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From on-again-off-again tariffs, economic uncertainty, and layoffs, fresh graduates are in one of the toughest job markets in recent history. More than half do not have a job lined up by the time they graduate, and the unemployment rate for young degree holders is the highest it’s been in 12 years, not counting the pandemic. Technological advancements are further making the situation harder, as artificial intelligence (AI) has wormed its way into the workforce, cannibalizing the number of entry-level jobs available. Whats a young grad to do? I interviewed hiring managers, career advisers, and college students, and in this piece youll learn: What out-of-work new grads need to be doing right now in their limbo How to identify industries that are hiring you may never have thought of The right approach to developing AI literacy to stand out 1. Use limbo productively What several recent college grads refer to as limbo, the time period between graduation and employment, is often regarded as an excruciating phase of uncertainty. Experts recommend using this time as an opportunity for gaining experience outside of traditional corporate work. Gig work and seasonal jobs like events and festivals can be a great opportunity to pick up some work experience, hone soft skills such as team work and attention to detail, and make some extra cash and contacts. Adam Stafford, CEO of AI-powered recruitment platform Recuritics, says he is often impressed by young applicants who take on gig work while searching for jobs. I see somebody who comes into our organization says, I got out of college and I worked my tail off for three or four months while I was looking, that shows me that is somebody whos got hustle, Stafford says. If its not possible to find gig work, volunteering is also a good way to gain experience. Volunteering can help provide actionable examples of leadership and teamwork to share during job interviews if you have little to no work experience, Lucrecia Borgonovo, chief talent and organizational effectiveness officer at Mastercard, points out. Even though you’re not necessarily acquiring a job, volunteering is a really great way to gain a lot of experience, she says. In addition, its important to keep applying to jobs, even if it feels like youre not getting anywhere. Having a routine can help. Cherena Walker, executive director of career and professional development at Stevens Institute of Technology, recommends treating job applications like a college course. For instance, applicants can learn from their own college schedule to determine what days and times they work best in, allotting that time for applying as if it were a class. If you do that on a regular cadence, you’ll get a whole lot more done, Walker says. That’s a lot more focused, and you can have the rest of the time to yourself. 2. Be flexible and look at the big picture As AI makes its way into the workforce, its impact will be greatly felt among entry-level jobs. Just a few months ago, Anthropics CEO Dario Amodei told Axios that AI could be responsible for wiping out about half of white collar entry-level jobs in the coming years. The best way to ride the wave? Be okay with going into fields you hadnt thought of and look ahead, experts tell Fast Company. While the idea that it’s unlikely to land the perfect job straight out of college isnt exactly groundbreaking, I think we still spend too much time searching for the exact role or location that aligns perfectly with our experience, Jamie Shearer, an account executive at communications agency Pinkston who writes about postgrad experiences on LinkedIn, shared via email. This can leave new grads with a frustratingly narrow field of opportunities. Stafford suggests grads look into industries that are hiring, where there might be a skill overlap. For instance, he notes theres a high demand for applicants in the healthcare, aerospace, and defense industries, which might be a great fit for applicants who were previously looking for tech jobs. Additionally, thinking about broader economic trends might better position young professionals in the workforce. Step back and look at the global economic environment, Stafford advises. Where are governments investing? Where are big companies investing? Those all then start to flow into the private sector. Stafford says Europes ongoing rearming efforts are making aerospace and defense industries a booming market for young talent. Regardless of how you think or feel about that whole movement, it is creating a lot of economic opportunity, he says. Even for grads who are looking to stay in an industry, considering new specializations is vital. Angela Tran, a 2024 graduate and current account executive at Astrsk PR, struggled to find work after her internship in public relations for lifestyle and beauty ended. However, she was able to find a job after pivoting to tech PR. I didn’t know that I was going to enjoy it, and I didn’t know I was going to be good at it, Tran says. It was an eye-opener for me, that I should try new things in different sectors. 