Why Even HARVARD's Smartest Students Can’t get a Job Now?

Beyond Economy

157,075 views • 5 days ago

Video Summary

The modern job market presents unprecedented challenges for graduates, even those from top universities, with unemployment among them reaching historic highs. While companies are hiring more than ever, an oversupply of labor and a significantly raised bar for entry have created a difficult landscape. The traditional approach of simply showing up and asking for a job is obsolete, replaced by a highly digitized and automated process that favors employers and often filters out qualified candidates before human review. This shift has led to a disillusionment among job seekers who find themselves overqualified, underpaid, and exhausted by a system that feels increasingly inhuman.

A striking 23% of Harvard students were found to be jobless three months after graduation, highlighting the disconnect between prestigious education and employment opportunities. The rise of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and ghost job listings, where nearly half of US postings in 2023 were found to be fake, contribute to millions of wasted hours for job seekers. Companies now rely on technology for screening, often prioritizing keywords and algorithmic fit over human judgment, leading to a system that feels more like a game of chance than a fair exchange of effort for opportunit

Short Highlights

23% of Harvard students were jobless 3 months after graduating.
The number of job openings has more than doubled over the past few years.
Around 70% of job listings demand a bachelor's degree, which is now a bare minimum.
Nearly half of all US job postings were found to be fake in 2023.
The UK recruitment industry is now worth over 140 billion pound

Key Details

Elite Graduates Struggle to Find Employment [00:00]

A 24-year-old Harvard graduate, despite multiple degrees, struggled to find employment for over a year, highlighting a trend of educated individuals facing job scarcity.
Unemployment among top university graduates is at its highest historical level, with 23% of Harvard students jobless three months post-graduation.
This situation contradicts the perception that companies are not hiring; in reality, job openings have more than doubled in recent years.

It was kind of depressing cuz you're like graduating from Harvard and then I was like in my parents, you know, house in Atlanta like unemployed.

The Shift in the Job Market Landscape [01:00]

The core issue is not a lack of demand for labor, but an oversupply.
Decades ago, companies competed to hire top graduates, offering desirable salaries.
The process of finding a job was simpler, often requiring just persistence and a personal approach.

The advice that old boomer generations gave us. Just show up and ask actually worked.

The Modern Job Search: A Changed Paradigm [01:47]

The entry bar for jobs has risen significantly, and the promise of education guaranteeing employment has vanished.
A college degree, once a strong credential, is now a minimum requirement, with 70% of job listings demanding one.
Entry-level roles now commonly require years of experience, unpaid internships, and extensive portfolios, often for wages that barely cover living costs.
This creates an "impossible loop" where experience is needed for a job, and a job is needed for experience, forcing many to work for free or juggle multiple jobs while studying.

The promise that education guarantees employment has evaporated.

The Impact of Digitalization and Competition [03:05]

The increase in competition, driven by online job postings visible to thousands, has transformed the job search into a numbers game.
Applications, once a personal interaction, are now instantaneous and low-barrier, leading individuals to submit more applications to stand out.
This shift has led to the automation of the hiring process, with companies relying on technology to manage the flood of applications.

If a company posts a job online, it's instantly visible to thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of people.

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and Ghost Listings [04:03]

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are widely used by companies to automatically scan and reject résumés before human review.
ATS rank resumes based on keywords and formatting, potentially filtering out highly qualified candidates.
Ghost job listings, where companies have no intention of filling the role, are prevalent, with nearly half of US job postings in 2023 being fake.
Companies use ghost listings for various reasons, including appearing to expand or gathering a pool of potential candidates.

Today's ATS doesn't just check for qualifications. It hunts for keywords.

The Dehumanization of Hiring [06:03]

The hiring process has become detached, with companies relying on online questionnaires, personality assessments, and scenario-based tests instead of interviews.
These tests often prioritize a candidate's ability to guess what the company wants, rather than genuine skills or individuality.
Even reference checks have lost their traditional meaning due to companies fearing lawsuits and providing only superficial feedback.
Artificial intelligence is further accelerating this trend, screening candidates based on subtle linguistic patterns and inferred traits.

For employers, applicants have become data points on a dashboard, something to sort, rank, and discard.

The Broken Exchange of Work [08:48]

The modern job market is broken because it has shifted from a relationship of effort for opportunity to a bureaucratic maze.
The recruitment industry, including agencies and career coaches, profits from the complexities and inefficiencies of the job search.
The UK recruitment industry is valued at over 140 billion pounds, more than double its value a decade ago.
Companies often prioritize optimization, metrics, and cost-cutting over genuine human connection and trust.

Somewhere along the way, we stopped treating work as a relationship between people and started treating it as a data problem.

Reclaiming the Human Element in Hiring [09:54]

The modern job market is fundamentally broken as it has moved away from a fair exchange of effort for opportunity towards a complex system.
Companies have forgotten the human element of work, focusing instead on data and algorithms, which leads to a loss of credibility and the overlooking of talented individuals.
The solution lies in reintroducing genuine human connection into the hiring process, where individuals are valued for their potential and personality, not just keywords.