It is difficult for fresh graduates in the United States to find jobs: It is difficult to find a job even with a double degree

It’s graduation season again, and American college students are also worried about finding jobs.

On TikToK, a girl named Santos cried as she shared her sad job-hunting experience: she has a double degree from Pace University in New York and speaks three languages, but after she sent her resume to many companies, no one was interested.

“It’s hard to find even part-time jobs that don’t pay much per hour,” Santos said devastated.

Ordinary college students are crying and looking for jobs, and graduates from prestigious universities are not having a smooth job search. The New York Times reported that a master’s degree graduate from the Department of Mathematics at New York University sent out 400 resumes, but received 40 rejection letters and did not get a single interview opportunity.

American college students have found it difficult to find a good job in the market after graduation this year. At the same time, employers are increasingly demanding new graduates.

A recent survey by LendEDU, a US financial consumer website, found that more than half of American college students are pessimistic about their job prospects.

The Washington Post also reported that although the unemployment rate of fresh graduates in the United States has been lower than that of other groups since 1990, the gap has widened again after the epidemic. In the view of this media, young people in the United States are paying for the “aftermath of the epidemic.”

Resume fell into oblivion

Lucas, 22, graduated from Saint Mary’s College in California, majoring in political science and communications. He believes that his college life was rich and excellent enough: a near-perfect GPA, multiple internships, and experience representing the US team in cross-country running.

Until the job market poured cold water on it.

Lucas has applied for hundreds of jobs, only to receive a bunch of rejection letters.

“I had high hopes for my future, but the reality was not ideal,” said Lucas, who still actively sends out resumes every week, but has not received any satisfactory responses. Even the two positions of receptionist and car rental agent, which he felt were below his level, rejected him.

Not only liberal arts students, but also graduates of science and engineering find it harder to find jobs than before.

“It’s really hard,” said Christian, 24, who graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in electrical engineering. ” Even entry-level engineering jobs require four or five years of experience, and I can’t compete right out of college, so I’m still living at home and still looking for a job,” he said.

On the social media Reddit, a post titled “Why is it so hard to find an entry-level job?” reflects the difficulties faced by current American graduates in the job search process.

A student with a double degree in economics and mathematical analysis, who goes by the username Rapadapto, has applied to more than 500 positions this year but has received few responses, or sometimes no responses at all.

Rapadapto complained that it was difficult for today’s graduates to get a job in the industry.

“I do not have any professional work experience, but I have worked 3 to 4 clerical jobs during my internship and acquired many skills throughout my academic career. I believe I will adapt well to the professional environment, but this market just doesn’t give me any breakthrough opportunities. I don’t understand why my current boss would reject a college student with a bachelor’s degree? Am I really not suitable for employment now?” said Rapadapto.

Employers: Don’t want to hire fresh graduates

Graduates complain that they cannot find jobs, while employers believe they do not meet market requirements.

Forbes magazine reported that some employers interviewed complained that today’s fresh graduates have various problems during interviews, such as inappropriate dressing, lack of eye contact, refusing to turn on the camera during online interviews, and even worse, bringing their parents to the interviews.

In a media survey, 38% of American employers chose to avoid hiring recent college graduates as much as possible, and about 58% of managers, directors and company executives said that this group of young people are unprepared to enter the workplace.

“In fact, there are reasons for these problems. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, college education in the past two years has been basically conducted remotely, and social and career development have been disrupted, ” explained Diane Gayeski, a professor at Ithaca College in New York, USA.

A research report by LendEDU shows that more than two-fifths of American college students believe that college has not taught them enough work skills in the past two years, nor has it prepared them mentally before entering the workplace.

“We’re seeing more and more students getting frustrated with their job search, it’s becoming harder to get interviews, and we’re seeing fewer students coming to us for job search advice,” said Suzanne, vice provost for academic affairs at the University of California, Irvine.

Hallek, director of the Yale University Career Development Center, also pointed out that he felt that students had significantly fewer opportunities in the past two years.

Even Princeton University, which has the best employment situation in the United States, has seen its graduate employment rate gradually decline in recent years. According to survey data provided by the university this year, more than half (53%) of undergraduate graduates in liberal arts majors have not found a job, while the employment situation of science and engineering majors is obviously better, with only 25.4% not finding a job, but 28.9% of students are still dissatisfied with their jobs.

△Source: Princeton University official website

Post-pandemic, the employment situation of recent graduates in the United States has been lower than that of other types of job seekers, and the gap has widened in recent months.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the underemployment rate among young Americans (working in jobs below their skills or abilities) has now increased to 40%, after remaining stable at around 33% for many years.

Can I only serve dishes?

In fact, the overall job market in the United States has been doing well.

On June 7, the U.S. Department of Labor released data showing that the U.S. added 272,000 jobs in May, and the labor market continued to remain relatively strong. Average hourly wages rose 4.1% year-on-year in May, both of which exceeded previous expectations.

But why can’t American college students find jobs?

American media and experts believe that this is because in the current job market, many industries with talent shortages are not necessarily the industries that recent graduates want to work in.

“The industries that are most short of staff in the market right now – such as restaurants, hotels, daycares and nursing homes – are not where college students want to work, and the industries they want to go to – such as technology, consulting, finance and media – are all laying off employees on a large scale and adjusting their hiring plans, ” said The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, job postings for construction jobs on job search site Indeed have increased 50% from pre-pandemic levels, while vacancies for software development and marketing positions have fallen 25%.

In the fields of technology and finance, which are the most popular fields for American college students, layoffs are being carried out in stages. Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, these technology giants have laid off tens of thousands of people; Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and other Wall Street banks have also long joined the “layoff wave”.

This makes it embarrassing for college students studying related majors when looking for jobs.

For this generation of American college students, the epidemic has disrupted their study plans, and the post-epidemic job market has disappointed them again.

After entering the society, these graduates are increasingly dissatisfied with the current situation in the United States, and they are more concerned about economic issues such as employment, taxes and living costs. According to a survey by The New York Times, in swing states in the United States, 93% of young people believe that the economic situation in the United States is average or poor.

Even many young people have begun to give up financial independence and simply return home to become dependent on their parents.

U.S. Census data shows that more than half (about 55%) of young people live with their parents, which is higher than in 2019. A weak job market, swelling student debt and persistent inflation have forced many young people to reconsider their living arrangements after graduation.

In order to maintain basic expenses, Lucas recently found a job as a front desk waiter at a bar in California. The hourly wage is $19.2, which is higher than the local minimum wage, but still not enough to maintain his basic living expenses. Lucas can only live with his parents to reduce the burden.

Rapadapto is facing the same dilemma. “I really don’t want to work as a waiter in a restaurant, but it seems to be my only choice at the moment.”