Only 30% of 2025 Graduates Found Jobs in Their Field (Down from 41% Last Year)

The Class of 2025 just walked into one of the hardest job markets for new graduates in five years. And the numbers are worse than most realize.

According to the Cengage Group 2025 Graduate Employability Report, which surveyed over 2,500 employers, graduates, and educators, only 30% of this year’s graduates have secured full-time jobs related to their degree. That’s a dramatic drop from 41% for the Class of 2024, representing an 11 percentage point collapse in just one year.

Meanwhile, a third of 2025 graduates are unemployed and actively searching for work. That’s not a typo. One in three new graduates can’t find a job.

If you’re a recent graduate wondering why your inbox is full of rejections, or a parent concerned about your child’s job prospects, this data explains the forces working against today’s entry-level job seekers. More importantly, it reveals what actually matters for landing your first job in this new reality.

By the end of this article, you’ll understand exactly why the entry-level job market has collapsed, what skills employers actually want, and how to position yourself to be among the 30% who make it.

The Numbers Behind the Crisis

The Cengage report paints a stark picture of the 2025 graduate job market. Let’s break down the key findings.

Employment Outcomes Are Declining Fast

The year-over-year comparison tells a concerning story:

• 30% of 2025 graduates found full-time jobs in their field (down from 41% in 2024)
• 26% of 2025 graduates are working in jobs unrelated to their degree
• 33% of 2025 graduates are unemployed and actively searching (up from 20% in 2024)

That’s a 13 percentage point increase in graduate unemployment in just twelve months. To put this in perspective, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland reports that the unemployment gap between college graduates and high school graduates has shrunk to its lowest level since the late 1970s.

Employers Are Pulling Back

The hiring freeze at the entry level is real. Three-quarters (76%) of employers say they’re hiring the same or fewer entry-level workers compared to last year, up from 69% in 2024.

What’s driving this pullback? Employers cited three primary factors:

• Tight labor market conditions: 51%
• The rise of AI: 46%
• Broader economic pressures: 46%

This isn’t just about companies being cautious. It represents a fundamental shift in how organizations are thinking about entry-level talent.

Interview Guys Tip: When employers have more power in the hiring market, every detail matters. Your resume, cover letter, and interview performance need to be exceptional because competition for each role is intense.

Degree Requirements Are Rising, Not Falling

Despite years of headlines about companies dropping degree requirements, the opposite is happening for entry-level roles. 71% of employers now require a two or four-year degree for entry-level positions, up from just 55% in 2024.

Even more striking: nearly half of employers (48%) who said they dropped degree requirements in 2024 have brought them back in 2025.

Why the reversal? With hiring power shifting back to employers, degrees are being used as a convenient filter to screen the flood of applicants. It’s not that employers suddenly believe degrees are more valuable. It’s that they have more candidates than positions and need ways to narrow the pool.

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The Skills Mismatch Problem

One of the most alarming findings is how badly misaligned schools and employers are on what graduates should learn.

Educators and Employers Want Different Things

When researchers asked employers and educators to rank the most important workforce skills, their answers barely overlapped:

What employers prioritize:

1. Job-specific technical abilities
2. Practical, hands-on experience
3. Industry knowledge

What educators prioritize:

1. Critical thinking
2. Problem-solving
3. Communication skills

Employers ranked job-specific technical skills as their number one priority. Educators ranked those same skills dead last.

This disconnect leaves graduates caught in the middle. They’re taught to think critically and communicate well, but many lack the practical skills to do the actual job from day one.

Nearly Half of Graduates Feel Unprepared

The data reflects this gap. 48% of graduates say they feel unprepared to even apply for entry-level jobs in their field. That’s nearly half of all new graduates admitting they don’t feel ready for the workforce.

Among those who feel unprepared, 56% cite job-specific skills as their biggest gap. They can analyze problems and write well, but they don’t know how to use the software, tools, and processes their target employers expect.

Interview Guys Tip: If you feel underprepared for entry-level roles, you’re not alone. The good news is that practical skills can be learned quickly through online courses, certifications, and hands-on projects. Check out our guide to free certification programs that can fill these gaps.

Educators Think Students Are Ready. Students Disagree.

Perhaps the most concerning disconnect: 89% of educators believe their students are prepared to enter the workforce. But as we’ve seen, 48% of graduates feel unprepared.

Additionally, 50% of educators dedicate 20% or less of their curriculum to workforce skills. More than a third of graduates (35%) wish their education programs worked more closely with employers to build career-relevant courses.

The institution that prepared you may have genuinely believed they equipped you for success. The job market has a different view.

What Actually Gets You Hired in 2025

Here’s where the Cengage data gets really interesting. Researchers asked graduates what actually helped them land jobs. The answers should reshape how you approach your job search.

Your Network Beats Your Degree

When graduates who found jobs were asked what mattered most in securing employment, here’s how they ranked the factors:

1. Personal referrals: 25%
2. Internships and prior work experience: 22%
3. Interview skills: 20%
4. The degree itself: 17%

Read that again. Personal referrals outrank your actual degree by 8 percentage points. The credential you spent four years and potentially six figures obtaining ranks fourth in importance for actually getting hired.

This doesn’t mean degrees are worthless. They’re still the price of admission for many roles. But once you have a degree, it’s your connections, experience, and interview performance that determine whether you actually get an offer.

One in Five Graduates Got No Career Help

Despite the importance of professional connections, 20% of graduates report their education program didn’t help them foster professional connections at all. No career services. No networking events. No employer introductions.

