AI is rewriting the traditional first job. Here’s how jobseekers should prepare

At the time of launch, it was too early to answer with any precision. Three years on, the data is beginning to speak.

Over the past 12 months, we have seen many big tech firms including the likes of Meta, Oracle, TCS and Amazon announce big layoffs, offloading thousands of employees. While Artificial Intelligence did not single handedly cause these layoffs, it was cited as a contributing factor across several companies. As firms across the board reconfigure operations around artificial intelligence, the most visible early casualty has been entry-level hiring. 

Companies are automating routine tasks that were previously attached to junior roles, choosing to work with leaner, more selective teams. For India’s graduating class, the anxiety of entering a hyper-competitive market is no longer abstract; they are stepping into placements just as the first rung of white-collar work is being fundamentally redesigned. 

The sharpest signal comes from Tata Consultancy Services. One of India’s largest IT services companies and historically one of the biggest campus recruiters in the country, made offers to roughly 44,000 freshers in FY26. For FY27, that number was just 25,000. 

The company’s chairman N Chandrasekaran sharpened the picture further at its 31st AGM in June 2026, telling shareholders: “If the company has half a million employees, the day is not far when the company will have half a million AI agents.” TCS’s net headcount fell by over 23,000 over FY26.

US employers cut 97,006 jobs in May 2026 making it the worst May since the pandemic for layoffs. 40 percent of these layoffs have been attributed to AI. The American tech sector specifically announced its highest monthly layoffs in nearly two years.

Closer home, Oracle, an American MNC, reportedly let go around 12,000 people in India in April. The AI-native model is no longer a slide in a business deck. It is gradually becoming a larger industry trend.

The story is not limited to just big firms. Talent analytics firm Xpheno estimates that fresher hiring across India’s IT sector fell from a post-Covid peak of around 600,000 in FY22 to approximately 120,000 in FY25, an 80% drop in three years. 

Not all of that is AI. Margin pressure, delayed projects and excess Covid-era hiring contributed too. However industry data suggests that AI has accelerated the larger pivot among Indian IT companies towards skill-based hiring, leaner teams and more selective entry-level intake.

Dr. Nipun Sharma, CEO of TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, frames this moment as distinct from past economic cycles. 

 “The 2008 slowdown was largely a demand shock, while the post-COVID phase was characterised by rapid hiring followed by correction,” Sharma told Financial Express. 

“What makes the current moment different is that AI is not just affecting the volume of jobs — it is changing the nature of work itself. Entry-level roles built around repetitive execution are being redesigned, which naturally creates uncertainty for fresh graduates.”

Which jobs are set to face the most disruption due to AI?

Before getting into exactly how the promise of Artificial Intelligence is affecting the job market for entry level workers, we need to first understand something that Anthropic has labelled as observed exposure. 

Simply put, observed exposure refers to the percentage of tasks assigned to an entry level worker in an Industry that can be done at 2x speed using AI or can be completely automated. 

Research conducted by Anthropic that analysed real time Claude usage data across the world and clubbed it with Industry reports and public surveys about AI’s deployment in corporate found the listed roles to be most exposed to AI.

The data points to occupations such as computer programmers, customer service representatives, data entry keyers, medical records specialists as among the most exposed.

The implication for freshers is significant. Many traditional first jobs were built around exactly these kinds of tasks: writing basic code, testing, documentation, support tickets, data cleaning, reporting and customer interaction which are now being automated.

Moreover as big tech companies continue to put out more sophisticated AI models every other month, the impact of AI on jobs across white collar industries is expected to grow. 

Notably, Anthropic’s research draws a distinction between theoretical capability defined as what LLMs could do given their design and observed exposure, and what they are actually being deployed to do today. 

While the gap between the two is significant today. As per Anthopic, it is slowly closing.

As AI models improve and enterprise adoption deepens, the red zone of current exposure is expanding toward the blue frontier of theoretical capability suggesting that more roles in the sectors like computer and math that hold a larger shade of blue are set to be disrupted. 

As per research conducted by the World Economic Forum, the impact of artificial intelligence on the job profile and availability will be most pronounced for entry level workers when compared to other mid and senior level workers. 

