022 (RIP, ZIRP) - it quickly spiked back up.

There are a variety of reasons, but entry level positions are the easiest to cut when there is economic uncertainty. That has been the case for as long as there have been recessions. But this time feels different. Flexible work isn’t going away.  Managers don’t want to give up that freedom. Managing entry level employees is not an easy task virtually. And who knows how much AI and off/near-shoring is factoring into all of this.

What is the answer? I’m not 100% sure. It is a topic that will play out over the next few years. Guess what? We’ve got a video that dives deeper on the topic. Check it out!

—Matt Founder, CEO - Hirewell

The 10 Minute Talent Rant, Ep 82 "The Unique Sh*tstorm For Young Professionals"  

Remote on-the-job learning is hard. College loans are astronomically expensive. And no one knows what skills AI will make irrelevant (if any.)

Change is constant. But a lot of it at once is a lot to take in. Especially those just beginning their careers.

Jeff Smith and James Hornick didn’t play generational favorites but they did point out the obvious in episode 82 of The 10 Minute Talent Rant, “The Unique Sh*tstorm For Young Professionals“

THE RECAP

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Cracking the Career Code, Ep 19 "Enhancing Interview Success with Active Listening & Comfortable Silence"
Matt and Kierra explore the concept of active listening and the importance of gathering your thoughts during interviews. They share tips on leveraging active listening to showcase your engagement and demonstrate that you are the ideal candidate for the role by providing thoughtful answers to interview questions.