High sense of crisis regarding news of "selective new graduate hiring" due to AI impact; about 1 in 5 of the Class of 2028 are "moving up their job hunting schedule"

Leverages Inc., which operates the career support service "Career Ticket Shushoku" (https://careerticket.jp/) for new graduate students, conducted a survey on the reality of job hunting targeting 140 university and graduate students scheduled to graduate in March 2028.

You can also view the full article here.

https://careerticket.jp/media/article/2859/

<Survey Summary>

Over 40% of the Class of 2028 have already had contact with companies at events etc., a 1.5-fold increase compared to the same period for the Class of 2026.

About 1 in 5 of the Class of 2028 are "moving up their expected job hunting schedule" due to a high sense of crisis following news of "selective new graduate hiring" due to AI.

About 60% of job hunting students are "negative" about the early start of job hunting, a 10pt increase compared to the survey at the same time for the Class of 2026. About 1 in 5 are actually limiting "academic studies".

Over 92% of the Class of 2028 plan to participate in summer internships; the response "companies to participate in have already been decided" is about 1.7 times higher than 2 years ago.

1. Over 40% of the Class of 2028 have already had contact with companies at events etc., a 1.5-fold increase compared to the same period for the Class of 2026.

When asked about their current job hunting situation, over 40% of students in the Class of 2028 responded that they have already "had contact with companies at events or internships (44.3%)". This was found to be approximately 1.5 times higher than the survey conducted two years ago targeting the Class of 2026*1.

*1 Career Ticket Survey, June 2024, "Survey on Awareness Regarding Job Hunting for the Class of 2026 (Part 2)"

(https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000666.000010591.html)

Over 60% of the Class of 2028 responded that "their desired industry has already been decided (63.6%)", with "manufacturers (44.3%)" being the most common industry of interest. This indicates that students are proactively moving to narrow down their industry choices from an early stage before job hunting fully begins.

2. About 1 in 5 of the Class of 2028 are "moving up their expected job hunting schedule" due to a high sense of crisis following news of "selective new graduate hiring" due to AI.

Regarding news that some companies are adopting policies of "restricting new graduate hiring numbers" or "selective hiring" due to the impact of generative AI and other advancements in task replacement and efficiency, when asked about the impact on their own job hunting, about 1 in 5 responded that they have "moved up their expected job hunting schedule (22.9%)".

This suggests that students are sensitive to social trends such as increased competition in the new graduate market and shrinking hiring quotas due to the spread of AI, and are compelled to choose an earlier schedule.

3. About 60% of job hunting students are "negative" about the early start of job hunting, a 10pt increase compared to the survey at the same time for the Class of 2026. About 1 in 5 are actually limiting "academic studies".

When asked about their perception of the ongoing "early start of job hunting", about 60% responded "negative (59.2%)*2". This was found to be approximately 10pt higher than the survey conducted at the same time targeting the Class of 2026*1.

*2 Total percentage of responses for "negative" and "somewhat negative"

Regarding what they plan to limit in their future student life to prioritize job hunting due to the early start, the top answer was "part-time jobs (66.4%)", accounting for about 70%. Furthermore, about 1 in 5 responded "academic studies (20.7%)", indicating that students are being forced to make choices about time allocation and prioritization between their original student life, such as university lectures and research activities, and job hunting due to the early start.

4. Over 92% of the Class of 2028 plan to participate in summer internships; the response "companies to participate in have already been decided" is about 1.7 times higher than 2 years ago.

When asked about their intention to participate in this summer's internship program, 92.8% of the Class of 2028 responded "intend to participate". Among them, 45.7% answered "companies to participate in have already been decided", which is approximately 1.7 times higher than the survey conducted two years ago targeting the Class of 2026*3.

*3 Career Ticket Survey, June 2024, "Survey on Awareness Regarding Job Hunting for the Class of 2026 (Part 1)"

(https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000665.000010591.html)

The most important factor when choosing an internship was "being in the industry where I wish to be employed (62.3%)", followed by "being a company I am seriously considering for employment (51.5%)". Other factors that ranked highly included "expectation of preferential treatment in the main selection process (34.6%)" and "ability to experience practical work (22.3%)". This suggests a trend where students are selecting internships with a strong focus on "concrete benefits that directly lead to subsequent selection processes", such as early job offers and preferential treatment in selection, going beyond mere company tours or information gathering.

When asked about their preferred format for summer internships, it was revealed that about 90% of all respondents prefer "in-person format (88.4%)*4", with the reason being "ability to feel the company culture firsthand (64.3%)" being the most common.

It is presumed that students' desire to experience company culture and the real work environment firsthand is increasing, rather than prioritizing the convenience of online participation.

*4 Total percentage of responses for "prefer in-person" and "somewhat prefer in-person"

On the other hand, regarding the preferred number of days for the program, it was found that multi-day programs of "2-4 days (54.6%)" were preferred over short programs of "half a day (2.3%)" or "1 day (23.8%)". In terms of the number of companies they wish to participate in, about half responded "5 or more companies (47.7%)*5", indicating a "time-efficiency oriented" approach that pursues efficiency while emphasizing in-person, real experiences.

*5 Total percentage of responses for "5-7 companies", "8-10 companies", and "11 or more companies"

<A word from Ryota Tega, General Manager of Career Ticket Business Headquarters>

This survey highlights the situation of Class of 2028 students who are compelled to move up their job hunting schedules, even at the expense of "academic studies", due to a high sense of crisis regarding companies' moves towards "selective new graduate hiring".

Currently, some companies are introducing "year-round hiring", and the government is also considering moving up the job hunting schedule itself starting with the Class of 2029, who are currently first-year university students. The rules and competitor movements surrounding the new graduate market are at a major turning point.

We believe that it is becoming increasingly important in the future new graduate market for companies to not blindly adhere to past hiring schedules and common practices, but to constantly and accurately check "the latest market trends" such as government rule changes and the hiring practices of other companies, and to update their recruitment strategies flexibly to suit their own situation.

◆ Ryota Tega Profile

General Manager, Career Ticket Business Headquarters

Graduated from Waseda University and joined the company in 2017.

Participated in the launch of multiple new businesses,

and served as Product Manager, Head of Marketing, and General Manager.

Appointed General Manager of Career Ticket Business Headquarters in 2023.

<Survey Overview>

Survey Target: University students scheduled to graduate in 2028 registered with "Career Ticket"

Survey Month: May 22 - June 12, 2026

Survey Method: Web questionnaire survey

Number of Respondents: 140

Survey Sponsor: Leverages Inc.

Career Ticket Shushoku (https://careerticket.jp/)

Career Ticket Shushoku provides career support services for new graduate students. Focusing on agent and scout services, it emphasizes personalized career support and pursues optimal matching between students and companies. Amidst the increasing early start and complexity of job hunting, it offers thorough support so that all students can make choices with confidence.

Leverages Inc. (https://leverages.jp/)

Head Office Location: Shibuya Scramble Square 24F/25F, 2-24-12 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Representative Director: Tomohide Iwatsuki

Capital: 50 million yen

Established: April 2005

Business Activities: Human resources business, SaaS business, M&A consulting business, etc., primarily in IT and medical/healthcare fields.

With a focus on "solving social issues", we operate over 60 services in various fields across countries and industries, including human resources, SaaS, and M&A consulting, primarily in IT and medical/healthcare. Since our founding in 2005, we have maintained profitability and exceeded 170 billion yen in annual sales in fiscal year 2025*. We aim to become a global company representing the era through portfolio management that does not limit industries and an in-house organizational structure composed of specialists in each field. *After accounting standard accounting changes.