New grads say employers set the bar too high for entry-level roles: 'No job is willing to give you that first experience'

Rachel Grandis has no shortage of work experience. Over the last five years, she's worked as a content creator for her school's athletic department, managed the business school's social media accounts, secured several social media and marketing internships, and even worked in restaurants and at summer camps. But when the 22-year-old graduated from Elon University with a strategic communications degree in May, she found her years of experience weren't helping her land a full-time job offer. "Entry-level to these companies is somebody who's coming from three years of experience in the workforce," Grandis tells CNBC Make It. "It's hard when they want all this experience, but no job is willing to give you that first experience to have on your resume." Even though she has related work experience from her time in college, Grandis wonders if AI-assisted applicant tracking systems flag that she's a 2026 grad and automatically remove her from the pool. "If I had gotten a chance to speak to someone and talk about all my experiences within my school," she says, "[maybe] I'd have a better chance of getting a follow-up interview." Today's new grads say they're up against unrealistic expectations from employers: 77% of grads believe businesses are calling for too much experience for entry-level jobs, while 75% believe there are too few truly entry-level opportunities, according to a new employability report from Cengage, an education tech company. The Cengage report is based on surveys administered between April and August 2026 to 931 full-time hiring managers, 759 post-secondary instructors, and 1,100 recent graduates with four-year degrees, two-year degrees, credentials or certificates across the U.S. The report has an approximate margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. "The reality is that many employers have raised the the bar" in what they expect from junior workers, says Michael Hansen, CEO of Cengage. He says employers are especially focused on young workers coming equipped with solid critical thinking and decision making skills, especially as they invest in AI and need employees to manage the changing technology. In other cases, Hansen says employers tell him that many new grads don't have the interpersonal skills they're looking for, like an ability to rally a team, organize a project or solve a problem. These are all skills hirers expect students to have picked up from social settings like classrooms, clubs and internships — but they aren't showing up to work with them. A majority, 72%, of employers say the pace of workforce change has made it difficult for colleges and university to keep their workforce readiness programs up to date, according to the Cengage report. Even so, many business leaders expect young workers come ready to deliver results on day one, Hansen says, and "don't have the patience anymore to train somebody in the basic skills that they might have had 10 years ago or even five years ago." The gap between student experiences and employer expectations A dwindling share of graduates say their degrees are worth the money as they struggle to land jobs after school. Just 37% of grads believe their education was worth the cost, down sharply from 68% of new grads who felt the same in 2022, according to the Cengage report. Meanwhile, the job market for young professionals is tight. Postings on Handshake, the early-career jobs site, between July 2025 and June 2026 remained flat, up just 1% from the same period in 2024 to 2025, after three straight years of declines. Employers posted nearly twice as many full-time jobs for the Class of 2022 as for the Class of 2026. As of August, U.S. entry-level hiring is on pace with the U.S. national hiring rate, both down roughly 6.5% from August 2025, according to LinkedIn data. Young workers may be feeling the drop even more since hiring in industries that typically employ a lot of entry-level talent — financial services, tech, information and media, and professional services — is down 33% to 43% from June 2021, per LinkedIn. Employers can't just say, 'Here, I put the bar higher,' and then [complain when] they don't find enough entry-level people.Michael HansenCEO of Cengage Many grads say their time in school left them feeling unprepared to meet the rapidly changing demands of today's job market. Just over half, 53%, say they chose not to apply to certain entry-level jobs in their field because they felt underqualified, up from 48% in 2025 and an increasing sentiment since 2023. But who's responsible in making sure students are ready to work after graduation? Students (17%), instructors (11%) and employers (19%) say businesses carry the least amount of responsibility in making sure rising grads are ready for the workforce. Most agree the onus falls primarily on students but add that academic programs and teachers play a part, too. Hansen believes employers should play a larger role in working with schools to ensure the skills they need among the entry-level workforce are being taught to students in the classroom, or offered through internships, apprenticeships and other training opportunities. "Employers can't just say, 'Here, I put the bar higher,' and then [complain when] they don't find enough entry-level people," Hansen says. "They also have to put in the work of saying, 'I'm going to make those experiences available.'" Employers may have to level their expectations, too, Hansen adds: "Interns are not necessarily a productive employee day one, right? So [employers] have to also become more flexible." Many students seem to align with this idea, saying they want their education providers to offer more internships and paid work opportunities as part of their curriculum. About 1 in 3 grads say their lack of prior work experience takes them out of the running for job opportunities, which they see as the No. 1 factor for getting a job (24%) over having a degree (14%), per Cengage data. Grandis says her education prepared her with the skills to work in her field but laments a competitive job market where those with just a little more experience have an advantage. Companies have their pick of candidates across many fields, recruiting pro Bonnie Dilber previously told CNBC Make It, so "employers aren't going to be considering people who are sort of stretching into the role." Grandis is hopeful that taking some volunteer or part-time opportunities may connect her with the right people to land a full-time marketing job soon. She began documenting her job-search journey on TikTok and has gone viral for some videos detailing her struggles, with users trading stories about the horrors of the entry-level job market. "I think a lot of people don't realize just how many people are in the same boat and how many recent grads are really struggling to find jobs," she says.