本文来自《金融时报》的「AI Shift」专栏，访问了牛津大学职涯发展中心主任乔纳森·布莱克，探讨人工智慧如何影响大学毕业生进入职场的过程。布莱克指出，即使在牛津大学，获得毕业生级别工作的学生比例也出现了显著下降，尤其是本科生和人文学科的学生受影响最大。牛津系统上刊登的职缺从两年前的七千个降至今年的四千到五千个，为2009年金融危机以来的最低水平。
在招聘流程方面，越来越多雇主使用人工智慧进行初步筛选，导致求职者感到沮丧。有些学生投递了多达一百五十份申请却毫无进展，申请品质也因此大打折扣。布莱克主张应重新重视面对面交流，鼓励雇主参加实体招聘会，因为短短五到十分钟的当面接触就能留下良好印象，让求职者的申请获得更多关注。（关键数字：150）
关于学生应该学什么以及是否应该创业，布莱克建议学生选择自己热爱的学科，但若在两个方向间犹豫，可倾向选择理科。他强调课外可转移技能的重要性，例如守时、与人合作等实际能力。至于创业，他指出牛津2024届本科毕业生中不到百分之一选择创业，多数学生更渴望工作经验、在职培训和薪资收入，但他仍鼓励学生培养创新和企业家精神。
This article from the Financial Times' "AI Shift" newsletter features an interview with Jonathan Black, head of careers at the University of Oxford, on how AI is reshaping the graduate job market. Black reports a dramatic decline in the proportion of students securing graduate-level employment, with job vacancies on Oxford's system dropping from around 7,000 two years ago to an estimated 4,000–5,000 this year — the lowest since the 2009 banking crisis. The downturn is most pronounced among undergraduates and humanities students.
AI is increasingly used by employers for initial screening of candidates, which students find demoralising as they invest significant effort only to receive instant automated rejections. Some students have responded by using AI themselves to mass-apply for positions, with one student reporting 150 applications for a single internship. Black advocates for a return to in-person careers fairs and face-to-face interaction, arguing that even brief personal meetings can meaningfully improve a candidate's chances by putting a human advocate behind their application.
On the question of what students should study and whether they should pursue entrepreneurship, Black advises students to study what they love while developing transferable employability skills outside the curriculum — such as punctuality, teamwork, and working with the public. He notes that fewer than one per cent of Oxford's 2024 undergraduate leavers launched a start-up, as most graduates prioritise gaining experience, on-the-job training, and earning an income. He also announced that Oxford's Career Service is rebranding to simply "Careers" to signal a shift from transactional CV reviews toward long-term capability development over a 45-year career.