Why are so many recent college graduates getting fired?
How schools and parents can help.
Originally published in the Moultrie News.
School isn’t just career prep; a good education should enrich every part of life. Likewise, parents aren’t only raising future workers but future citizens. Still, helping young people develop the skills for a successful livelihood is part of both missions, and on that front, we all have work to do.
A recent survey of hiring managers by the career platform Intelligent offers clues about what’s going wrong. The study found that one in eight managers planned to avoid hiring recent college graduates in 2025, and 55% had to fire one in 2024. Their reasons reveal how schools and parents can better prepare children for real life.
1. Lack of work ethic
Schools have been sliding toward a post–work ethic culture for years. I work with several high school students, and the contrast between their school experience and my own is like Mars and Pluto. Many students take only two core courses per term and have entire “free” periods to wander campus and play. Teachers often give open-book tests and allow test retakes. Except in the most advanced classes, homework has essentially disappeared.
At home, students rarely do chores or outside work. Maids clean their rooms, robots vacuum their floors, machines wash their dishes, and Alexa answers their questions.
By tightening the screws on such skimpy expectations, teachers and parents could better set the standard for a strong work ethic.
2. Poor interview readiness
Many managers said graduates struggled with eye contact, dressed inappropriately, couldn’t negotiate compensation, and even brought parents to interviews.
The problem begins in school. Once upon a time, students had to stand before the class and give speeches. The practice du jour is the “presentation,” where kids assemble into groups, slap together a few PowerPoint slides, and take turns reading them aloud. More individually demanding practices could help.
Additionally, you rarely hear adults tell kids anymore, “Stand up straight and look me in the eye,” so kids become entrenched in poor discourse skills.
Dress codes have also eroded, and when students show up to school in sweats, crop tops, or even pajamas, the message is that professionalism doesn’t matter.
Negotiating pay is another lost art. Few students understand compensation because few have ever had jobs. In 1979, almost 60% of teens worked; by 2018 that number dropped to about 35% and continues to fall. Parents can help by encouraging teens to work again, and schools can do their part by expanding financial literacy courses, which are finally on the rise.
3. Entitlement
Entitlement flourishes when children receive everything they want without earning it. Schools contribute through grade inflation and lenient discipline. “Restorative” approaches eliminate meaningful consequences and give kids opportunities to talk their way out of character-shaping repercussions.
Parents often do harm by shielding kids from every setback, giving in to tantrums, or overindulging them with electronics, clothes, and toys. The antidotes are accountability and moderation.
4. Poor response to feedback
Many young people crumble under criticism because they’ve never faced it before. I see eighth graders cry over a single B because it was their first. Students shouldn’t glide through the system just because they’re smart: every child deserves to be challenged academically.
Many adults today reject criticism altogether, insisting on constant “positive reinforcement.” While kindness is essential, growth requires correction. Clear, honest feedback teaches students how to adapt and persevere—skills employers desperately want.
5. Other red flags: lateness, laziness, and dependence
Punctuality, initiative, and self-management are all products of accountability. We train children by what we accept. If we excuse lateness or laziness, that’s what kids will deliver. And the cure for dependence is to stop micromanaging kids. Parents and teachers must let students fail safely, feel the weight of their own choices, and learn to recover.
In the end, the hiring crisis isn’t about broken kids. It’s about broken expectations from adults who have mistaken comfort for care. With firmer boundaries, an eye to the future, and a focus on character and competence, schools and parents can reverse the trend. The fix starts not in the workplace, but in classrooms and kitchens.
Jody Stallings has been an award-winning teacher in Charleston since 1992 and is director of the Charleston Teacher Alliance. To submit a question, order his books, or follow him on social media, please visit JodyStallings.com.
All true.