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Fortune
Fortune
Amber Burton, Paolo Confino

The fight for top entry-level talent just got more competitive

Woman shaking hands with businessman at a conference (Credit: Getty Images)

Good morning!

Spring ushers in a new cohort of employees looking for full-time jobs. Soon-to-be college graduates are already knocking on employers’ doors for entry-level roles. Lucky for them, despite recent layoffs, employers are still seeking entry-level applicants to fill a number of roles across finance, technology, and health care, a new report from Indeed finds.

The hiring site defines entry-level roles as positions with an average annual salary above $40,000 and zero to three years of work experience. And if this year’s top ranking of entry-level jobs tells us anything, it will be a competitive year for employers hoping to attract young talent, says Scott Dobroski, a career trends expert at the company. Particularly in tech roles, employers across industries are fighting for the same pool as they strive to become more digitally savvy. 

“Virtually every company today is a technology company,” Dobroski tells Fortune. “They're selling goods and services or a commodity in some way to customers, and HR needs to hire and build out new roles.”

Positions topping the list of in-demand entry-level roles include sales representatives, transportation coordinators, quality auditors, and accounting coordinators. Indeed also found that the most frequently listed entry-level roles specified coordination, sales, mental health, engineering, and technology skills. 

Enticing young talent requires companies to draw attention to their value proposition. “Younger workers are attracted to companies that offer career opportunities and advancements, strong leadership so they can learn, and pay transparency and fair pay,” Dobroski says. 

HR may also have to be more comfortable with generational differences in work style, such as "polyworking," piecing together a diverse set of roles that fit their desired lifestyles and values.

“HR needs to think about how they are really combating this nontraditional view of work. This includes freelance work [and] gig work,” says Dobroski. “What's also new that didn't exist ten years ago is this influential resignation culture. We know that quit rates are still relatively high across the U.S.”

Retaining entry-level employees, then, will require leaders to meet their growing expectations and communicate a clear career path.

Amber Burton
amber.burton@fortune.com
@amberbburton

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