Class of 2022: What they want in an Employer and the Industries Hiring them Right Now

As the class of 2022 gets set to graduate college (or has recently graduated), attention gets turned to what they do next—hitting the job market or starting their career. Since a couple years have passed of interesting job market trends: a freeze on hiring, limited numbers of entry-level candidates getting hired and more, all eyes are on what the prospects are like for this year’s most recent graduates. Get the scoop below!

What is the Job and Employment Outlook Like for the Class of 2022?

The good news for this year’s graduating class is that job prospects seem positive. More employers are open and ready to hire fresh grads. Research shows that most are set to hire about 1/3 more grads than last year, and even more than in 2020, when a majority of hiring was frozen. On top of that, about 40 percent of roles can be performed in a hybrid way, with some time spent in the office and some time spent remotely.

While the way work is being done is ever-changing, employers are seeing the value of new grads again, especially when it comes from ease in training, the ability to upskill and the potential more youthful voices have on the team. Time will tell how fruitful the current market is for them, but early indicators show that the class of 2022 will have better luck than the two before them.

Which Industries are Hiring the Most Grads?

The fields and industries that are hiring the most grads include the following:

• Finance
• HR/Recruiting
• Engineering
• Sales/Business Development
• Computer Science
• Finance/Logistics
• Accounting

Jobs may be plentiful in these fields, but there are others available, too. It is never too late for grads to be job searching and applying for jobs! HR and Recruiting, in particular, has been especially in demand as companies work to retain workers and staff up as those who have been in the workforce for a bit pivot to something new.

What is the Class of 2022 Looking for in Employers?

With summer 2022 almost the beginning of Gen Z in the workforce, the differences between generations and how they look at work is coming to light. Despite theories from older generations that grads will be willing to bail on employers at the first thought of a new job, recent survey results showed that 90% consider how long they would want to stay at an employer and about 70 percent hope to stay with their first employer for years.

Additionally, many want a hybrid or traditional job, rather than one that is fully remote, perhaps due to making through over two years of Zoom University and missing in-person collaboration.

Signing with an employer that matches their values is also important to this new graduating class, particularly around efforts to increase and recognize Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and mental health. Almost all soon-to-be-grads said that they would not want to work someplace where the values did not align with their own. Work-life balance is especially important to these new members of the workforce, and they expect their employers to respect that.

Lastly, in part due to inflation, new grads expect to make roughly 70k-100k out of school, although the reality is most will make more like 40-50k a year, with the exception of some STEM grads. It is clear that this class has high expectations of their prospective employers, so it will be interesting to see what it takes to attract and retain this cohort.

Congrats to the class of 2022!

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