Like a lot of my Gen X peers, my summers were filled with jobs, good and bad. I worked at a Ponderosa Steakhouse, then in a hospital kitchen. I also wrote press releases for the Ontario government, ran a newspaper for high schoolers, interned at the Toronto Star, and did assorted other gigs along the way.
My Gen Z kids have had a different experience. The youngest got a tree-planting job this summer, only to have it canceled at the last minute. He then looked for jobs in retail and restaurants with mixed success. My middle child moved from college to culinary school and is working as a caterer and kitchen staff between classes. And the oldest, 23, interned at a law firm and AI startup during past summers but currently pays the bills by playing poker, buying stocks, and winning golf tournaments. He wants a traditional job but doesn’t seem worried.
I thought of them when reading that Gen Z is having a hard time getting an entry-level gig. U.S. companies hired fewer interns this past summer, especially in tech and finance. It’s no wonder younger workers seem to be so discouraged.
When I spoke with Kevin Ali, CEO of women-focused health care company Organon yesterday, he said the company received 1 million applications for some 9,500 positions. “People who are really interested in the women's health space have been magnetized and want to be part of this.”
That’s true. But it also means that fewer than one out of every 100 applicants to Organon got a job. The odds of being hired by companies like Google are even lower. Those odds are demoralizing. It’s especially hard for young men.
Some leaders complain about the work ethic of young people or a dearth of talent without looking at what they’re doing to nurture the next generation. The prospect of AI displacing jobs has made that calculus for employers even more complicated; they don’t want to bulk up when they may need to slim down.
The good news for Gen Z workers is that those who don’t land great entry-level gigs may become more resilient by creating work on their own. My eldest, for one, takes free courses in AI and cybersecurity through Google when not organizing his tournaments and such. Many of his friends do the same. If companies don’t want to train them, they’ll train themselves. Rejection can go both ways.
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Diane Brady
diane.brady@fortune.com
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