Recent College Graduates Can’t Get Jobs: Clarity Might Be the Missing Link
You’ve seen the headlines. Maybe you’re living one of them.
"Recent grads can’t find jobs."
"College degrees no longer guarantee employment."
"Gen Z is entering the worst job market in years."
But here’s a truth I’ve learned as a career coach: It’s not just the economy. It’s not just "bad timing." It’s also a lack of clarity.
Because let’s be real, how can you confidently ask for a job when you don’t even know what you want to do?
It’s hard to land a role when your resume and interviews scream "I’m open to anything."
Be Career Courageous™: Get clear, get confident, and get hired.
Do You Know What Job You Want?
If the answer is no, you’re not alone. Most recent grads were never taught how to do real career planning. You picked a major. You passed your classes. But no one ever showed you how to figure out what job actually fits you.
Here are three simple steps to help you gain clarity and start identifying roles that will make you happy and hirable.
Step One: Get Clear on What You Don’t Want
Let’s flip the script. Instead of starting with what you want, start with what you know you don’t want. Ruling things out helps narrow the field and reduce overwhelm.
Examples?
If you know you don’t enjoy being around the elderly, skip careers in elder care.
If you’re good at math but it doesn’t light you up, maybe accounting isn’t your path.
If you plan to stay in a small rural town, certain corporate roles may not be available (and that’s okay!).
Love the medical field but faint at the sight of blood? Cross off nursing and explore roles like medical billing, health tech, or healthcare marketing.
This isn’t about limiting yourself. It’s about making smart decisions based on what you already know about yourself.
Step Two: Take a Career Assessment
You don’t have to figure this out alone. Career assessments are designed to help you uncover interests, strengths, and potential roles that align with who you are.
One of my favorites is Career Explorer. It’s free, online, and takes about 30 minutes. At the end, you get a list of careers that match your personality and preferences, some of which you may have never even considered. Or jump on your favorite AI tool and start drilling down on career ideas. It’s a great way to get lots of ideas fast.
Career advice tip: Use your results as a starting point, not a final answer. It’s a conversation starter with yourself, not a job title written in stone.
Step Three: Take the CliftonStrengths Assessment
Here’s where things get really good.
CliftonStrengths helps you understand your natural talents and how to use them in a meaningful career. It reveals the activities and environments where you naturally thrive, so you can find a role that feels right instead of forced.
I use this tool with almost every coaching client, and the results are always eye-opening. It's like getting the cheat code to understanding yourself and your value.
If you are one of those people (and I run into a lot) who think, I know what I’m good at, I’ll challenge you. Stop right now and start talking about the things you do well. If you can’t tell me 10 things you do well without even flinching, you don’t know. Take the assessment.
When you know your strengths, you can:
Target roles that let you do what you do best
Show up more confidently in interviews
Choose a career path that energizes you instead of drains you
Why Clarity = Confidence (and Job Offers)
Hiring managers aren’t just looking for skills, they’re looking for people who know where they’re going. Confidence is contagious.
When you say, "I’m really interested in X because I’ve realized that Y matters most to me," you stand out.
Career planning isn’t about locking yourself into one path. It’s about getting intentional.
If you're sending out resumes and hearing crickets, the issue might not be your experience, it might be your clarity.
The Bottom Line
If you’re a recent grad (or the parent of one) and feeling lost, I’ve got you.
I help young adults discover their strengths, explore career paths, and create action plans that actually work.
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