Grim-faced college graduates are seeing the American Dream swept out from under them and entering a murky entry-level job market plundered by AI automation. However, not all companies are pushing back on recruiting young professionals in favor of technology tools. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman says his business is actually ramping up the recruitment of the digitally savvy generation.
“Kids coming out of college are learning how to program with AI,” Huffman said in a recent talk. Molly O’Shea’s Sourcing Items Podcast. “They’re so good that I think they’re going to focus more on graduate hires because they’re much more AI-native.”
While some CEOs marvel at the capabilities of chatbots and AI agents, recent graduates are actually ripe for a new technology-driven world of work. Digital natives grew up with the internet and spent most of their higher education in the ChatGPT era. They are much more likely to be tech-savvy and take advantage of it in their work. And the co-founder of a $26.7 billion social media empire says the trend is actually a gift. Older generations are resistant to automating their technology, even if it’s a good thing.
“I feel like they didn’t want to give it to me because it’s an old guy like me.” [coding] above. “It’s finally happened,” the 42-year-old millennial CEO explained. They just write using AI. ”
Huffman also endorsed new Gen Z hires, saying that Reddit values employees of all ages and remains committed to hiring older employees to continue its success.
Reddit CEO says not hiring Gen Z graduates is a costly mistake
Technology employees may be worried that the use of AI will lead to inevitable layoffs. But Huffman was adamant that technology would not reduce the company’s engineering headcount.
A Reddit spokesperson also emphasized: luck The company’s emerging talent team focuses on recruiting young professionals, and also offers graduate opportunities and internships to develop essential skills such as machine learning, data science, and computer science.
While the trend appears to be moving away from tech companies hiring college talent before they graduate, Huffman warned that it could be a costly mistake. The billionaire says employers need to hire graduates “now” or risk having to pay them 100 times more in the future.
“There are many reasons to hire new graduates,” Huffman continued. “If we don’t hire them as graduates, we’ll never see them. They’ll never come into the labor market again. They’re too valuable to ever put them in the labor market.”
CEOs say Gen Z workers are essential for innovation and succession
New graduates are battling a cutthroat labor market as companies implement drastic layoffs and pull back on hiring.
The share of unemployed Americans working for the first time will reach a 37-year high in 2025, peaking at 13.3% in July before falling to 10.6% last month. And some CEOs believe the share of unemployed college graduates could even skyrocket within just a few years.
But there is a group of vocal leaders who won’t leave Gen Z in the cold, and in fact, their inexperience can sometimes be seen as an advantage. Echoing Huffman’s point that Gen Z doesn’t come with “baggage,” Ricardo Ampel, founder and CEO of $1.25 billion software company Incode Technologies, believes Gen Z’s naivety is exactly what companies need to innovate. They are not bound by preconceptions about work or professional thinking shaped by decades of career experience.
“My belief [is] It is important to approach the project with a fresh mindset and first principles. That’s why young people are especially helpful in the technology field because they have fewer prejudices,” Amper said. luck earlier this year. “I think in the tech industry, too much knowledge is actually a bad thing. It’s biased.”
Even if employers believe that AI agents can take over the jobs of younger employees, automating their roles could be damaging in the long term.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky has warned against excluding Gen Z professionals from the workforce. As a result, innovation is stifled and there is a shortage of talent ready to fill Millennial and Gen X positions.
“[AI] You can do a lot of lower entry level jobs. But if young people can’t get jobs, there won’t be anyone to fill highly strategic leadership positions in the future,” Chesky said. ABC News In an interview in 2025. “So even if AI can do the job of an intern, we need to make room for people early in their careers.”
What’s more, some CEOs like Mark Cuban even argue that now is a good time for Gen Z to seize the opportunity. Older generations who are not proficient with AI will need to learn how to implement the tools effectively. That’s where digitally savvy young workers step in.
“Learn all you can about AI, but also learn more about how to implement AI into your company,” Cuban advised young workers during the conference. TBPN Podcasts in 2025. “Learn how to customize the model, join a company and show your benefits. That’s all the jobs available to kids coming out of school.”