Not a collapse, but a redesign: What industry trends say about India’s job market

Corporate leaders and entrepreneurs have consistently argued that AI will not lead to an absolute reduction of jobs but will open gateways for new roles, markets and job profiles altogether. Research broadly backs this. 

Nasscom expects India’s IT industry to reach $315 billion towards the end of the fiscal year and add a net 135,000 jobs. 

Furthermore, an ICRIER-OpenAI study of 651 Indian IT firms across 10 cities found no evidence of mass job destruction; instead, AI was found to reshape work, lift productivity and moderate hiring primarily at the entry level.

The key word here is moderate. AI is not eliminating India’s IT jobs in aggregate. It is changing who gets hired and what they are expected to know before their first day.

That redesign has apparently carved the job market for freshers into two separate tracks based on exposure to AI, as per data shared by PwC. 

The ‘Professionalisation’ track: In industries where tasks done by freshers are most exposed to AI, entry level roles are being ‘professionalised’.  

As per PwC ‘professionalisation’ of an entry level role refers to a phenomena where AI automates routine execution but increases the importance of human expertise, judgement and creativity. 

Examples of these roles would include AI Specialists and Generative AI engineers who can navigate ambiguity and solve problems using AI tools from day one. 

The ‘Democratisation’ track: On the other end of the split, AI is democratising roles. In these roles, the use of AI in an industry has a completely different effect on recruitment. 

In these roles, AI typically takes over much of the tasks and leaves little room for human cognitive involvement. It lowers the skill barrier for complex tasks, making some roles easier for non-experts to perform but also reduces wage growth for roles that don’t require specialised human input.

For freshers targeting high paid white collar work, the ‘professionaled’ track is more important. As per data posted by PwC, the jobs that are being professionalised are growing twice as fast as democratised jobs in the global market and seeing 42% higher wage growth since 2021.    

It becomes important to note here that the job opportunity and pay rise mentioned here come with a rather steep learning curve. 

In these professionalised roles, workers are expected to be AI literate, data fluent and possess human skills that can complement AI capabilities such as stakeholder management and creativity.

Research conducted by World Economic Forum (WEF) shows that entry level workers in these ‘professionalised’ jobs face a much steeper learning curve than everyone else as they are forced to reinvent their skillsets nearly three times faster than mid-to-senior level professionals. 

Industry data suggests that AI has not only increased the importance of human skills but actually raised the bar for what productivity for freshers needs to look like in modern day corporate operations.

Fastest growing job roles in India 

LinkedIn data backs the two track labor market trend. As per LinkedIn’s India Grad Guide published in 2026, AI Specialist, Generative AI Engineer and Digital Content Creator are the fastest growing job titles in India right now. 

Meanwhile, Human Resources (HR) and Consulting lead the fastest-growing functions for graduates. In consulting, the hiring momentum is being driven by several factors, including AI and cloud transformation, GCC expansion, and strong global demand for Indian tech talent. 

Arjun Jaiskar, founder of Pivot, a staffing firm Mumbai and NY pointed out that maturing start-ups are increasingly turning to first-time consulting projects to drive profitability which is further opening up new positions.

Another key hiring trend embedded in Industry staffing data suggests that hiring is expanding beyond metros, with smaller firms and emerging cities becoming key entry points for early-career talent.

LinkedIn India Grad Guide 2026 also found utilities and education to be the two fastest-growing industries with relatively less exposure to AI that are actively hiring fresh graduates in India right now. 

Within IT itself, the sector still dominates fresher hiring at 35% of total intake, but the profile and skills demanded have changed considerably. It becomes important to note here that the data posted here by LinkedIn has been based on hiring that’s been conducted on LinkedIn’s platform.

The rising skill threshold: What freshers need to know

The narrowing of available openings is only part of the challenge. The openings that remain have become considerably harder to clear.

As per Dr. Nipun Sharma, the opportunity for graduates is not just to compete for jobs, but to prepare for roles that did not exist a few years ago and will continue to emerge as AI adoption accelerates.

The India Skills Report 2026 found that employers expect nearly one in five roles to change meaningfully by 2030  with AI fluency, cloud skills and adaptability topping the list of what recruiters will prioritise.