3. Intentionally upskill yourself It is no surprise AI literacy is the most coveted skill for young employees entering the workforce. This year, LinkedIn named it the top skill on the rise. According to research from Autodesk, 46% of employers say AI skills are a priority for hiring over the next three years. These tools can include everything from LLMs like ChatGPT, or industry-specific tools like Adobes AI-powered features for the design field. Yet it’s easy to forget that ChatGPT was released in 2022, during most recent graduates sophomore or junior year in college. AI is table stakes, it’s no longer optional,” says Mary Hope McQuiston, VP of education experiences at Autodesk. “If you’re a young grad, make sure you are learning how to work with AI tools, don’t wait if your school isn’t preparing you. AI literacy is not only about learning how to write prompts, but also looking into what specific AI tools are used in an applicant’s industry. Do your homework and be really intentional about acquiring those skills, whether it is through formal learning like taking a course, or through projects, getting a mentor, like learning from a colleague, Borgonovo says. For those who did not have access to AI resources in college, recent grads can sign up for free online courses, teach themselves how to write prompts for LLMs via trial and error, or even ask industry professionals what tools they use at work to get a head start. And, as the technology quickly evolves, staying consistent and curious on technology is key to keep up. It’s kind of like a gym. You go to a gym, you try a bunch of different machines, you set up a practice, and you slowly build the muscle, McQuiston adds. 4. Lean into soft skills The times are changing so quickly that when fresh graduates entered college they were told STEM degrees were a must. Now, it seems that humanities are making a comeback, as AI cant replace human skillsyet. Honing in on human skills will give applicants an edge over traditionally hard-skill-based applicants. Conflict mitigation was second to AI literacy, on LinkedIns skills on the rise. When I talk to our commercial customers, they are not just looking for technical skills, because those are going to constantly change. They’re looking for folks who are effective at problem solving, communication, collaboration, leadership, McQuiston says. AI raises the floor . . . but human ingenuity is going to raise the ceiling. What is great about soft skills is they may come from everyday experiences, and applicants who learn how to leverage those during interviews can set themselves apart, experts say. You have transferable skills from past experiences. Don’t be afraid to talk about how you think they can link to the job. It shows you’ve thought about the job seriously, says Robert Whitehouse, SVP of business partnership and talent acquisition for MiQ Digital across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North America. 5. Network strategically Both experts and recent graduates who have scored a job agree that one of the most powerful tools for entering the job market is networking. But, good networking looks different from the now-common mass messaging on LinkedIn. The key is to be targeted and intentional with relationship building. Avalon Fenster, the founder of Internship Girl, an online community that offers advice for early-career women, emphasizes that applicants often rely on vertical networking like reaching out to executives from companies. Instead, Avalon suggests also prioritizing building strong relationships with peers. Some of the most powerful networking is with people who are in the beginning level, who are in their first job, Fenster says. Those are the people who really know what it’s like to have broken through this glass floor and will be able to give the most current, relevant advice.
