Recent Denver College Grads Struggle To Land Jobs

“I probably applied for anywhere from 75 to 100 jobs,” said recent MSU Denver college graduate Charlie Nissen-Pickard. “I got to the point where, admittedly, I have filed for unemployment just to get some form of money coming in because I was doing freelance jobs for other people, but that’s not sustainable.” 

Nissen-Pickard is one of the 5.8 percent of recent graduates aged from 22-27 in the United States who, according to data from the Federal Reserve, are struggling to be hired by an employer. Although Nissen-Pickard accepted a paid position with Altitude Sports as a production operations intern, he’s still applying to some places just in case he doesn’t receive an extension. 

“It’s an internship position for six months, but it can go on for longer, from what I’ve noticed,” Nissen-Pickard said. “I have been applying far less than I was. I have applied for other positions, too, just to give it a shot. Not that I’d necessarily want to leave,”  

According to Nissen-Pickard, his quest to get a job has been exasperating because some employers don’t even get back to him at all. 

“The lack of communication back from employers [has been frustrating]. It’s okay being rejected, that’s life,” Nissen-Pickard said. “But, I think the aspect of not knowing what you did wrong or ‘what we recommend’ is the most discouraging part.” 

He adds that this struggle for recent grads has to do with the economic situation too. “Things have gone up in price, and a lot of companies aren’t going to be paying you as much,” Nissen-Pickard said. “I think that ties into politically speaking because of all the tariffs and the recessions we’ve had. I still think we are also coming out of COVID.” 

Just like Nissen-Pickard, another graduate of MSU hasn’t had any luck in starting his career. 22-year-old Michael Valdez graduated with a bachelor’s in criminal justice and hopes to get into CU Boulder’s Law school after taking a gap year to study for the LSAT; however, he still hasn’t had the chance to get a job to help him pay his bills. 

“I’ve applied to 300 at least,” Valdez said. “I’ve applied to Apple, Whole Foods, Verizon, T-Mobile, Panda Express, Noodles and Company, a bunch of judicial jobs and law firms.” 

Valdez believes he can’t get a normal part-time job because some companies find recent graduates either underqualified or too qualified. 

“It hurts sometimes when people think you’re overqualified all of a sudden because you have a four-year degree, but then you’re underqualified because you don’t have experience,” Valdez said. “So how does that work? Where do we get the balance? What are they wanting us to do then?” 

The job application process is frustrating, too, because the majority of the places he applied to have left him unanswered. The lack of communication throughout the process only adds to the pressure of finding a job in his degree area. 

“It’s definitely frustrating when you put four years of your life into getting a degree and it seems like people don’t even need them anymore,” Valdez said. “It’s definitely discouraging and disappointing that we go to college, you get a degree, and then you can’t get anything.” 

Valdez is considering filing for unemployment to help pay for his bills. 

“It’s getting serious and getting to the point where I keep applying for tons and tons of jobs and I’m getting nowhere,” Valdez said. “I’m like, ‘Well, unemployment sounds pretty nice.’ If it comes down to it, I guess I would obviously have to do something because I have bills to pay, and I can’t just do nothing and not make money.” 

Do recent grads’ feelings match the facts?

As of June, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reported that the unemployment rate for people who have a bachelor’s degree or higher, ages 25 and older, is at 2.4 percent, slightly lower than the national average of 2.5 percent. Some argue that what students are experiencing is the result of Denver’s sluggish job market, which has a 4.6 percent unemployment rate compared to the national average of 4.1 percent. 

Wendy Golden, a who has been working as a recruiter for 4 years, and in recruitment marketing for 10 years before that, says the job market is tough for everyone. 

“I would say in terms of [people] fresh out of school, I know that segment of society thinks that they’ve got it really rough, and they do, but it isn’t that much different for a lot of other people right now,” Golden said. “Right now, you’re either underqualified or overqualified. That sweet spot in the middle isn’t as sweet as it used to be, and it’s just not easy for anyone right now.” 

Golden believes that the economy is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and companies aren’t spending much on people. 

“We had the pandemic, and everything went crazy. But then in 2021 and 2022, we saw a resurgence. There was a lot of hiring going on, and now we’ve shifted again to a lot of layoffs,” Golden said. “A lot of companies were looking to save money, and the first thing you do is lay people off, and if they need help, they hire back contract [work].” 

Career coach and counselor Emily Frank agrees that it has been a lot harder for some to obtain a job now. When she started in 2018, the “average job search lasted somewhere around three months. Now, with my clients, it’s been looking more like five or six months, and I don’t know if that trend is going to hold or if that’s the new normal, but it’s taking longer.” 

Tips for finding jobs in a challenging market 

Golden believes that recent graduates can improve their chances of getting a job by not just mass applying to a lot of places, but reaching out to the hiring managers and trying to contact them personally. 

“I don’t necessarily think it’s all about the numbers,” Golden said. “Because so many people are out there and so many resumes are being sent in, you’re lucky if your resume gets viewed … I think you need to be a little bit more focused and pinpoint the people, not the job, but the people, that make the most sense for you to contact.” 

Frank seconds that advice. “What I generally recommend people do when the job market gets really bad, ironically, is to slow down on the job search and to get a little bit pickier,” she said. “So that the things they are applying for are things that they would actually be willing to do, and therefore they are spending more time on the applications.” 

As unemployment rates continue to rise in the nation, students are wondering if there is hope beyond their studies. As for Nissen-Pickard and Valdez, they are still hopeful that they will land a job soon. 

“I feel confident that I’ll be able to find something,” Nissen-Pickard said. “The amount of connections and knowledge I build here will take me a long way.”

“At the end of the day, I’m confident I’ll find something,” Valdez adds. “I’ve worked hard, built up solid experience, and I know what I bring to the table. It might not happen overnight, but I believe the right opportunity is going to line up, and I’m not giving up.”