Hey there, Reader-
Two weeks ago at the Student Success US conference, I shared a plenary panel with
Shawn VanDerziel (CEO, NACE),
Dana Stephenson (CEO, Riipen), and
Gad Levanon (Chief Economist, Burning Glass Institute).
But the conversation that stayed with me wasn’t just the one on stage—it was the dozens happening across the conference halls.
Over and over, senior leaders voiced the same concern:
“AI is moving faster than our institutions.
The labor market is shifting in ways we don’t fully understand.
And we’re not sure how to prepare students for what’s coming.”
This wasn’t whispered. It was the drumbeat of the conference.
Not fear of technology—fear of falling behind it.
Not anxiety about students—anxiety about whether our systems are built for the moment.
And the truth beneath it all?
Senior leaders are more worried about the future of early-career work than students are—because they can see the structural shifts students haven’t encountered yet.
Those shifts are exactly what we unpacked on the panel, and they’re the reason higher ed must rethink what “career readiness” actually means right now.
AI isn’t replacing whole jobs yet. But it is reshaping them
We’re in a labor market that no longer matches historical patterns.
Volatile economic signals. Uneven sector activity. Rapid federal policy shifts.
And beneath it all, one consistent force: AI.
AI isn’t eliminating entire professions, but it is eliminating the early-career tasks that once served as the training ground for new graduates:
- first drafts
- summarizing and synthesizing
- formatting
- basic analysis
- early ideation
Those tasks—once the entry point for learning—are now automated.
🎯When the first rung of the ladder disappears, climbing becomes much harder.
Pair that with employers quietly slowing entry-level hiring (fewer postings, delayed backfills, leaner teams), and you get contraction by omission: jobs that don’t open, opportunities that never materialize.
Campus leaders feel this pressure acutely, and they’re looking to us for clarity.
Universities are investing heavily in AI. Good. But incomplete
Campuses are talking about AI task forces, new policies, faculty development, ethical questions, youth impact, environmental concerns, and the need for coherent guidelines across courses.
This work matters. It’s necessary.
But even if we solved all of that tomorrow, we’d still face a hard truth:
Teaching students how to use AI is not the same thing as making them employable.
AI literacy matters.
But it cannot compensate for gaps in:
- career exploration
- experience
- human skills
- labor-market awareness
- the ability to articulate what they can do
We need to strengthen the parts of the ecosystem that weren’t working well before AI arrived:
- Exploration that starts too late
- Experiential learning that’s too limited
- Skill articulation that’s left to chance
- Classroom learning detached from employer expectations
- Outcomes data students can’t interpret
- Labor-market signals that never reach the people who need them most
This isn’t a failure of effort.
It’s a failure of alignment.
Human skills aren’t “soft.” They’re the advantage
As AI takes over routine work, employers are doubling down on distinctly human abilities—everything that emerges from experience, judgment, and social intelligence.
They’re hiring for:
- decision-making
- clear communication
- collaboration
- critical thinking
- adaptability
- initiative
- ethical reasoning
- the ability to navigate ambiguity
- leadership potential
- and yes, knowing when and how to use AI well
These skills aren’t built in a workshop.
They develop through:
- meaningful work
- applied practice
- real feedback
- cross-disciplinary problem-solving
- partnership with faculty
- trying, failing, learning, and trying again
Students don’t get this from a workshop. They get it from experience.
So what do students need from us now?
Not cheerleading.
Not more events.
Not vague encouragement.
Students need clarity, experience, and simple, trustworthy tools that help them navigate an economy in transition.
Here are six ideas:
1. Real labor-market transparency
Not vague trends—clear signals:
- What’s growing?
- What’s shrinking?
- How is AI reshaping specific fields?
- What skills matter most?
- What does entry actually look like?
- Where are alumni succeeding, and where aren’t they?
This is reality-based preparation.
2. Outcomes data students can understand
FDS isn’t helpful if students can’t interpret it.
They need:
- program-level data
- realistic salary ranges
- multi-year alumni trends
- context that simplifies, not overwhelms
Outcomes shouldn’t be a PDF link; they should be part of how students make decisions.
3. Career exploration that’s actually strategic
Exploration isn’t for “undecided” students. It’s for all students navigating shifting fields and new expectations. Without exploration, students choose in the dark.
4. More experiential and work-based learning
Experience is now the baseline.
Students need:
- Internships
- micro-internships
- applied class projects
- campus employment
- community-engaged work
- AI-enhanced assignments
One experience isn’t enough anymore.
5. Transferable skill translation in the curriculum
Students shouldn’t learn how to articulate skills after gaining them. We must help them practice this in the classroom, through:
- reflection
- feedback
- faculty-aligned articulation
This is the biggest untapped opportunity in higher ed.
6. AI literacy rooted in judgment
Students must learn:
- when to use AI
- how to verify it
- how to communicate their process
- where the risks are
- how AI is changing their field
AI literacy is cognitive, not just technical.
My take: This isn’t a crisis. It’s a crossroads
The leaders in those rooms were overwhelmed because the speed of change has outpaced the systems we built decades ago.
Higher education now has a rare opportunity to rebuild the career ecosystem with intention:
- clearer labor-market signals
- meaningful, scalable experience
- stronger faculty partnerships
- early, honest exploration
- outcomes that guide decisions
- human skills that differentiate
- AI literacy grounded in judgment
The college-to-career pipeline isn’t broken. It’s outdated.
And this is the moment to redesign it with more clarity, more humanity, and more strategy than ever before.
Hope for the best.
Prepare students for reality.
And build the conditions that help them thrive—today and in the world that’s coming.
Things you might want to read
Happy December!
P.S. We’re building a community of leaders shaping the future of career services. Know someone who should be part of it? Invite them here.