If you’re in that 20%, you’re entering the job market with a significant disadvantage. The data is clear that connections matter more than credentials, yet a fifth of graduates are leaving school without any support in building them.

What This Means for Your Job Search

The Cengage findings point to a clear strategy for 2025 graduates:

• Prioritize networking over applications. Since referrals account for 25% of what gets people hired versus 17% for degrees, every hour spent networking may deliver better returns than hours spent sending applications into the void.

• Get experience however you can. Internships and prior work experience ranked second in hiring importance. If you didn’t do internships in school, look for volunteer work, freelance projects, or part-time roles that build relevant experience.

• Master the interview. With interview skills ranking higher than your degree, preparation is non-negotiable. The 30% of graduates who got jobs likely didn’t just get lucky. They performed when it counted.

The AI Factor

The rise of artificial intelligence looms large over the graduate job market, and the data suggests it’s already having real effects.

AI Is Driving Hiring Freezes

When employers were asked why they’re hiring fewer entry-level workers, 46% cited the rise of AI as a contributing factor. That puts AI on par with economic pressures as a primary driver of reduced entry-level hiring.

This aligns with reporting from CNN, which found that entry-level hiring is down 23% compared to March 2020, exceeding the 18% decline in overall hiring over the same period. Entry-level positions are disappearing faster than other roles.

Graduates Feel Underprepared for AI

The skills gap extends to AI readiness. Only 51% of graduates feel confident in their AI skills when job hunting. Half of new graduates don’t believe they have sufficient AI competency for the jobs they’re applying to.

While 79% of educators agree students should have AI experience before graduation, only 37% believe it’s their responsibility to teach those skills. Once again, graduates are caught in a gap between what’s expected and what they’re taught.

Interview Guys Tip: AI skills are becoming table stakes for many roles. If you’re not confident in your AI abilities, start with the basics. Learn to use AI tools effectively, understand their limitations, and be able to articulate how AI could improve processes in your target role. Check out our guide to essential AI skills for job seekers.

How to Beat the Odds

The data is sobering, but it’s not hopeless. 30% of graduates are still finding jobs in their field. Here’s how to position yourself to be in that group.

Build Your Network Before You Need It

Since personal referrals are the number one factor in getting hired, treat networking as your primary job search activity.

Start with these steps:

• Reach out to alumni from your school who work in your target industry
• Attend industry events, both virtual and in-person
• Build relationships on LinkedIn before you need favors
• Ask for informational interviews, not job referrals directly

The hidden job market is real. Many positions are filled through connections before they’re ever posted publicly.

Get Practical Experience

With internships and prior work experience ranking as the second most important hiring factor, find ways to build hands-on skills.

Consider:

• Freelance projects in your field
• Volunteer work with nonprofits that need your skills
• Personal projects that demonstrate practical competency
• Part-time roles in adjacent fields

Experience doesn’t have to come from formal internships. Any evidence that you can do real work in your field helps.

Close Your Skills Gaps

If you’re among the 48% who feel unprepared, take action now:

• Identify the specific technical skills your target roles require
• Take online courses or earn certifications in those areas
• Build portfolio projects that demonstrate your abilities
• Practice explaining your skills in terms employers care about

The Cengage data shows that 56% of unprepared graduates cite job-specific skills as their biggest gap. These skills are learnable. Close the gap before your competition does.

Perfect Your Interview Performance

With interview skills ranking higher than your degree in hiring importance, treat interview preparation as seriously as you treated finals.

Focus on:

• Researching each company thoroughly before interviews
• Preparing specific examples using the SOAR Method
• Practicing answers out loud until they feel natural
• Developing thoughtful questions to ask interviewers

The graduates who succeed in this market aren’t just qualified. They prove it in the interview room.

The Bigger Picture

The Cengage report reveals more than just a tough job market. It exposes structural problems in how we prepare people for work.

“The widening career readiness gap, along with the growing demand for upskilling driven by technological advancements like AI, is creating an urgent need to rethink how we equip learners for future employment,” said Michael Hansen, CEO of Cengage Group.

For current graduates, understanding these structural issues matters. The traditional path of getting good grades, earning a degree, and landing a job is no longer reliable. Success requires taking ownership of your career readiness in ways previous generations didn’t have to.

The silver lining: these challenges are knowable and addressable. The data tells you exactly what matters for getting hired. Referrals, experience, and interview skills trump credentials. Act accordingly.

The Bottom Line

The Class of 2025 faces the most constrained entry-level job market in five years. Only 30% of graduates have found jobs in their field, down 11 percentage points from last year. One in three remains unemployed and searching.

The forces driving this crisis include AI adoption, economic uncertainty, and a fundamental mismatch between what schools teach and what employers need.

But the data also reveals the path forward. Personal referrals matter more than your degree. Experience and interview skills outrank your GPA. The graduates who succeed will be those who understand the new rules and play by them.

If you’re struggling in this job market, know that it’s not just you. The system is broken, and everyone is navigating the same broken system. Your job is to be strategic about how you approach it.

Build your network. Get practical experience. Close your skills gaps. Ace your interviews. Do these things better than your competition, and you’ll be among the 30% who make it.

Good luck!

The reality is that most resume templates weren’t built with ATS systems or AI screening in mind, which means they might be getting filtered out before a human ever sees them. That’s why we created these free ATS and AI proof resume templates:

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