Global graduates are ready for work, but 58% of them still can’t find jobs: What’s holding them back?
A new global survey by Kickresume (an AI-powered online platform for job seekers), conducted in May 2025, reveals a surprising disconnect at the heart of today’s graduate job market. While most fresh graduates say they feel confident and ready to launch their careers, the majority are still struggling to get hired. The survey gathered insights from 1,277 respondents across various education levels and career stages, dividing them into two groups: fresh graduates (students and those with less than a year of work experience) and earlier graduates (with more than a year in the workforce).According to the findings, 41 percent of fresh graduates said they feel “100 percent ready” to enter the job market. But despite this optimism, 58 percent of them have yet to secure their first job. This gap between confidence and employment highlights a growing crisis in the transition from classroom to career—a reality that raises urgent questions about whether education systems, hiring practices, or both are falling short.So what’s holding them back?
The job is missing before the degree ends
One of the clearest signs of this shift lies in pre-graduation hiring. The Kickresume survey found that only 12% of fresh graduates had a full-time job lined up before finishing their studies. In contrast, 39% of earlier graduates, those with more than a year of work experience, had jobs secured before graduation. That’s a nearly threefold drop.The result? More graduates are entering the job market with no safety net and no clear path forward.
LinkedIn wins, but resumes still confuse
The job hunt has also gone digital. Kickresume’s report shows that 57% of fresh graduates now rely on LinkedIn as their main job search tool, up from just 29% among earlier grads. Social media use has also jumped: 26% of today’s graduates use platforms like Instagram or TikTok to look for jobs, compared to just 7% of older respondents.But even with all these tools, resumes remain the number 1 struggle. As per the Kickresume survey, Around 34% of fresh graduates said writing a resume was the most difficult part of the hiring process, despite templates, AI support, and workshops. Among earlier graduates, 27% shared the same frustration, showing this challenge hasn’t changed much over time.
The biggest barrier: no experience
Other common hurdles fresh graduates face mirror those experienced by earlier graduates. For instance:
- 28% of fresh graduates and 30% of earlier graduates said they often come across unrealistic job descriptions that ask for more than what’s reasonable for entry-level roles.
- 26% of fresh graduates and 29% of earlier graduates admitted they struggled with self-promotion, finding it hard to present themselves confidently to employers.
- 20% of fresh graduates and 19% of earlier graduates said they felt pressure to accept any job, even if it wasn’t aligned with their goals or field of study.
These numbers show that while tools and job platforms may have changed, the core challenges in the job hunt have remained surprisingly consistent across generations.
Education vs. employment
Despite their optimism, many graduates are beginning to question the real-world value of their education. While 56% of fresh graduates believe their education will help their careers, 11% feel it’s already outdated, especially with AI reshaping industries.Among earlier graduates, 14% say most of what they learned no longer applies, and 12% believe work experience or bootcamps would’ve been more useful than formal education.
Are first jobs really that important?
Interestingly, while 47% of fresh graduates see their first job as a starting point rather than a life-defining step, the Kickresume report reveals a different reality in hindsight. Among earlier graduates:
- 32% say their first job defined their career path
- 35% say it helped them figure out what they liked or didn’t
- Just 11% said it didn’t matter at all
This suggests that first jobs may shape futures more than most new grads realise.
A confidence gap or a system failure?
The Kickresume 2025 survey paints a nuanced picture of the global graduate job market. Today’s graduates feel more confident than ever about entering the workforce, yet they are met with fewer opportunities than previous generations. Despite the rise of digital tools and platforms like LinkedIn, many core challenges remain unchanged. Fresh graduates still struggle with crafting effective resumes, overcoming experience gaps, and decoding vague job descriptions. This disconnect raises an important question—is the issue a matter of misplaced confidence, or does it point to a deeper failure in how education systems and employers prepare young people for the realities of the job market?TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here.
