The landscape for fresh-faced college graduates entering the workforce is looking decidedly bleak, with many finding their aspirations for the “American Dream” overshadowed by a gloomy entry-level job market increasingly impacted by AI automation. However, not all companies are retreating from hiring young talent in favour of technological solutions. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, for one, has revealed that his company is actively increasing its recruitment of digitally-savvy graduates.
“The kids coming out of college right now learned how to program with AI,” Huffman stated recently on the ‘Sourcery with Molly O’Shea’ podcast. “They’re really good at it, and so I think we will go heavy on new grads, because they’re so much more AI native.”
While some chief executives are still marvelling at the capabilities of chatbots and AI agents, recent graduates are, in many ways, perfectly positioned for this new tech-driven world of work. As digital natives who grew up with the internet and spent a significant portion of their higher education immersed in the ChatGPT era, they possess a deep familiarity with these technologies. This makes them far more likely to readily integrate and leverage AI in their professional roles.
Huffman, the co-founder of the multi-billion dollar social media giant, views this propensity as a significant advantage. He contrasts this with older generations who, he suggests, may be more resistant to automating their existing workflows, even when it offers clear benefits.
“It’s the old people like me, it’s like I didn’t want to give [coding] up. I finally did,” the 42-year-old millennial CEO explained. “The younger people don’t have that baggage. They just write with AI.”
While Huffman champions the recruitment of Gen Z graduates, Reddit maintains that it values employees across all age groups and remains committed to hiring older workers as part of its ongoing success strategy.
Reddit CEO Warns Against Overlooking Gen Z Talent
Tech workers may harbour anxieties about their AI usage leading to inevitable job displacement, but Huffman remains resolute that the technology will not result in a reduction of the company’s engineering headcount.
A Reddit spokesperson further emphasised that the company’s emerging talent team is dedicated to recruiting young professionals, offering opportunities for new graduates and internships. These programs are designed to cultivate essential skills in areas such as machine learning, data science, and computer science.
Despite a general trend suggesting a shift away from tech companies actively recruiting college talent before graduation, Huffman has issued a stark warning: overlooking this demographic could prove to be a costly mistake.
The billionaire entrepreneur asserts that employers should be hiring graduates “right out of the gate,” otherwise they risk having to pay significantly more for comparable talent down the line.
“There are so many reasons to hire new grads,” Huffman continued. “If you don’t hire them as new grads, you will never see them. They will never be on the job market again. They’re too valuable to ever let them be on the job market.”
Gen Z: The Engine of Innovation and Succession
As companies grapple with widespread layoffs and a general pullback in hiring, entry-level graduates are facing an increasingly competitive labour market. In 2025, the proportion of unemployed Americans who were first-time workers reached a 37-year high, peaking at 13.3% in July before settling at 10.6% in the subsequent month. Some CEOs even anticipate that the percentage of unemployed college graduates could surge dramatically within the next few years.
However, a vocal contingent of business leaders is determined not to leave Gen Z behind. In fact, their relative inexperience is often viewed as an asset. Echoing Huffman’s sentiment that Gen Z lacks “baggage,” Ricardo Amper, the founder and CEO of software company Incode Technologies, believes that Gen Z’s perceived naivety is precisely what businesses need to foster innovation. They are not constrained by preconceived notions of how work should be done or by professional mindsets shaped by decades of career experience.
“My belief [is] that coming out with a fresh mind, first principles, is important. That’s why young people are particularly helpful in tech, because they’re less biased,” Amper commented earlier this year. “I think too much knowledge is actually bad in tech: you’re biased.”
Even if employers believe that AI agents can readily assume the roles of their younger employees, the widespread automation of these positions could inflict long-term damage. Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb, has cautioned against excluding Gen Z professionals from the workforce, citing the potential consequences of stifled innovation and a future lack of talent prepared to step into leadership positions currently held by millennials and Gen Xers.
“[AI] can do a lot of lower-level, more entry-level position jobs. But if no young people can get jobs, then you have no one in the future to do the highly strategic leadership positions,” Chesky stated in a 2025 interview. “So we need to make room for people early in their careers, even if AI can do the interns’ work.”
Furthermore, some prominent figures, such as Mark Cuban, argue that this is an opportune moment for Gen Z to seize. Older generations who are less adept with AI will need to acquire the skills to implement these tools effectively, and this is precisely where digitally-savvy young workers can shine.
“Learn all you can about AI, but learn more on how to implement them in companies,” Cuban advised young workers during a podcast appearance in 2025. “Learn to customize a model, walk into a company, show the benefits. That is every single job that’s going to be available for kids coming out of school.”
