Gen Z ditches degrees for drills

Signal Summary: Sixty percent of Gen Z is swapping college for trade schools, hiring managers can't tell real skills from AI-generated BS anymore, and candidates have officially stopped reading your job postings. Welcome to 2026. Plus, when Photoshop skills exceed professional judgment.

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^{All images hand-drawn with an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, and Procreate.}

HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK ↓

SIGNAL 1
Gen Z said "screw college" and grabbed a wrench instead

The shift: 60% of Gen Zers plan to pursue skilled trades in 2026, up from 48% just two years ago. Turns out $100K in student debt for a philosophy degree isn't as appealing as $80K plumber salaries with zero debt.

Why this matters:

• Student loan debt hit $1.6 trillion while trade jobs sit unfilled

• Median electrician salary: $60K starting, $100K+ with experience

• Four-year degree enrollment dropped 15% since 2019

The disconnect: Corporate America still writes job descriptions requiring bachelor's degrees for roles that need Excel skills and common sense. Meanwhile, trade workers are buying lake houses while college grads argue about office snacks.

Signal → Strategy: Partner with vocational schools NOW before your competitors wake up. Offer paid apprenticeships that convert students into W2 placements post-graduation. Trade schools have talent pipelines; you need bodies.

Go deeper: HR Dive - Gen Z Skilled Trades Research

SIGNAL 2
AI turned resume screening into professional fan fiction

The problem: 86% of hiring managers say AI makes it too easy for candidates to exaggerate skills on resumes.

What's happening:

• Candidates use AI to generate fake project descriptions

• Skills assessments catching applicants who can't do what their resume claims

• Reference checks revealing massive gaps between resume claims and actual abilities

Reality check: We've gone from embellishing bullet points to completely fabricating entire career narratives. It's like everyone's resume was written by their overly optimistic aunt who thinks they're "great with computers."

Signal → Strategy: Implement skills-based assessments. Test what candidates can actually do. Saves everyone time and catches AI ghostwriters immediately.

Go deeper: PR Newswire - AI Resume Exaggeration Study

SIGNAL 3
Nobody's reading your job postings (and you're making it worse)

The damage: Candidates spend an average of 14 seconds scanning job posts before deciding to apply or bounce. Most don't make it past the title and first paragraph.

What candidates actually look for:

• Salary range (81% want this upfront, most don't get it)

• Remote work options (67% filter out office-required roles immediately)

• Clear responsibilities without corporate buzzword vomit

The coming storm: Companies still writing 800-word job descriptions with "rockstar," "ninja," and "wear many hats" while candidates literally ctrl+F for "$" and "remote" then close the tab.

Signal → Strategy: Audit your job posts ruthlessly. Lead with salary, location flexibility, and actual responsibilities. Cut everything else to 200 words max. Transparency converts; corporate speak kills applications.

Go deeper: HR Brew - Job Posting Candidate Behavior

RECRUITING CONFESSIONAL
When Photoshop Skills Exceed Professional Judgment

Recruiting Confessional A weekly series featuring anonymous stories from recruiting and staffing professionals. Submit yours here.

The Setup: My coworker had a candidate going through background checks and document verification. Standard process, nothing unusual.

The Disaster: First red flag: expired driver's license. Candidate sends back the same photo with a clearly Photoshopped new expiration date. Then references came back flagged for duplicate IP addresses. Background check revealed an active warrant in State A for Offense A. Candidate claims it's actually for something in State B (Offense B) that he already paid a fine for.

The Aftermath: He sends "proof" of payment…a scanned document that's been typed over. State B is misspelled. The seal says State A. The offense number matches Offense A. And apparently, the government cleared his warrant the same day he paid it, because bureaucracy works at lightning speed now.

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WEEKLY POLL

SHARE THE SIGNALS
3 people you should share these signals with:

1. Your colleague still requiring bachelor's degrees for admin roles

2. That hiring manager complaining about "unqualified" applicants with AI-polished resumes

3. Your marketing person writing 1,000-word job descriptions nobody reads