TODAY'S TAKEAWAY
“I’m a college student. How do I get ahead in today’s job market?”
💡 The quick answer: AI is making everyone look the same on paper. To stand out, you need to return to the oldest of the old school tactics.
8 TIPS FOR CAREER-CONSCIOUS STUDENTS IN 2026
1. Pretend that the job search starts on day one
In the past, students arrived at college as blank slates. Today, more students than ever are showing up with resumes already full of research publications, non-profit leadership, and even corporate internships.
You cannot afford to wait until your senior year to start building your resume. You need to start in your first year—and use every extracurricular and internship to scaffold towards a bigger and more reputable opportunity.
The students getting hired are those who have spent their college years stacking competitive sports, side projects, and startup experience so that by the time they graduate, they don’t just have a degree—they have an entire page full of experience.
2. Decode the hidden calendars
In the past, the junior summer internship search started in the fall of junior year and the full-time job search started in the fall of senior year. Those days are over.
In competitive fields like finance and consulting, students are now networking for—and securing offers—18 to 21 months in advance.
If you aren’t aware of these hidden timelines, you’ll start looking after the process has already closed. If you have even the slightest idea of what you might want, go look up the hidden prerequisites now—whether it’s requirements around your major, GPA, or coursework.
3. Befriend the students ahead of you
I tell this to college freshmen all the time: some of the most valuable relationships you can build are with the juniors and seniors on campus. They know which companies are actually hiring, exactly what interview questions are being asked, and who’s who behind the scenes. Moreover, they’ll soon be the ones returning to campus, but on the other side of the career fair table.
Join the leadership teams of campus organizations that have a history of sending alumni to the firms you’re interested in. That way, you can access that secret spreadsheet of former executive members who will see you as a younger version of themselves—and prioritize helping you over that stranger who cold messaged them on LinkedIn.
4. Look beyond where everyone else is looking
I remember at Harvard that many of my peers trampled over one another to work at Kraft Heinz. Sure, it’s got a great Leadership Management Program, but it’s not like students came to Harvard wanting to sell ketchup—it’s because the company recruited on campus.
The lesson? Don’t just apply for the opportunities that come to your campus. If you’re open to living in a smaller city, look there. If you have contacts at smaller companies that your friends don’t even know by name, contact them.
Be a big fish in a smaller pond—and not a small fish in an artificially competitive pond.
5. Submit right when applications open
I’ve met many students who were hired at prestigious firms and other well-known organizations despite other candidates having higher GPAs.
Why? Because they submitted their application the day the portal opened.
Many employers review applications on a rolling basis, meaning they fill spots as applications come in rather than after the deadline. The time to polish your resume is weeks before applications open.
6. Use AI as your research assistant, not your ghostwriter
Don’t mistake the dopamine rush that comes from AI-generating dozens of cover letters for productivity—you’ll end up looking the same as everybody else and end up in the same place as everybody else: the rejection pile.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t use AI at all, though. Use AI to find commonalities with your interviewer or to synthesize company and industry news. That way, when an interviewer asks you the inevitable question of “Do you have any questions for me?” your answer won’t be “No”—it will be "Yes! I was researching your firm and noticed [News Item]; can you tell me more about [what’s not in the news]?".
7. Don’t use grad school to procrastinate
When the job market gets tough, many students instinctively retreat to grad school.
But, unless you are entering a field that requires an advanced degree (like law, medicine, or licensed social work), a Master’s degree without work experience doesn’t necessarily make you more hireable. It might just make you either more indecisive or look more expensive.
Don’t use another degree to avoid the discomfort of the job search. Prioritize real-world work experience over adding more letters behind your name.
8. Flex your “Three Cs” in every interaction
At the end of the day, hiring is still a human decision based on three silent questions:
- Competence: Can you do the job well?
- Commitment: Are you excited to be here specifically?
- Compatibility: Do we actually get along?
Meeting someone for a “casual” coffee chat? Sending an email (or sitting on an email for later)? Ask yourself: “If I put myself in the shoes of the other person, what signals am I sending about how competent, committed, and compatible I am?”
I wish I had asked myself this question before I showed up to a lunch meeting with an alum in shorts and a t-shirt when he stepped out of the office wearing a suit and tie (true story!). This is also the question that students who apply everywhere but don’t hear back need to ask themselves.
Good luck!
Gorick
A version of this article was originally published on CNBC Make It. You can read the original piece here.
WHAT I'M READING
Here are 3 articles that I found interesting recently (no paywalls, although it may depend on your cookies):
- With entry-level jobs vanishing, Gen Z grads are ditching corporate America—piecing together careers with entrepreneurship, gig work and freelancing
- Dad brains: How fatherhood rewires the male mind
- On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs: A Work Rant by David Graeber (from 2013)
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