Between employers using artificial intelligence to screen applicant resumes and companies automating thousands of entry-level positions, it’s no secret that AI is changing the way people get and do their jobs.
For some Tulane University students gearing up to enter the workforce, big changes are leading to big anxieties.
A. B. Freeman School of Business senior Ethan Kraus applied to 130 different positions to get his summer internship last year. This year, he knows many juniors and sophomores are struggling to find summer work in finance.
“It’s really tough right now. I think it’s probably AI,” Kraus said. “I know software engineering, it hit really hard. There’s people who apply to hundreds and hundreds of those internships, and they don’t hear anything back.”
Sarah Covert, director of operations and career development at the business school, said that while stress is a natural part of the transition from college to career, she is seeing students particularly anxious about how industries are changing, and how that affects their job prospects. She knows a few students who even made it part of the way through the hiring process before the position they were applying for was dissolved.
But with over 2,000 graduates set to finish their time at college in the spring, the career experts at Tulane had a clear message: It’s not as bad as it seems.
Edward Cruz, assistant dean and executive director of NTC career services, said that of Tulane’s class of 2025, 91% of graduates were successful in getting work, continuing education, volunteering or entering the military.
During times of economic uncertainty, generally speaking, more students tend to pursue graduate degrees to prolong their time before entering the workforce. But this year, the number of recent graduates going directly to work has actually increased since last year, a signal that graduates are finding success in the job market, according to Cruz.
Beyond AI, economic instability also means companies are scaling back on hiring across the board. Covert said the recent tariffs, for example, have had a big impact on the business sector.
On the other hand, Covert said Tulane students have found success in the energy sector, especially because of new data center development. Government jobs are more unstable, but Kathryn Santanilla, director of career education and professional development at NTC, said students may be surprised to find there are still many jobs available.
“I really encourage [students] not to completely blanket out certain industries thinking nothing is there,” Santanilla said. “Even government is still hiring, and it’s not looking the same as it used to, and the recruiters aren’t always there in the same way they used to be, but we’re still having some success in those areas.”
Cruz said computer science and technology analytics was the third-highest industry that recruited Tulane graduates, even though recent reporting had painted a bleak picture for computer science graduates.
“Corporate moves a lot quicker than higher education does usually, and so we are making sure that we’re talking to our corporate partners a lot about what’s happening today versus tomorrow,” Covert said.
The surge of AI might not be detrimental to the job search in every way. When he was applying to internships, Kraus said AI was helpful.
“I would copy paste the job description [and] my resume to ChatGPT, and then I would add in two or three cover letters that I had written previously,” Kraus said. Then he would have the AI “do research on the company, so it could add anything more that would be of value there, and then, based on that, it can make a really good cover letter.”
Tulane has no shortage of tools, including some AI programs, to help students be competitive applicants. VMock is an AI platform that can provide students with feedback on their resumes and interviewing skills. The Labor Market Insights tool allows students to research the growth of different industries. Tulane also has vault guides available to students — huge surveys of more than a thousand professions and companies.
Tulane also has 16 career coaches across campus to support some 8,000 undergraduate students, and more than 30 staff that support career development, according to Santanilla.
“At Tulane, we’re not sitting still on [AI],” Cruz said. “There’s resources for students. There’s classes. There’s faculty that are experts in this that are featured across campus.”
Tulane also offers classes and certifications on AI proficiency, which is becoming an increasingly necessary qualification to be a competitive applicant. There are special programs available just to business students, but any Tulane student can complete the Applied AI Literacy module through Canvas to brush up on their AI skills.
“I think you’re going to see more employers asking for those [AI] skills coming out of [Tulane],” Cruz said. “That’s why the university is responding the way it is, to ensure that our students do have those opportunities…[to be] more competitive as they come out.”
Kraus also recommended that students take additional courses outside of Tulane to make their applications stand out. Google, for example, offers flexible online courses in data analytics, project management and digital marketing.
“Try to be as different as possible,” Kraus said. “You’re not going to be able to be competitive if you’re trying to do what everyone else is doing.”
Eileen DiFranco • Mar 4, 2026 at 9:34 pm
As the parent of a TU 2025 grad I think this article really makes light of the challenge facing these grads. The landscape has changed completely and I don’t think Tulane did a very good job of preparing grads for the challenges they walked into.