Gen Z hiring trends for 2026

Gen Z hiring trends for 2026

​Want to embrace a more data-driven recruiting approach, but not sure where to start? We looked back at a year’s worth of Handshake platform data to uncover eight trends shaping Gen Z hiring in 2026 and beyond. Read on for insights you need to shape your strategy, including: Finance and engineering majors gain popularity The number of finance and accounting students on Handshake continues to increase, with significantly more Class of 2026 than Class of 2025 students having declared these majors on the platform as of the fall of their senior year. Class of 2026 students on Handshake are also more likely than their predecessors to be majoring in electrical, mechanical, and civil engineering. Employers increase outreach to business, education, and health majors Among employer messaging campaigns that targeted specific majors in 2025, almost 5% were aimed at business students, an increase of more than a percentage point from 2024. Campaigns targeting communication, special and secondary education, and public health majors also made up a larger share of the total this year. Meanwhile, finance, marketing, and computer science students received less outreach in 2025, creating potential opportunities for employers to break through with recruiting messages to those groups. Networking events capture student interest Although general information sessions are by far the most common type of employer event hosted and promoted on Handshake, events focused on a specific job search goal—such as networking with hiring managers or workshopping a resume—saw significantly higher registration and attendance in 2025. Networking events had more than 3.5X as many attendees, on average, as information sessions, and workshops had more than 2.5X as many attendees. Business, tech, and design students flock to the Handshake feed While feed users come from all majors and demographics, some groups have played an outsize role in building this community. Business students have accounted for about a quarter of all feed posts from undergraduates this year, and computer science majors have accounted for almost 15%. Design and communications students have each accounted for close to 10%, despite making up only around 5% of undergraduate students on Handshake overall. Entry-level salaries increase in most states

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