Employers to Students: Work Experience Beats a 4.0 GPA

Graduating with a 4.0 GPA sounds like the ticket to a job. For thousands of new college grads, it has not been. In 2026, graduates who worked during college — through internships, part-time jobs, or any paid role — were hired at a rate of 81.6%, compared to just 40.7% for those without experience. That gap, more than double, is reshaping what employers actually want when they screen entry-level candidates fresh out of school.

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Hiring Managers Say Work Experience Outweighs GPA on Entry-Level Résumés

Ask a hiring manager what separates two otherwise identical candidates, and the answer is rarely grades. Bill Shafransky, a senior wealth adviser at Moneco Advisors in Fairfield, Connecticut, who reviews applications for internships and entry-level roles, says any résumé with experience automatically stands out. “I can teach somebody how to do a financial spreadsheet,” he told MarketWatch. “I can’t teach somebody how to be personable. I can’t teach effort.”

Economist Says Experience Is “Extremely Important”

The job does not need to be glamorous or even related to a student’s field of study. According to ZipRecruiter economist Nicole Bachaud, the lost opportunity of skipping a summer job — even a minimum-wage one — carries real consequences. “Having experience on a resume is extremely important in trying to begin a career,” she said. Low-skill service roles teach scheduling, reliability, and managing relationships with supervisors, all qualities employers say matter more than technical knowledge.

Fewer Students Are Working Than at Any Point Since the 1990s

Over the past three decades, the share of students holding jobs has dropped significantly. The employment-population ratio peaked at 35.5% for high school students in 1999 and 57.5% for college students in 2000. Many students shifted their focus toward academics and extracurriculars during this period, betting that strong transcripts would be enough. In 2026, 16% of graduating students and 9% of recent grads reported never having worked for pay at any point during college.

Recent Grads Face 9.7% Unemployment — Higher Than Workers Without College Degrees

The unemployment rate for recent college graduates reached 9.7% as of September 2025, equal to the rate for 20- to 24-year-olds who only completed high school. Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland found that, from June 2024 to June 2025, young college graduates actually found jobs at a lower rate than their peers who only finished high school — a striking reversal of a decades-long pattern. A college degree, on its own, no longer guarantees the head start it once did.

700 Applicants, 36 Spots

Karolyn Leonard, global director of talent acquisition at TMS, a marketing company, received nearly 700 applications for 36 internship openings in 2026. More than half of applicants had at least some work history, including food service jobs and student-athlete experience. “You want to hire somebody who has had some sort of experience dealing with a manager or co-workers,” Leonard said. Dependability and reliability, she added, are traits employers look for before anything else.

Teens Rarely Hear Back on Service Jobs Unless They Know Someone

For students who want to work, simply finding a first job has become harder. Teens and their parents told MarketWatch that entry-level service positions in food service rarely result in a callback without a personal connection to the employer. The competition is steep: adults 25 and older now account for more than half of minimum-wage workers in the U.S., edging out younger applicants for the same starter roles that used to belong almost exclusively to teenagers and students.

Students Are Building Résumés Without Traditional Jobs

For students locked out of traditional employment, some are creating their own. Car-detailing operations, landscaping businesses, and freelance work are filling the gap. Among the class of 2025 and rising 2026 graduates, 73% are actively considering gig work or skilled trades, and 38% are thinking about starting their own business. Survey data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor also found that Americans ages 18 to 24 are launching businesses at higher rates than any older generation.

“The Earlier You Get Into a Real Work Environment, the Better”

Economists are consistent on the timing: the earlier, the better. “Don’t wait until graduation,” said Sneha Puri, an economist at Indeed. “Work experience before graduating allows you to build skills that are hard to replicate in a classroom.” Students with work experience were nearly twice as likely to have started their job search before graduation — 73.4% versus 43.7% for those without experience — giving them a crucial head start at the moment competition for entry-level roles is fiercest.

A 4.0 GPA Helps. A Work History Decides

The data from 2026 is unambiguous. Working in any capacity during college is the single strongest predictor of landing a job after graduation, according to ZipRecruiter’s annual grad report. Grades, extracurriculars, and networking all matter, but none closes the hiring gap the way a paycheck does. In a market where employers demand three to five years of experience even for entry-level positions, students who spent their college years only studying are arriving underprepared for what is waiting for them.