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I’m a big fan of productivity bursts. Like choosing a task that will take 10 or 12 hoursa task you’ve long been putting off specifically because it will take 10 or 12 hoursand knocking it out in a single day. (Here are the eight steps to an incredibly productive day.) I’m also a big fan of using shorter bursts within a day. Generally speaking, a person can focus on any given task for only 90 to 120 minutes. After that, typically you need a 15- to 20-minute break to recharge and achieve high performance on your next task. (The Pomodoro Technique uses even shorter bursts: 25 minutes of work, five-minute break.) In so many words, productivity sprints are great. But they do not a work life make. Over the course of a month, much less a year, how much you get done on a consistent basis matters a lot more than what you can pull off for short bursts. For example, Stephen King, the best-selling author of nearly 70 books, doesn’t write a book in three or four hard-core weeks. For decades, he wrote for five or six hours a day, shooting for 2,000 words a day. These days, he works for four hours with a goal of 1,000 words. (That pace is still more than most authors manage, and King is 77 years old.) For Kingand for youendurance matters more than speed. More to the point, durability matters more than speed. Top Speed Versus Sustained Pace Imagine you’re a factory worker. You start the day full blast, producing 80 widgets the first hour. No other worker can match your speed; you’re the Usain Bolt of piecework. But then you start to fade. You manage 75 widgets the next hour, 70 the next. By midafternoon you’re down to 50. Over an eight-hour shift, you manage 505 widgets. The person next to you never managed to make more than 70 widgets in an hour, but because she kept that pace for her entire shift, she made 560 widgets. Sound a little too tortoise versus hare? Not really. As writer Brady Holmer notes in a recent Substack post, durability is not about how fast you can go when you’re fresh. Durability is about how little you slow down when fatigued. Bolt may have been fasterat an absolute speedthan everyone else, but he also could have slowed down the least. That’s especially true as race distances get longer. The 400-meter hurdle world record holder, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, may not be faster at top speed than everyone else. But she clearly slows down less over the course of a race. Why does that matter to you? Because your workday isn’t a sprint. Your work year isn’t a sprint. Workyour efficiency, effectiveness, productivity, outputis an endurance race. One where your ability to maintain a steady, consistent pace makes an exponentially greater difference than your ability (valuable though it may be) to occasionally crank out a chunk of work. The Big Three of Sustainable Output Let’s extend the running analogy a bit more. Most runners focus on the primary factors of endurance performance: running economy, lactate threshold, and VO max. Running economy is just what it sounds like: how efficiently your body uses energy to maintain a given pace. Biomechanics, coordination, strength, flexibility, and other factors all play a role. In work terms, less wasted effort, less unnecessary repetition, working smarter, not harder. (Although I’m a fan of working smarter as well as harder.) Lactate threshold is the highest intensity or pace at which your body can clear lactate from your blood as quickly as it’s produced. Go past your threshold and lactate builds up, fatigue kicks in, and performance drops. VO max is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise. The higher your VO max, the more oxygen your muscles get, which in exercise terms means you can run, bike, swim, etc. faster and longer. Here’s where it gets interesting. A new study published in Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports found that runners who maintained a steady pace for 90 minutes experienced a 3% drop in their VO max, and a 7% drop after 120 minutes. Turns out VO max isn’t absolute; it changes with effort. So do other endurance factors. Work too hard for too long and your ability to keep performing at that level decreasesregardless of willpower, persistence, and determination. The cost on your bodyand, in workplace terms, on your mindof maintaining a fast early pace gets higher and higher until holding that pace becomes impossible. No matter how hard you try to keep grinding. That’s takeaway No. 1: Your pace, over the course of a day or week or month or year, needs to be sustainable. No matter how fast the start, producing a steady 70 widgets an hour over an eight-hour shift beats a reverse hockey-stick 63 widgets an hour. But you can also ramp up your steady, sustainable pace. Self-imposed limits Working economyhow efficiently you perform certain tasksis relatively easy to improve. (Here are 90 ways.) The less effort a task requires, the less hard you have to work, and as a result, the easier you can maintain a steady pace. Where improving productivity and overall output are concerned, streamlining and optimizing should always be the first steps. Then focus on your “lactate threshold” and “VO max.” Unless a solid chunk of manual labor is involved, your job likely doesn’t involve a high degree of physical fatigue. But every job involves mental fatigue. And every job feels like it has limits. You can only do so much until you can’t do more. Except you can. The 40% Rule is a concept popularized by former Navy SEAL Dave Goggins through entrepreneur Jesse Itzlers 2016 book Living With a Seal: 31 Days Training With the Toughest Man on the Planet: When your mind tells you that