How the Job Market is Failing Young People.

The more I navigate this system, the clearer it becomes that, for many of us young adults, breaking into the professional world feels like an uphill battle.

By Shakira Bruce-Abubacker, Feature Writer

Hey, would it be alright if we had a chat? I feel like we’ve built a space where we can be open with one another, a place where honesty and vulnerability are met with understanding rather than judgment.

Lately, I’ve been feeling an overwhelming sense of frustration when it comes to the job market—whether it’s unpaid work experience, internships, or securing a full-time, stable position. The more I navigate this system, the clearer it becomes that, for many of us young adults, breaking into the professional world feels like an uphill battle. It’s disheartening to see how difficult and convoluted the process has become, especially for those of us who poured years of dedication into earning a degree, holding onto the hope that it would pave the way toward the careers we’ve always aspired to.

I know I’m not alone in feeling this way, and I can’t help but wonder—why does it have to be this hard?

I mean, seriously—how is this fair? Just a few months ago, I poured four to five hours into an assessment for a CNN journalism internship, meticulously crafting my responses, giving it my all, only to receive a cold, impersonal rejection stating that they were “unable to continue with my application.” That single sentence shattered me. I replayed it over and over in my mind, questioning everything, and for days, I couldn’t shake the disappointment and sadness. It wasn’t just rejection—it felt like all that effort, all those hours, amounted to absolutely nothing.

You see, internships and full-time jobs aren’t the same. When you apply for a job and get rejected, as painful as it is, at least you can attribute it to not yet having the right experience or skills for the role. But an internship? That’s supposed to be the stepping stone—the opportunity to gain those very skills so that when the time comes to step into the workforce, you’re prepared and ready to contribute meaningfully. Being rejected for an internship feels like being denied the very chance to become qualified. It’s a vicious cycle: you need experience to get experience, but no one is willing to give you that first real shot. And honestly? It’s exhausting.

Rejection—both experiencing it and the mere thought of it—can be utterly soul-crushing. It chips away at your self-esteem, planting seeds of doubt that grow into something heavy, something suffocating. I know this feeling all too well. Time and time again, I’ve caught myself staring at the ceiling late at night, wondering if I simply wasn’t good enough.

Like I said before, when you apply for a job and don’t get it, as much as it stings, there’s at least a reason you can make peace with—you didn’t have enough experience, or maybe your skill set didn’t align perfectly with what they were looking for. It’s disappointing, yes, but it makes sense.

But when it comes to internships? The very thing designed to give you the skills and experience necessary to break into the field? When you pour your heart into the application, go through the grueling process, and still get rejected—you can’t help but wonder: What exactly are they judging me on?

Is it my personality? My background? My name? My race? Is there something about me that the world sees as a disadvantage?

And that thought? That gut-wrenching uncertainty? It’s more than just disheartening—it’s terrifying. Because if I feel this way, I know my peers do too. I know there are countless others, just like me, who have worked hard, played by the rules, and still find themselves stuck in this vicious cycle.

And if this continues—if this is the reality we have to face—how are we ever supposed to gain the necessary experience to land a real job? How are we supposed to earn a living? How are we meant to move forward when every door we knock on stays firmly shut?

Because of this, I find myself living in a state of uncertainty, a constant tug-of-war between hope and fear. I worry—not just for myself, but for my peers who are grappling with the same anxieties, the same frustrations, the same sense of being stuck in a system that feels impossibly rigid. I don’t mean to sound negative, and I wish I didn’t have to say these things, but this is a conversation that has been building for so long, and it’s one that needs to be discussed more openly.

Far too often, young adults are left feeling inadequate, taken advantage of, and disheartened—not because we lack ambition or drive, but because the job market has become an unrelenting maze, full of obstacles that make it nearly impossible to gain the experience we need to succeed. And nowhere is this more evident than in internships.

Internships should be about learning, about growth, about providing a stepping stone for those eager to enter the workforce. Yet, instead of being a bridge to opportunity, they have become yet another barrier—one that demands experience from those who have yet to gain it. The relentless assessments, the grueling selection processes, the expectation that candidates should already be fully equipped to excel before they’ve even been given a chance—it’s exhausting, and it defeats the entire purpose of an internship.

So, if you’re a recruiter, if you’re in a position to make a difference—please, reconsider. Scrap the endless assessments. Instead of filtering out those who don’t meet impossible standards, look for those who are willing—willing to learn, willing to grow, willing to dedicate themselves to the opportunity if only given the chance. Because that is the true essence of an internship.

And beyond that, companies need to rethink their approach. Taking on interns shouldn’t be about securing future employees—it should be about offering a helping hand, about playing a role in shaping the next generation of professionals. What happened to investing in people for the sake of helping them, not just for what they might provide in return? What happened to mentorship, to guidance, to simply giving someone a chance?

Because at the end of the day, that’s all we’re really asking for. A chance to learn, to grow, and to prove ourselves—not just as workers, but as individuals with potential worth nurturing.

At the end of the day, this isn’t just about job applications or internship rejections—it’s about the future of an entire generation. A generation that has worked tirelessly, earned their degrees, and dreamed of contributing something meaningful to the world, only to be met with closed doors at every turn. We are not asking for handouts. We are not asking for shortcuts. We are simply asking for a fair shot—a chance to prove that we can learn, that we can grow, and that we do have something valuable to offer.

So to those in positions of influence—to recruiters, hiring managers, and decision-makers—ask yourselves: What kind of future are we building if we continue to deny opportunities to those who need them the most? What do we gain by shutting people out instead of helping them in?

The world is changing, and so should the way we approach employment. Because if we continue down this path, we risk losing more than just eager applicants—we risk losing the next generation of talent, innovation, and passion. And that? That would be the greatest loss of all.

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