How to Get a Job in 2026: What Every New Graduate Needs to Know

Every year, millions of college students get advice on how to find a job.

This year feels different.

These graduates are entering a job market and economy undergoing seismic shifts, brought on by global forces and powerful new technology. We’ve seen many versions of this before—look at headlines from 2003, 2009, 2012—but the scale of change in 2026 is different. The jobs these grads imagined taking when they enrolled in school four years ago may no longer exist. The industries they’re hoping to join may be forever changed.

Previous generations have had to entirely rethink their approach to the job market, and the class of 2026 has to do the same. There are new rules for positioning yourself for a job in 2026—and they may seem contradictory. When it comes to crafting your LinkedIn profile, résumé, cold outreach, networking approach, or interview responses, you need to emphasize both your ability to use new technology and your ability to do all the uniquely human things that AI can’t.

1. Upskill yourself on AI. AI proficiency will soon be nonnegotiable in hiring—the same way Microsoft Word or Excel proficiency once were—and using it well can expand your capabilities and make you a more appealing candidate for thousands of different roles. Join the Lean In WhatsApp group chat to get started, and reference your AI abilities throughout your job search communications.
2. Emphasize skills that can’t be automated. A chatbot can’t build relationships, navigate conflict, or boost morale. It can’t make sound judgment calls in ambiguous situations. It can’t draw on a body of lived experience to arrive at a considered answer to a complicated problem. It can’t come up with outside-the-box ideas. Only humans can do that. Boast about your track record when it comes to those critical workplace skills—they may be more important than ever.
3. Ask what you can do to help. In 2026, hiring managers are faced with a whole new set of questions they’ve never had to consider, and you’ll set yourself apart in offering to help them find the answers. Instead of starting by telling professional contacts what YOU want out of a job, try this: in every conversation, say, “What problem do you need to solve in your business, and how can I help you do that?”

Another tip: You can use AI to streamline your job search by uploading your résumé and ideal job description into a chatbot and asking it to surface jobs you could apply for or contacts who could help.

Yes, AI is a big part of why the job market is so uncertain, but avoiding it will only further disadvantage you (especially if you’re a woman). Should you use AI for everything? No—your brain is a muscle that needs to complete difficult tasks in order to strengthen the very critical thinking skills and cognitive flexibility that will make you an especially valuable addition to any organization now and in the future. Should you use it to give you a leg up with hiring managers and help optimize your job search efforts in a difficult market, so that you can retain brain space and energy for other things? I think you should.

Good luck. We’re here to help.