#gen-z-unemployment

#gen-z-unemployment

One graduate with a maths degree says he spent more than a year applying to over 1,000 roles in the U.K. without landing a single offer-only to secure a job in Austria within weeks. "The job market in the U.K. is so ridiculous," Anna, his Austrian-born partner, said in a TikTok video that's now resonating with thousands of frustrated young workers. "Even for qualified people, it's so hard to find a job."

Before overseeing products at the tech giant, which has a market cap of about $270 billion, he spent his early 20s waiting tables at Sizzler, a steak house chain, making just $4 an hour. Far from something to hide, he says the experience shaped his work ethic and people skills-and ultimately helped him climb Silicon Valley's corporate ladder. "I think everyone in the early part of their career should work in the service industry somewhere," Patel tells Fortune.