Recent grads are settling for jobs they plan to leave, research shows

Dive Brief:

Recent graduates are settling for jobs they don’t think are right for them, with 20% of employed grads saying they’re overqualified for their current roles and 18% saying they intentionally applied for a job that was below their level just to get a foothold, according to new research from ZipRecruiter.
Only 26% of recent grads said they were currently on their ideal career path, while 51% said their current job was a stepping stone, according to the report. In addition, nearly 1 in 5 said they were in “bridge jobs” — positions they accepted so they could cover expenses while continuing to search.
Artificial intelligence is also impacting the new grad job market, with 47% of recent grads saying AI has already impacted hiring in their sector and about 50% predicting AI will reduce entry-level jobs. However, only 29% of rising grads and 23% of recent grads said their school provided extensive AI training for professional use.

Dive Insight:

The “Building a New Path” report surveyed 1,500 recent graduates and 1,500 rising graduates in the U.S. between Jan. 30 and March 16, and found that competition for jobs is getting steeper, with applicants looking for more entry-level roles and finding fewer available options.

“The old model was: graduate, find an entry-level job, climb from there,” Nicole Bachaud, labor economist at ZipRecruiter, said in a statement. “What we’re seeing now is something less linear, yet their outcomes are actually improving. Grads are piecing together experience through internships, side work, stepping-stone roles, and even starting their own ventures. With fewer entry-level roles available, their path looks different, but many are finding their way.”

While 77% of recent graduates said they found a role within three months of graduating, up from 63% a year ago, ZipRecruiter said it’s a sign that graduates are willing to be more flexible in order to gain a foothold in the workplace. The report added that graduates are applying to more jobs but receiving fewer offers, and ultimately getting less of a say in where they end up than their peers did only a year ago.

There is also a gender gap in both pay equity and AI training, per the report. Recent women graduates saw a $48,000 median starting pay, representing 80 cents on the dollar compared to men, who earned $60,000.

Meanwhile, only about 19% of recent women grads reported having any AI training integrated into their curriculum, versus about 29% of men. However, about 14% of recent women graduates say their school focused only on the risks of AI without covering professional use cases, compared to about 6% of men who said the same. 

The report said this suggested that men “are more likely to learn how to apply AI professionally” while women “are more likely to learn only why to be cautious about it,” meaning women are less likely to be prepared to use AI in the workforce.

Despite the tighter labor market, recent and rising grads continued to have strong opinions about what they were looking for in an ideal employer, with both groups saying employee well-being was more important than company ethics, social equity or environmental impact. In addition, 34% of recent grads preferred in-person work, and only 19% said they preferred fully remote. However, 11% of rising grads said they would quit over a full-time office mandate, compared to 6% of recent grads.

Monster’s 2026 State of the Graduate Report found that new graduates were more interested in stability than salary, with 67% saying they would accept a lower-paying job if they thought it would give them more security. Although 68% still cited salary as their top consideration when looking at job offers, job security came in second at 52%, and ranked higher than career growth opportunities (49%).