Artificial intelligence is transforming the hiring process, and many college students and recent graduates are looking for ways to stand out in an increasingly competitive job market. As employers implement AI-powered selection tools, young job seekers say they’re finding it more difficult than ever to land an interview.
Michela DiLorenzo, a Seton Hall student and student editor for The Setonian, who has covered job opportunities on campus, recently wrote that many of her classmates’ post-graduation plans have changed as they enter an uncertain job market. Rather than pursuing a graduate degree right away, some people take summer jobs or other jobs to save money in order to consider their next step.
“AI is really changing the motivation of students going into the job market. It’s changing the hiring process, the format of resumes, and overall how students approach life after graduation,” Michel said in an interview with CNBC’s John Fort on Friday.
According to the New York Fed, the unemployment rate for college graduates ages 22 to 27 was 5.7% in June 2026, well above the national average and more than 1 percentage point higher than it was for the same age group two years ago. The overall unemployment rate for young workers was 7.2%. Meanwhile, underemployment (college graduates in jobs that do not require a bachelor’s degree) is 42%, compared to 33.7% for all college graduates.
The challenge for students is not only to find opportunities, but also to be noticed. Employers are leveraging AI to review and screen applications, and students are finding ways to incorporate AI into their job searches.
According to a LinkedIn study, 66% of recruiters said they plan to increase the use of AI in pre-screening interviews as of early 2026, and 81% of job seekers said they have used or plan to use AI in their job search process. This will shift much of the early stages of the job search to automated systems.
Although there are concerns that AI is eliminating entry-level jobs in organizations, this study is only preliminary. The New York Fed has seen an overall slowdown in hiring in recent years, but it’s not particularly concentrated in entry-level roles with high exposure to AI.
“Although AI may have contributed to recent labor market developments, it is not the primary driver of the hiring slowdown,” the New York Fed wrote, based on a survey of job postings.
A survey with employers found that employers “intend to implement AI primarily through retraining, with limited impact on employment.”
Students are trying to understand how their material will be evaluated before they contact a recruiter. Students tailor their resumes to specific job descriptions, highlighting relevant skills and using language that fits the position.
Handshake, an early career platform for students and job seekers that has worked with OpenAI to develop tools to improve students’ technology skills, said fourth-year students graduating in 2026 are twice as likely as graduates in 2022 to mention AI skills on their resumes. The analysis found that 74% of those mentions were tied to real-world projects rather than classes, indicating that students were trying to demonstrate their applied experience.
“Early talent is already starting to respond to this shift by sharing real-world projects directly on their Handshake profiles, transforming AI from a claimed skill to a proven capability,” Handshake wrote in a blog post. “Data shows that early talent will not be replaced by AI, but will be amplified by AI.… In an AI-driven workforce, resumes alone will not be enough.”
The National Association of Colleges + Employers says a recent survey shows more employers are expecting AI skills from new hires, with the requirement listed in 16.5% of job descriptions in the spring, compared to 10.5% last fall. Overall, 28% of employers say they are looking for early career talent who can leverage AI in their work, according to NACE.
NACE is concerned about what it calls a “significant disconnect” between some members of Gen Z and the labor market. “Employers are increasingly asking graduates to be AI-ready, but a significant portion of students are questioning whether AI deserves a place in their jobs at all,” NACE President and CEO Sean Vanderziel said in a research release.
In NACE’s 2026 student survey, nearly one-third of graduating fourth-year students say AI skills are “of little or no importance to their future career.” More than half of respondents said they are not building AI skills for the future and are not using AI in their job search.
“While it is currently too early to tell whether AI will have a long-term impact on early-career talent, it is clear that students have different expectations and views about how AI will impact their careers,” VanDerziel said.
DiLorenzo’s report showed how uncertainty is impacting Seton Hall students. One student said he submitted 50 applications but only received two interviews. Another said he had applied for as many as 150 jobs and said the process was impersonal and discouraging.
While AI can help employers manage large numbers of applications, students say they still want meaningful feedback and a clearer path to getting seen.
At a broader labor market level, being seen as human beings is a critical issue for the youngest workers. Evan Thorne, founder and CEO of labor market research firm Revelio Labs, said companies that adopt AI faster are also faster to adopt it than their peers. But it may not be of much use to recent college graduates, he told CNBC’s Kelly Evans in a recent interview. This is because these companies also prioritize senior-level positions over junior-level positions. “AI is making it really difficult for entry-level people to get into it. … 22- to 25-year-olds are really getting lost in the shuffle,” he said.
Nevertheless, Son’s advice to all job seekers is to “be positive about AI.”
“Be ahead of everyone when it comes to AI,” he said.