youre exhausted, youre really only 40% done. You still have 60% left in your tank. In short, you have more in you than you think. When youre doing something difficult and think you need to stop, you have more in you. Most of our limits are self-imposed. Over time, we’ve set those limits for ourselves. They don’t come close to lactate threshold, much less VO max. That doesn’t mean you need to squeeze out the remaining 60%. But you could try to eke out another 5%. The 40% Rule How long you’ll stick with a challenge before giving up and moving on? That’s not really a limit. How long you’ll stare at a whiteboard, trying to think of a way past a problem, before giving up and moving on? That’s not really a limit. How many calls you’ll make, emails you’ll send, proposals you’ll create, follow-ups you’ll make? Those limits only seem real. But they arent real. They’re just habits. Think of a time when fear helped you push past what you thought was a barrier. Think about a time when a huge incentive helped you push past what you thought was a barrier. Then, you could do more. Because it turns out your limit was only 40% of what you were truly capable of achieving. The next time you think youve reached your cold-call limit, make one more. The next time you think youve reached your employee development meeting limit, conduct one more. The next time you think youve reached your quality double-check limit, check one more order. Challenge yourself to see if you can endure just a little more. Youll find out you can. What’s more, youll realize that a limit you thought was absolute was only self-imposedand that you can accomplish a lot more than you once thought possible. Over a really long period of time. Without burning out. By Jeff Haden This article originally appeared on Fast Company‘s sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
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If this week had a mood, it would be change is comingready or not. Across industries, big players made moves they hope will future-proof their businesses, while others scrambled to adapt to new realities. Tech leaders leaned into bold experiments, retailers weighed expansion against contraction, and the markets reacted with their usual mix of enthusiasm and side-eye. Policy shifts sent ripple effects through sectors that depend on global talent and international travel. In the corporate world, some companies are making high-stakes bets on emerging technologies, while others are dealing with leadership shake-ups, financial pressures, or both. And in between the serious boardroom decisions and billion-dollar strategies, there were moments that reminded us how unpredictableand occasionally absurdthe business landscape can be. Wells Fargo goes all in on AI with Google Cloud Wells Fargo is rolling out Googles Agentspace AI across its workforcefrom branch tellers to top executives. The bank says the tech will help speed up workflows, automate routine tasks, and deliver sharper insights, all while staying within strict compliance and ethical guidelines. Trump crackdown pushes international students toward the U.K. and Asia Stricter U.S. visa policies and heightened scrutiny are driving prospective students to universities in Britain, Hong Kong, and beyond, potentially costing the U.S. billions in tuition and local spending. Crypto exchange Bullish preps IPO despite steep losses Bullish plans to raise up to $629 million in its NYSE debut. Backed by BlackRock and ARK, the listing tests whether investor enthusiasm for crypto can outpace concerns about a $348 million quarterly loss. T.J. Maxx is opening 6 new stores this month The off-price retailer is expanding in Virginia, Connecticut, North Dakota, Utah, and Washington, D.C., even as tariffs loom over the retail sector. The news comes a little over a year after CEO Ernie Herrman announced the companys goal of adding 1,300 stores to its global portfolio of locations during a quarterly earnings call. At Home to close more stores amid bankruptcy The home furnishings chain announced this week that it will shutter six additional locations, on top of 26 announced earlier, as it works to manage $2 billion in debt under Chapter 11 protection. U.S. to require $15,000 visa bond for some travelers A one-year pilot program will mandate refundable bonds for visitors from countries with high overstay rates or limited vetting processes. On Tuesday, a notice from the State Department said travelers from Malawi and Zambia would be required to post the bonds. Other countries could be added to the list in the future. Claires files for second bankruptcy, eyes store closures Claire’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for a second time this week. The teen and tween retailer has identified 18 stores for likely closure, with more than 1,300 at risk unless a buyer emerges. Eli Lilly outpaces Novo Nordisk in weight-loss marketbut stock dips Mounjaro and Zepbound sales are surging, yet investors were underwhelmed by trial data for Lillys oral GLP-1 pill. Hulu brand to fold into Disney+ in 2025 Say goodbye to Hulu. Disney announced this week that it will merge Hulu content into its flagship streaming app, streamlining offerings ahead of its ESPN streaming launch. Duolingos “AI first” gamble pays off Despite backlash over replacing contractors with AI, the language-learning platform posted an 84% profit growth and a 24% stock surge. Trump calls for Intel CEOs resignation over China ties President Trump criticized Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tans past investments in Chinese chip companies, intensifying political scrutiny of Intels leadership.
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