In today’s challenging job market, recent college graduates are finding it increasingly difficult to secure employment. Charlie Sakmar, a journalism graduate from the University of Nevada, Reno, spends his mornings scouring job sites like LinkedIn and Indeed in search of a public relations position. Despite his efforts, he often finds himself overshadowed by more experienced candidates.
Sakmar, who recently moved back with his parents in Las Vegas to cut costs, shares his frustrations: “But what I learned is that it seems like everyone is struggling right now, because even when I’m applying to places that should be entry level, I’m getting beaten out by people who have years of experience,” he said. Companies are slow to respond, leaving candidates like Sakmar uncertain about their status.
The job market is influenced by various factors, explains Monica Haynes from the University of Minnesota Duluth. She notes that AI, tariffs, and the aftermath of the pandemic are shaping the current employment landscape. She advises job seekers to be proactive, suggesting, “You are passionate about breaking into a certain field and whatever that might be you really have to do some diligent work, like reaching out with a personal request to someone at the firm and asking to do informational interviews or requesting to have coffee.”
Haynes highlights how tough the competition is, especially with large corporations like Amazon, Microsoft, and UPS laying off thousands. Amazon alone reduced its corporate workforce by about 4% earlier this fall.
According to research by the Burning Glass Institute, the surplus of college graduates paired with fewer entry-level roles has intensified job competition. The unemployment rate for young individuals with a bachelor’s degree rose to 6.2% in June, a slight increase from previous years, whereas those with less education have seen improved employment rates.
Some graduates, like Henry Dalton, find themselves underemployed. Despite holding a computer science and engineering degree from UNR, Dalton works part-time as a barista while continuing his job search. He’s submitted hundreds of applications without success, stating, “During my last semester of college, somewhere in the range of four to five hundred, since then probably about 100 to 200. But it’s definitely not unusual for people in the computer science field to apply to 1,000 before getting a job.”
Faced with $47,000 in student debt and no full-time job prospects, Dalton’s story is not unique among recent graduates. Meanwhile, Sakmar has accepted an unpaid internship at a Las Vegas concert venue, taking any opportunity to stay within his field. In his ongoing quest for employment, Sakmar has added ‘WILLING TO RELOCATE’ to his LinkedIn profile, demonstrating his readiness to move for the right job.
