Armed with degrees and restless to make a mark, India’s young jobseekers are discovering that hard work is no guarantee of a job in a market squeezed by layoffs, AI and relentless competition, finds Himanshi DhawanWhen a recent jobs report revealed that more than 65% of India’s unemployed youth were graduates, it was a sharp indictment rather than an endorsement of the country’s much-lauded demographic advantage. This week, a 23-year-old engineering gold medallist from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, died by suicide after struggling to secure a govt job. Over the past two years, he had appeared for 50 recruitment exams.TOI spoke to three young people standing at the threshold of their careers. They were excited, anxious and restless to make their mark, yet each spoke of being unable to find work despite sustained effort. The growing use of AI by companies, a squeezed job market and continuing layoffs have steadily narrowed their employment prospects, even as a constant stream of graduates emerges from India’s colleges every year.2nd-year MBA student with 100 rejectionsAlok Nair, 24Malappuram, KeralaThe first time Nair peeked at a prism in physics class, it was as if a whole new world had opened up. The colours of the rainbow in the light piqued his interest in the subject. Theorems, data, equations were exciting concepts that came easily to him, as did the choice to pursue mechanical engineering. But, today, the joy of tackling a good theorem or equation has been tempered by the looming question of a bleak future.Nair is still in his second year at MBA school, learning about operations and business analytics, but he has already spent eight months in the job market. “Soon after we joined our MBA course, it was made clear that we had to manage placements on our own,” he says. “I decided to begin applications in the first year itself.”The goal was to hit the ground running. Nair set himself benchmarks: to stay focussed on a logistics and operations job and not to accept a salary below Rs 6 lakh per annum.Eight months and 800 applications later, his resolve is wavering.The job hunt started with a momentum. He started applying for roles as operations executive and analyst for large MNCs, such as Amazon, Deloitte, and Accenture. He figured they had large warehouses, dark stores that were fuelling the over-$450 billion gig economy, which would need some managers to run the backroom. After 100 rejections, Nair says he was disheartened, but didn’t give up.“I figured I had to optimise my resume. I researched deeper, checked company websites, including the keywords that had been used in the job description, in the hope of beating the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software,” he says.ATS is an AI tool used by companies to filter resumes for those that fit the bill, easing HR’s work by eliminating the need to go through each document manually. But there is also a risk — it might weed out genuine applicants like Nair, which is why he paid close attention to the keywords used in the job description, applied on the company’s website rather than on a networking app and tailored his CV to the needs of the company.“After all that, I have so far received 10-15 callbacks, but I rejected them because most were sales jobs, or for low salaries,” he adds.Of the batch of 360 students in his college, only seven have bagged job offers. “Most companies offer marketing jobs with salaries as low as Rs 20,000-Rs 25,000 a month,” he says, “My family has already spent about Rs 13 lakh on my education, so such low salaries do not make sense,” Nair says.“Honestly, I didn’t think it would be such a tough challenge to get a job. I thought that if I apply for 20 jobs, I would get at least five callbacks, but I was completely wrong about that. Within three months, I lost all hope of getting a job.”He’s also plagued by “ghost jobs” — companies that keep posting vacancies but never reach out or close them. “My friends and I have applied several times to some companies, but we never hear from them. It is puzzling,” he says.Nair’s father, who works for a logistics firm in Dubai, understands the current dynamics, so there is no family pressure right now. His 16-year-old brother, also keen on pursuing engineering, is already waiting in the wings. “Are there even so many jobs,” he wonders. “The only way to move forward for me is to keep applying.”2 months, 112 applications, 1 AI interviewSweesha Giridharan, 20Bengaluru, KarnatakaFor Giridharan, every day feels like a race. It starts every time a company posts a vacancy. “Within an hour, the post will receive a flood of resumes from applicants. You have to be among the first for your resume to even be opened,” she says.A commerce graduate from Chennai’s Stella Maris College, Giridharan recently moved to Bengaluru to her grandparents’ home to improve her job prospects.In the last two months, she has applied for 112 jobs, and even been interviewed by an AI bot. The bot interview was the one she felt least nervous about. “It was among the better ones because I felt that there was no underlying bias in the questions. The bot was asking me questions based on my answers,” she adds.“When campus recruitment started, I realised that what I had learnt in the last three years of college — whether it was academic projects or research work — had very little bearing on what the job market wanted,” she says.The companies who came to campus wanted “market-ready” candidates, which meant those who already had work experience and AI certifications. “Internships don’t count, and no one will hire us, so how are we expected to have work experience?” she wonders. There are no easy answers.Instead, Giridharan has decided to focus her energies on HR. Not only does she carefully scan company websites for accurate job descriptions, she also seeks out people working in the department to create a personal connection to improve her chances of being noticed.Along the way, she also identified a gap in HR’s onboarding of new candidates — a long, tedious but mandatory process. “I created an AI bot that can respond to questions about leave or procedures from the company policy document, rather than reaching out to senior employees who may not have the time to respond,” she says. She hopes prospective employers will recognise her interest in HR and her comfort with using AI tools.She admits to feeling “fried” some days after hours spent online, and regrets not accepting an earlier “halfdecent” offer. “My parents are on my case, but I try not to stress too much. I know I am trying my best,” she adds.Jobless techie in Canada with Rs 40 lakh loanSuraj Verma, 26Guwahati, AssamIn 2022, when Verma started a prestigious internship programme for meritorious international students at Canada’s McGill University, he was determined to make it count. He bagged a place in the university’s post-graduate programme and in Aug 2023, it felt like a world of opportunity was opening up.Yet, less than three years later, he is in Canada — jobless, with an education loan of Rs 40 lakh to pay off. If nothing materialises in the next two months, the software engineer may have to wait tables or work in a supermarket to make ends meet.Born in Assam, Verma knew he had to move out soon to expand his career prospects and took admission in an undergraduate computer science programme in Chennai.Internship followed, and he landed the master’s programme in Canada. Then came the first obstacle. Though the internship helped with an initial stipend, he still needed nearly Rs 40 lakh for tuition and living expenses over the next two years, as he completed his master’s. Verma could not get any bank to extend an education loan, and had to finally approach a private moneylender, who was charging an interest rate of 13%. Even with the loan money, Verma had to work as a teachers’ assistant. Things were going well, it seemed.Soon after he graduated in June 2025, he found a job as a software engineer. But in March this year, the company decided to lay off employees and new recruits like Verma were among the first to face the axe. He knew it was not just him. Big tech companies like Google, Amazon have laid off employees in recent months.While there was sympathy all around, it also meant that as a nearfresh graduate with barely 10 months of experience, he was competing with experienced software developers in an economy where AI was threatening to take over all coding jobs.“I never imagined being in this position. After I got the internship, it felt like the needle had turned, and there were good things waiting for me if I worked long and hard,” he says.Since March, Verma has filed 600 applications, of which 300 were cold reachouts. He landed only one interview. “The market is so uncertain. When I finished my undergraduate programme, there was a recession; and in 2025, when I finished my post-graduation, AI changed the marketplace,” he says.Living off his savings, Verma says returning to India is his final option, as it would be impossible to pay off the loan. “My plan is to continue applying and wait out till Sept-Oct. After that I will pick up a part-time job, move into a smaller apartment. My visa allows me to stay for another two years, so there is no immediate pressure to return,” he says.Verma has already cut down on his spending. Living expenses come to about Rs 1.2 lakh a month, even though he rarely socialises or spends on clothes. “I eat one meal a day. You get used to it,” he says.
