Northeastern University just surveyed 8,174 people who have a say in who gets hired. About half said AI has changed their hiring decisions. Among that group, 26% are now hiring fewer entry-level candidates. Only 7% are hiring more. The full results are in Northeastern Global News, published November 2.
What is the Northeastern AI & Society Survey? The AI & Society Survey is a Northeastern University research series on how people use and view artificial intelligence. Its November 2026 hiring report looked at responses from 8,174 people with a say in hiring decisions and measured how AI affects résumé screening, entry-level hiring, and what employers expect from new hires.
I've read a lot of "AI is killing entry-level jobs" headlines this year. Most of them are guesses. This one is a large survey of the people actually making the calls, and it shows the first rung of the career ladder getting harder to reach.
The Numbers
- 26% vs. 7%. Among hiring decision-makers whose choices AI has changed, 26% are hiring fewer entry-level candidates and 7% are hiring more.
- 28% expect more from beginners. Many of the rest kept hiring steady, and 28% expect more output or higher-level work from entry-level employees.
- 54% screen résumés with AI. In tech it's 83%. The number of applications companies receive has more than doubled since 2022.
- 38% say a degree adds value. About one in five say a degree makes a candidate much more valuable.
The First Job Now Expects Year-Two Work
The headline number is fewer entry-level hires. The bigger shift for colleges is what employers now expect from the ones they do hire. A lot of the work that used to train new graduates, like first-pass research, summaries, and routine drafts, is the work AI handles well. So the first job starts higher up.
That doesn't mean entry-level demand has vanished. We wrote earlier this year that entry-level jobs aren't gone, and postings data still backs that up. But the bar to get one is rising, and students who show up with a degree and nothing they've built are the ones who feel it first.
For Career Services and Institutional Leaders
Outcomes by program, for every graduate
Prentus tracks career outcomes for every graduate, not only the ones who answer a survey. See employers, job titles, and placement by program in one record, and spot the paths that are shrinking before they show up in your enrollment.
Software Reads the Résumé First
The survey's authors put it plainly: increasingly, software reads the résumé before a person does. Applicants use AI to apply to more jobs, and employers use AI to sort the flood. A student's first reader is often a model looking for evidence of specific skills and real work.
That raises the value of proof. Projects, internships, and work that shows what a student can actually do carry more weight than a list of courses. It's the same experience gap career services has been fighting for years, with less time to close it.
What Career Services Should Do Now
- Build proof before senior year. Every student should graduate with work they can point to, from projects, co-ops, or applied coursework.
- Coach for the AI screen. Résumés need clear skills and outcomes that hold up when software reads them first.
- Teach AI as a work skill. Around 40% of hiring decision-makers see a candidate's AI use on assignments as a plus. Only 21% see it as a reason not to hire.
- Watch your own data. Track where every graduate lands, by program, so you see which entry-level paths are shrinking at your school instead of guessing from national headlines.
The survey also found that hiring decision-makers were twice as likely as other respondents to say most or all of their own work could be done by AI. Everyone in this market is adjusting at once. Colleges that know where their graduates actually land will adjust fastest.
If you want placement, employers, and job titles by program for every graduate in one place, let's talk.
