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Becoming a NEET\u2014\u201cnot in employment, education, or training\u201d\u2014is among the hottest career options for Gen Z right now.<\/p>\n
According to the International Labour Organization<\/a>, about a fifth of people between ages 15 and 24 worldwide in 2023 are currently NEETs.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Spain alone, over half a million 15 to 24-year-olds are neither studying nor working. <\/a>Meanwhile in the U.K., almost 3 million Gen Zers<\/a> are now classed as economically inactive\u2014with 384,000 youngsters joining the \u201cworkless\u201d class since the COVID pandemic.<\/p>\n But while some Gen Zers are avoiding the 9-to-5 grind to protect their wellbeing or because adulthood milestones like buying a home feel so out of reach<\/a> that they may as well not even try, a significant chunk of young NEETS are well-qualified and want to work, but just can\u2019t land a job\u2014and may never.<\/p>\n That\u2019s at least, according to a recent report by Korn Ferry<\/a> which warns a \u201cperfect storm\u201d of AI and recession-proofing, paired with talent hoarding, is to blame for the new wave of \u201cunemployables.\u201d<\/p>\n During the pandemic, firms hit pause on their hiring to brace for a recession that ultimately never really arrived.<\/p>\n According to the report, \u201csome jobs were combined, while others were eliminated altogether.\u201d For new entrants to the job market, it means that there were fewer jobs to apply for\u2014and that\u2019s not changing any time soon.<\/p>\n Although inflation is cooling, the report highlights that bosses aren\u2019t reinstating those trimmed roles because they\u2019re waiting to see how AI impacts workloads.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re hesitant about committing to full-time roles,\u201d Adam Prager, co-leader of the North America professional services practice at Korn Ferry<\/a> explains, adding that employers expect AI to make their workers more efficient.\u00a0<\/p>\n Essentially businesses right now are clinging to the talent they have and expecting them to make do with less, rather than hire new staffers that they may have to let go later down the line.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of this is due to the fact that many firms still remember pandemic layoffs, and are weary of more brand damage,\u201d the report adds.<\/p>\n Gen Z students know how tough the labor market is right now\u2014and those who are managing to get a foot in the door of employment are having to resort to extremely unusual methods.<\/p>\n After hearing crickets from over 100 job applications, Ayala Ossowski, used the 20 hours a week she was already working at a pizza shop in suburban Washington to try to get poached by DC\u2019s elite.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe market is so saturated with such incredible talent that it takes some creativity in order to stand out from the crowd,\u201d she told Fortune<\/em>.<\/p>\n The Gen Z grad wore a baseball cap emblazoned with her university logo on the front to every shift and launched into an elevator pitch any time a customer asked about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n After a month of pitching herself while serving pizza, Ossowski landed her first internship and now works at Cisco.<\/p>\n Likewise, after graduating in 2019 from the University of Bonn\u2014one of Germany\u2019s top universities\u2014Egyptian-born Basant Shenouda spent six months sliding into recruiters\u2019 DMs and applying for jobs online.<\/p>\n When Shenouda realized that traditional job-hunting methods weren\u2019t cutting it, she told Fortune<\/em><\/a> <\/em>that <\/em>she used LinkedIn<\/a> to see which conferences recruiters were posting about and then volunteered to work at those events, armed with a stack of r\u00e9sum\u00e9s to show them in her break.\u00a0<\/p>\n It worked\u2014she landed an internship at LinkedIn, where she is still working three years later.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Lohanny Santos, a 26-year-old with 2 degrees from Brooklyn went viral after crying on TikTok that she had been knocking door-to-door at several local cafes with her resume and no one would hire her.\u00a0<\/p>\n And the candid video paid off: Within days of posting, Santos\u2019 follower count tripled and brand partnership opportunities were coming her way.<\/p>\n In the aftermath, she told Fortune<\/em><\/a>: \u201cI feel like it only has just begun for me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Are you a young grad who can\u2019t land a job or a recruiter who keeps having to turn down Gen Z candidates? Fortune wants to hear your story. Get in touch: Orianna.Royle@fortune.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\u2018Wait and watch\u2019 strategy to blame for youth unemployment<\/h2>\n
Getting a job is no walk in the park for Gen Z<\/h2>\n