Economy
In charts: How the 2025 batch of college freshers views the job market
Summary
Gen Z graduates are strategizing for the job market, with 51% worried about job security. The survey indicates a preference for corporate roles, with B-school graduates showing interest in entrepreneurship. Recruiters prioritize skills over degrees, reflecting a shift in hiring approaches.
Unsure yet strategic, vigilant yet cautious, passionate yet level-headed: Gen Zs are carefully orchestrating their moves as they prepare to enter the job market. A new report by talent management platform Unstop sought opinions of over 30,000 freshers and 700 recruiters across India to evaluate the landscape of job markets for fresh graduates.
Only one in four students reported feeling 'very well prepared' before entering the job market. Job security was the prime reason for anxiety among freshers, with 51% of the respondents expressing concern over this aspect of working life.
Nearly a majority of the fresh graduates in B-schools (49%) and engineering colleges (55%) said they would like to work in the corporate or public sector after graduation, the survey showed. This share was just 28% for arts, science and commerce students.
Around 16% of the student respondents were from B-schools, 72% from engineering colleges, and the rest from arts, science and commerce fields. All respondents were about to graduate in 2025. Nearly 55% of the B-school respondents had prior work experience, while the rest were undergraduates. Around 60% of the sample comprised male students.
Unconventional career paths like becoming an influencer or starting one’s own venture were not uncommon. Entrepreneurship was more popular among B-school graduates and students pursuing arts, science, or commerce degrees, compared with engineering graduates. About 14% of the arts, science, and commerce students would like to become influencers after graduation: the highest among the three sets of respondents. They were also the most likely among the three groups to want to pursue higher education.
Analytics, general management and information technology were popular sectors for fresh recruits. Interestingly, HR was among the top three domains for engineering students.
Gen Z is acutely aware of the competition it faces in today's corporate world. A majority of the soon-to-be graduates want to develop multiple streams of incomes as a back-up plan, the survey showed. Personal interest seems to have taken a backseat, with only 12% of the respondents saying they find a sense of achievement in pursuing their personal interest.
Recruiters are taking notes and accordingly pivoting their strategy. Employers are increasingly moving away from conventional approaches of focusing on degrees and premier colleges. Instead, they are preferring candidates with the right set of skills. In the survey, 57% of the recruiters said that a college tier is not on their priority list while hiring students.
As fresh graduates are busy devising the most effective strategy to help them land the job of their dreams, the ever-changing corporate world will continue to pose a stiff challenge for students entering the workforce.
Also Read: Banking, consulting firms sharpen appetite for B-school talent
