AI Summary
5 min readWhat Every New Graduate Needs To Hear In 2026
Recent graduates are facing the highest unemployment rate in about a decade, with more than 41% of them underemployed. As Sho Dewan puts it on the Work Hotline, "A lot of grads right now think that they're failing because they can't land a job, but it's not them. The market is failing them." Companies aren't necessarily eliminating entry-level roles—they're filling them with experienced hires, using AI, or having existing employees take on multiple jobs. RBC found that recent grad unemployment sits at 5.6%, and the ladder for new workers is effectively frozen. The episode focuses on what graduates can actually control in this environment, not on blaming companies or the economy.
Build Proof Outside Your Resume
The first and most concrete shift Dewan recommends is moving beyond the traditional resume. "The days of you applying, applying, applying, hoping someone reads your resume, getting an interview—I'm not gonna say that it's completely gone, but now people are looking for other ways to showcase you can do the job." He argues that every hiring decision comes down to three questions: Do I like you? Can you do the job? And are you different? A resume only answers the first question weakly.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:30) **The Real Market Reality for New Grads** - Sho opens by reframing the struggle: the market is failing graduates, not the other way around.
- 2 (03:44) **Strategy 1: Build Proof Outside Your Resume** - The days of applying and hoping someone reads your resume are fading; you need to demonstrate capability before the interview.
- 3 (04:36) **Strategy 2: Stop Applying Cold to Everything** - It's no longer a numbers game; networking is now the primary path to opportunities.
- 4 (05:55) **Strategy 3: Don't Chase the Unicorn Perfect Job** - In this market, adjacent roles that get your foot in the door are wins, not failures.
- 5 (07:54) **Ethan's Call: Feeling Behind While Living with Parents** - A recent marketing grad feels pressured by family comparisons and struggles to land a marketing role.
- 6 (09:55) **Marketing-Specific Advice: Show, Don't Just Tell** - Sho explains how marketing hiring actually works in 2026, based on his own experience.
- 7 (11:28) **Sam's Call: Overwhelmed in a New Corporate Job** - A three-month corporate employee feels behind, overwhelmed by acronyms and mistakes, and wonders if she should quit.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Why does it feel harder than ever to land a job after graduation? In this episode of The Work Hotline, Sho Dewan (@workhap) breaks down why recent grads are facing the highest unemployment rate in about a decade, with over 41% underemployed in jobs that don’t even require their degree. The truth is, the ladder didn’t disappear, it broke. Companies aren’t cutting jobs, they’re just hiring more experienced people and leaving entry-level roles flat. So Sho shares 3 things every new grad can actually control right now: building proof of work instead of just another resume, ditching the “apply to everything” approach for a more strategic search, and letting go of the pressure to find the “perfect” first job. Plus, he answers real calls from listeners feeling behind, overwhelmed, and unsure if they’re failing or just new: “Am I actually behind, or does it just feel that way?” Remember that your first job isn’t proof of your worth. It’s just the entry point. Subscribe to Workhap: www.youtube.com/workhap Pre-order Sho’s Get Hired book: www.workhap.com/book Want to be featured in our next episode? Leave a voice note: +1 (701) 888 9178 or em Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more: https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes: http://forbes.com Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
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