Is AI changing the job market for new college grads?
While some tech companies are eliminating jobs as artificial intelligence capabilities become more advanced, a Virginia expert said there hasn’t been a major decline in opportunities for students applying for jobs right after graduating from college.
Kate Melton, a senior associate director at the University of Virginia’s Career Center, said AI is emerging in job titles and descriptions, and companies want job applicants to be curious about how they can use the technology.
But the university is also encouraging students to learn about AI’s limitations.
“Really trying to highlight your technical or AI skills on your resume, but also making sure that you are focusing what we call core skills or durable skills, things like critical thinking, communication, ethical reasoning and just understanding your fellow co-workers. One of my colleagues described it as being able to show up to the water cooler and have a conversation,” she said.
The technology, Melton told WTOP, can be used to help create a resume and cover letter, and in some instances, can help college graduates apply to more job opportunities faster.
“However, when students are showing up for their interviews, not all of them are able to show up and tell stories and really speak to the skills that they were articulating in a certain type of way using their AI-based resume,” Melton said. “Really making sure that you’re using that as a tool, not as a replacement, is essential.”
AI should never be used to create a final draft of a document, Melton said. She advises students and encourages them to attend events in person.
While the technology can help with learning how to approach networking, asking others about career choices or the quality of work is something they should know how to “do on your own,” she said.
When discussing the implications of AI on job searches for recent graduates, Melton said companies want to know “that you are somebody who’s willing to learn how to do new things, to try new things. But we don’t have it all figured out. The new systems haven’t all been created.”
While Melton said there’s no direct evidence of AI leading to fewer job opportunities for recent grads, internships have declined nationally. Some employers hire candidates directly after finishing an internship, so when “an employer is choosing to downsize their internship program, it just means that students are having to look elsewhere for internships and for full-time jobs,” she said.