Hiring Managers Favor Experienced Workers, Freelancers, AI – or No One – Over Hiring New Grads

If you are a new grad, the job market probably seems pretty rough. It’s not an illusion; recent studies show that hiring managers prefer hiring experienced workers, freelancers, or an AI bot over a new graduate. Worse, 30% of managers would leave the role unfilled over hiring someone fresh out of college.

An October 2024 survey of 1,600 professionals conducted by Hult International Business School and Workplace Intelligence (https://www.hult.edu/blog/wi_skills_survey/) clearly demonstrates the challenges that college grads face in securing a new job:

• While 98% of leaders acknowledge challenges in finding talent, 89% admit they steer clear of hiring recent graduates.
• Instead of hiring a recent graduate, leaders prefer alternatives such as employing freelancers (45%), rehiring retired employees (45%), utilizing AI or robots (37%), or leaving the role vacant (30%).

Why New Grads are Skipped Over

Unfortunately, many employers have faced challenges in hiring new grads. In the same Workplace Intelligence study, HR leaders indicated that some of the problems with new grads included a lack of real-world experience (60%), an absence of a global perspective (57%), difficulties with teamwork (55%), high training costs (53%), insufficient skills (51%), and poor business etiquette (50%).

The training cost is a major problem for many employers:

• 75% say most college educations aren’t preparing people at all for their jobs.
• 91% say it costs more to onboard and train recent graduates versus more experienced employees, with 69% saying it costs at least twice as much.
• HR leaders estimate that when an employee can “hit the ground running,” they save more than USD $4,500 in training costs.

Difficulties In Hiring

Another major problem with getting hired is Gen Z’s job searching strategies, including their performance during interviews.

In a February 2025 study by Resume.org of 765 US workers (https://www.resume.org/1-in-6-hiring-managers-report-gen-z-candidates-using-their-phones-mid-interview/), over 50% of Gen Z candidates were not prepared for the interview. That is just one of many issues:

Believe it or not, 16% of hiring managers state that candidates used their phones during the interview, and 11% had applicants bring a friend, partner, or parent to the interview with them.

Resume Problems

Even getting the interview can be a challenge, as 36% of managers stated that the resumes were either low or very low quality. Worse, 16% of resumes contained lies, usually because of AI-generated content.

Bottom Line: Do Better

Regardless of your age or experience level, take all this data to improve your own job search:

• Make sure your resume is targeted, keyword-optimized, and achievement-driven.
• Invest in your own professional development to fill skills gaps.
• Prepare for your interviews.
• Treat virtual and in-person interviews with the same degree of professionalism and seriousness.
• Practice soft skills, such as reading nonverbal communication, working on team-driven projects, and writing professionally for business situations.
• Be available when you get a call from employers.
• Be ready to discuss your strengths and accomplishments in a concise yet thorough matter.
• Remember to follow up with thank you notes and other communication—only 11% of job seekers send thank you notes anymore, so prove that you know how to stay competitive in the professional world.

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