2025 is a tough year for Gen Z college graduates. Entry-level hiring has slowed, competition has increased, and the promise that a once-reliable degree would fully translate into a stable career has begun to wear off.
Some CEOs, including Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and Ford’s Jim Farley, have even used their platforms to warn that artificial intelligence and automation pose an existential threat to many entry-level jobs.
But while there are signs that 2026 could bring further turmoil, not every executive message is bleak. As AMD CEO Lisa Su says: “Run — not walk, but run — toward the hardest problems, where you’ll find the greatest opportunities, learn the most, differentiate yourself, and most importantly, grow.”
For the millions of Gen Z NEETs and job seekers hoping to land a new job or promotion in the new year, the takeaway is clear: embrace challenges, stay curious, take charge of your career and stay adaptable, and you’ll be able to thrive even in an unpredictable job market.
Accenture CEO Julie Sweet: Curiosity is a leadership advantage
Julie Sweet never imagined she would become Accenture’s CEO. She didn’t fit the traditional mold of the company’s past leaders, many of whom came from traditional business backgrounds, spent their entire careers at the company, and were all men.
Instead, Sweet told wealth Embracing uncertainty and saying “yes” when opportunities arise helped her step into the role this year — a lesson Gen Z can learn.
Even at the top, leadership doesn’t mean having all the answers, she said. Curiosity and asking for help remain one of her self-described “superpowers.”
“I think the idea of being a deep learner at a senior level is really important and that’s not something that’s common in a lot of companies,” Sweet said.
This mindset started in her early years working in the legal sector, when she admitted she wasn’t particularly tech-savvy and had to seek guidance. But it was this skill that ultimately helped her stand out and move up the corporate ladder.
“Transparency builds trust,” she added. “Because the more value you can contribute [to] your company, the more likely you are to land the next best job. “
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy: You don’t have to have it all figured out
In an era of constant change, trying to plan an entire career at a young age can be overwhelming. But Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says stress is often self-inflicted and unnecessary.
“I have a 21-year-old son and a 24-year-old daughter, and one of the things I see in them and their peers is they all feel like they have to know what they want to do at that age,” Jassy said on the podcast, How Leaders Lead with David Novak. “I really don’t believe this is true.”
Jassy’s own career is proof of that. Long before he became the CEO of one of the most powerful companies in the world, he was experimenting — trying his hand at sports broadcasting, product management, and entrepreneurship. He also worked at a golf retail store, coached high school football and tried his hand at investment banking.
Such exploration is crucial, he said.
“I’ve tried a lot of things, and I think early on, it’s just as important to know what you don’t want to do as it is to know what you do want to do, because it can actually help you figure out what you want to do.”
AMD CEO Lisa Su: Meet the toughest challenges
For AMD CEO Lisa Su, uncertainty isn’t something to be afraid of, but rather where growth happens.
Speaking to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute graduates, Sue shared the best career advice she’s ever received—and it may be more relevant than ever: Don’t shy away from challenges—meet them head-on.
“Running—not walking, but running— toward the hardest problems is where you find your greatest opportunities, where you learn the most, where you set yourself apart, and most importantly, where you grow,” Sue said.
She adds that embracing difficulty only accelerates learning and impact: “When you choose the hardest challenge, you choose the fastest path to growth and the greatest opportunity for change.”
Citi CEO Jane Fraser: Dream big and build resilience
For Jane Fraser, the challenges facing young people are personal. Her two sons are just starting to build careers in finance and technology, and she’s candid about how precarious their future jobs may be.
In an interview with T. Rowe Price, Fraser said she had to admit that many of today’s jobs may not exist in their current form in just a few years. Therefore, she adds, figuring out how to build resilience and develop skills that will allow you to reinvent yourself at several points in your career will be crucial.
In an AI-driven world, she acknowledges that knowing every answer is less important than developing good judgment and human intuition.
“You don’t need to know the answer. You need to judge. You need a range of other things,” she said.
Her number one piece of advice to young people is simple: “Dream.”
“Don’t feel like you have to be pigeonholed because there’s so much pressure on kids coming out of college.”
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczynski: Stand up for your cause
Chris Kempczinski may be responsible for Happy Meals and Ronald McDonald, but he recognizes that when it comes to building a career, not everything is fun and games. In a recent Instagram post, the McDonald’s CEO shared some tough love advice young people need to hear: The ball is in your corner, and the onus is on you to achieve your career goals.
“Remember, no one cares about your career as much as you do,” Kempczinski said. “You’ve got to own it, you’ve got to make things happen yourself.”
While many young workers are grabbing onto their networks for help, the risk of being left behind is real: millions of young people are now classified as “NEET” – unable to enter employment, education or training. But Kempczinski said there will always be ups and downs in a career, but no matter what, it always pays to keep an open mind.
“It’s much better to be a yes person than a no-one person,” he added to LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky. “So when careers take twists and turns, the more you’re seen as someone who’s willing to say yes and do something, that means you’re going to get that next call.”
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: Explore the technology industry
Jen-Hsun Huang is one of the most talked about executives this year, in large part because he leads the world’s most valuable company and is at the center of the artificial intelligence boom.
But the Nvidia CEO’s advice to young people isn’t that they need multiple degrees or become tech wizards. Instead, he has been urging Gen Z to take a hard look at technology industries, which are more resistant to artificial intelligence and increasingly important to the development of technology.
“If you’re an electrician, a plumber, a carpenter, we’re going to need hundreds of thousands of people to build all these factories,” Huang told Britain’s Channel 4 News.
“There will be a boom in the skilled crafts sector in every economy,” he added. “You have to double, double, double every year.”
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon: Show of hands
Doug McMillon announced his retirement this year as the head of the world’s largest retailer and Fortune 500 company.
During his decades-long career at Walmart, he learned a thing or two about climbing the corporate ladder; after all, his career before moving into the C-suite began unloading trucks in a warehouse, earning just $6.50 an hour. But he wouldn’t have made it to the top without the help of others.
“Nothing happens through individual efforts alone,” MacMillan told the Stanford Graduate School of Business in May. “We all do this together.”
Another secret to his success, he said, is his willingness to volunteer for tasks that others might scoff at.
“One of the reasons I get these opportunities is I raise my hand when my boss is out of town and he or she is shopping or doing something else,” McMillon told Strategy last year.
It also allowed him to meet with more top executives and show them he was ready to move to the next rung — a lesson today’s Gen Z can use to stand out in a competitive job market.
“Then I put myself in a low-risk promotion environment because people had already seen me doing the job,” McMillon said.
This story originally appeared on Fortune.com
