Why College Is No Longer Enough

If you are in college, you probably hope that graduating will be enough to launch your career. For those of you still in high school, you are likely working hard to get into the best college you can with the same hope. That path worked for your parents. It no longer works for you.

The Jobs You Want Rigorously Test For Skills Not Taught in School

Employers, both “elite” and otherwise, use intensive skills assessments throughout their hiring process. These tests identify whether you actually have the skills to perform at a high level.

Goldman Sachs and McKinsey have famously difficult recruiting processes: hours of online cognitive and psychological assessments, many consecutive behavioral interviews, work simulations, and frequently an on-site day full of team challenges designed to stretch and expose your skills. Employers everywhere have adopted them because they are highly effective. You need to go through similar processes for jobs at AirBnB, Accenture, Deloitte, Procter & Gamble, Salesforce, Walmart, Citibank, and dozens of others.

These assessments test for critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, resilience, adaptability, collaboration, emotional intelligence, and integrity. You cannot fake these tests. They measure whether you actually possess the underlying skills.

Pre-screening signaling has changed as well. Employers now rely on internship experience, portfolios of actual work, and personal recommendations. Academic credentials matter less than demonstrated ability to deliver results; GPA has been abandoned as a signal among most high-performing organizations because grade inflation has made it a dead signal.

Employers Bemoan That College Is Not Teaching Key Skills

Employers consistently identify the same skills gap. They report that college graduates lack critical thinking, communication, teamwork, resilience and adaptability, initiative, and professionalism. A majority of American employers find it “difficult or very difficult” to find qualified applicants with critical thinking, communication, and interpersonal skills. These are the skills they test for. They find them rarely: Goldman accepts less than 1% of applicants, but Citi, Deloitte, and P&G accept less than 4%. 

High School Didn’t Train These Skills. College Won't Change That.

You develop High Performance Skills by taking on complex challenges in teams where the stakes are real and the path forward is unclear. You develop them through facing failure, getting feedback, and iterating under pressure.

If you have not developed High Performance Skills in high school, four more years of the same format in college will not teach you these skills. If you have not learned what work you want to do when you graduate before attending college, classes will do little to clarify the question. If you are to develop these skills, you will need to take initiative to find the right environments.

The Competition Just Got Much More Intense - You Must Stand Out

Recent college graduate unemployment hit 5.8% in Q1 2025. This is the highest level since the early COVID pandemic. For the first time since data collection began in 1990, recent college graduate unemployment is higher than the unemployment rate for other workers.

AI is permanently eliminating entry-level white-collar roles. The CEO of Anthropic warns that AI could eliminate 50 percent of all entry-level white-collar jobs by 2030. The CEO of GM agrees. The World Economic Forum predicts that 92 million jobs will be eliminated globally by 2030. IT, finance & banking, marketing, operations, law,  HR, and supply chain will be hit especially hard.

These jobs are not coming back. This is not a temporary recession. Mid-career professionals can now leverage AI instead of managing junior employees. Many sectors are seeing 30%+ productivity gains from AI – and we are at the very beginning of this revolution. The entry-level roles that once served as training grounds for professional careers are rapidly evaporating.

You will graduate college into an unprecedentedly competitive job market. More candidates will compete for fewer entry-level positions. The candidates who demonstrate proven skills and the ability to deliver results will win those few opportunities. Those who have the durable skills to perform across different industries will be those who can adapt to the new, as-yet unknown jobs that arise.

So What's Your Plan?

If college doesn't prepare you to pass employers’ tests, get hired, and perform at a high level, what will make you different from the thousands of other graduates competing for the same few positions?

The path that worked for your parents has fundamentally changed. The entry-level job market has fundamentally changed. If you are planning to rely exclusively on college to prepare your career, you do not have a plan that meets reality where it is.

The question isn't whether you'll attend college. The question is whether you'll be prepared to seize opportunities at college where you can develop High Performance Skills, and whether you'll be ready to launch your career when you graduate.