Recent college graduates are entering a job market that many say feels far harsher than what they expected, with hundreds of applications producing few interviews, student debt continuing to hang over them, and artificial intelligence changing both the hiring process and the jobs they hoped to land.
On Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” host Dana Perino spoke with Gen Z graduates Solomon Jones and Ashley Terrell about what their job searches have looked like since college, and both described months of rejection despite having degrees aimed at professional careers.
Jones said he applied to hundreds of jobs after graduation and did not receive a single interview, while Terrell said she had been applying since before finishing college and received only one offer for retail-related work.
Hundreds Of Applications, No Interviews
Jones told Perino that he studied sports communication and minored in psychology because he hoped to become a sports analyst, on-air host or journalist.
After graduating, however, the path he had imagined quickly became much harder.
“I applied to hundreds of jobs and did not get one interview,” Jones said.
He described spending week after week searching across job websites, applying online and even showing up in person, only to receive rejection emails or no response at all.
That kind of process can become exhausting very quickly because it is not just about finding work. For a recent graduate, it can also feel like a test of whether years of school and planning actually led anywhere.
Jones said the constant rejection has taken a mental toll.
“It is definitely a struggle,” he said, describing the process as stressful and difficult.
Terrell Says Her Degree Has Not Opened Many Doors
Ashley Terrell told Perino that she studied at the University of Hawaii and completed coursework in marketing, entrepreneurship, international business and management.
She said she chose a broad mix because she believed it would give her more options after graduation.
Instead, she found the opposite.
Terrell said the only job offer she received was for a vendor role inside Home Depot involving retail tasks, which was far from the kind of marketing career she had been aiming for.
She said she had been applying for jobs since October 2023, starting during the semester before graduation so she could see what opportunities were available.
That long lead time still did not produce the kind of professional position she expected.
Her experience shows one of the more frustrating parts of the current market for young workers: even broad degrees meant to keep options open do not guarantee an easy entry into a field.
Perino Points To Higher Unemployment Among Young Graduates
Perino told the two graduates that their experiences were not isolated.
She cited figures showing an overall unemployment rate of 4.1%, while unemployment among bachelor’s degree holders ages 23 and 24 was 7.8%.
That gap helps explain why so many recent graduates say they feel stuck.
A college degree still carries value, but the transition from school to a first stable career role appears to be taking longer for many young adults.
Perino also highlighted another change in the hiring process: artificial intelligence.
She cited a survey saying 63% of U.S. job seekers had experienced an AI job interview, with many saying the use of AI was not clearly disclosed beforehand.
For graduates who are already struggling to get noticed, the growing use of automated screening adds another layer of uncertainty.
Jones Says AI Is Hurting Journalism Opportunities
When Perino asked whether AI had made his job search harder, Jones did not hesitate.
“Absolutely,” he said.
Jones said he believes artificial intelligence has already taken over some work in journalism and that sports journalism in particular feels increasingly difficult to break into.
He described the field as “slowly dying,” in his view, and said AI has not helped.
That is clearly his personal assessment, but it reflects a broader fear among young workers entering creative and communication-based careers.
The concern is not only that AI might replace certain tasks.
It is that entry-level work, which has traditionally helped young employees learn a field, may disappear first because those tasks are often the easiest to automate.
That can leave graduates trapped in an uncomfortable position: employers want experience, but the jobs that used to provide that experience are becoming harder to find.
Terrell Is Using AI To Fight Through The Same System
Terrell’s relationship with AI is more complicated.
She said that in recent weeks she had begun using AI tools to help find jobs that matched her interests in digital and brand marketing.
According to Terrell, some of the jobs she wanted were not appearing naturally in her searches, but AI tools were able to surface them.
She also uses AI to review job descriptions and help identify keywords that might improve her resume.
At the same time, she said employers are increasingly asking applicants about their familiarity with AI.
“Every interview, I feel like they ask, ‘Are you AI curious? What is your experience with AI?’” Terrell said.
That is an interesting contradiction in the current labor market.
The same technology that applicants worry may be reducing job opportunities is also becoming something they are expected to understand and use if they want to remain competitive.
Graduates Are Starting To Rethink Their Plans
Perino asked both graduates what they would do if the job market did not improve.
Jones said he has started considering becoming a gym teacher because his background in sports communication could connect to that kind of work.
“That was not my dream,” he said.
The comment captures how quickly career plans can change when a first-choice field remains closed off.
Many graduates are not necessarily abandoning their interests, but they are beginning to look for nearby paths where their skills might still apply.
Terrell said she has also adjusted by looking into AI-focused marketing courses.
She mentioned that businesses in Oahu are increasingly using AI for everything from marketing to broader business strategy.
For her, the response has been to add new technical skills rather than wait for the market to return to what she expected.
The First Job Is Becoming The Hardest Step
The bigger problem for both graduates is that they are trying to get through the first door.
Once someone has several years of experience, changing jobs can still be difficult, but they at least have a work history to point to.
Recent graduates often have degrees, internships and coursework, but employers can still view them as inexperienced.
When hundreds of applicants are competing for a limited number of openings, that can leave young workers buried before a human recruiter ever sees their application.
AI screening may make that problem even more impersonal.
A candidate can spend hours preparing a resume and cover letter only to be filtered out by an automated system before receiving any feedback.
That does not necessarily mean the technology is always unfair, but it certainly makes the process feel more distant.
A Difficult Start, Not Necessarily A Dead End
Perino ended the conversation by telling Jones and Terrell that they still had bright futures even if the current moment felt daunting.
Both graduates appeared to agree that adaptation may now be part of the process.
Jones is considering a different career path connected to sports, while Terrell is learning more about AI because employers increasingly expect it.
Their stories show why so many Gen Z graduates are frustrated.
They did what they were told to do: went to college, built broad skill sets, started applying early and kept searching.
Yet for many, the first professional job is taking far longer to arrive than expected.
The job market may eventually turn, but for graduates trying to pay bills and build a career now, that offers little immediate comfort.
For Jones and Terrell, the challenge is no longer just finding the perfect job.
It is finding a realistic way into the workforce without giving up on the future they originally imagined.
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