PwC’s data shows jobs requiring specific AI skills are growing nearly eight times (69%) faster since 2019 than the total jobs market (9%), with the average wage premium for AI skills rising to 62%.

Data shared by hiring platforms makes one thing clear: Adaptability, ability to work with AI tools via either technical or human skills has become more important than ever.

AI has made degrees less sufficient, without making them irrelevant. Recruiters still value formal education, but they increasingly want work based evidence of capability. 

Practical proof-of-work including  internships, projects, portfolios, hackathons have moved to the centre of fresher evaluation, ahead of grades and institutional reputation.

“AI is accelerating the shift from credential-led hiring to capability-led hiring,” Sharma said.

 “The focus is moving from what candidates have studied to what they can contribute. Skills such as problem-solving, creativity, adaptability and the ability to work alongside technology are becoming more important,” he added.

India Inc has reportedly already started focusing on upskilling their workforce in AI tools to ramp up productivity. 

As per Tata Consultancy Services’  CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer), Sudeep Kunnumal, the company’s associates spend 11 days annually in its AI-driven learning ecosystem and over 576,000 of them are now AI/ML ready.

Campus-to-corporate pipeline needs a reset

For India, the challenge is no longer just about creating jobs. It is also about preparing graduates for the kind of jobs that are now emerging.

The India Skills Report 2026 estimates the employability of an average Indian graduate at around 56 per cent, underlining the persistent mismatch between education and workplace expectations.

“The existing campus-to-corporate model was built for a different era, one where knowledge acquisition alone could create employability. Today, employers expect graduates to be productive much faster, and that requires a stronger connection between education and work. AI is only making this gap more visible,” Sharma told Financial Express.

How to improve Indian graduate’s employability 

As per the senior executive at TeamLease, employability of Indian graduates can be improved by introducing work-based learning (live projects, skill building, apprenticeships) into mainstream education. 

TeamLease’s own experience with apprenticeship-led pathways, he said, shows over 90 per cent transition into formal employment, with 40 per cent absorbed by the same employer.

The NITI Aayog–NASSCOM–BCG Roadmap for Job Creation in the AI Economy, released in late 2025 puts AI’s impact on job creation in India clearly: In a worst-case scenario, India’s tech services headcount could decline from 7.5–8 million to 6 million by 2031. 

In the best case, right actions could expand it. Whether the industry is a net employer or a net loser of jobs depends entirely on what happens next.

This is also a policy challenge. 

In a bid to make sure AI leads to an increase of workforce, Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran has cautioned against over-deployment of AI to the detriment of labour. He has argued that AI should complement, rather than weakens, India’s labour challenge. 

“We are a country which has to create 8 million livelihoods every year at minimum, excluding agriculture. Only a small proportion of our young workforce is absorbed into productive employment due to gaps in skills and training,” Nageswaran said.

For a country with a large young workforce, narrowing entry pathways without building alternative routes can prove to be a risky route. “This is not a cyclical challenge, it is a structural vulnerability,” Nageswaran warned, highlighting the importance of skill building in India today. 

What freshers can do now

For students and early-career professionals, the message is sobering but not bleak.

The first task is to build proof of work. Grades and college brands still matter, but they are no longer enough. 

Live projects, open-source contributions, portfolios, case competitions, internships and practical certifications are becoming primary evidence of work readiness.

The second is to become AI literate. Freshers do not need to become machine-learning researchers for every role. 

But they do need to know how to use AI tools to research, analyse, code, write, test, summarise, visualise and improve productivity by applying their unique human skills such as creativity and critical thinking.

The third is to broaden their horizon.

The opportunity may not always sit in the old metro-campus-IT-services pipeline.GCCs, consulting, HR, education, utilities, manufacturing, healthcare, digital content and emerging-city firms are all building new forms of early-career work.

For India’s upcoming workforce, the reality is clear: AI will not eliminate your first job interview. But it will absolutely dictate what you are expected to prove once you walk through the door. 

The good news is that many junior workers will be spared years of drudgery on basic, repetitive tasks. The tough news is that those same workers need to quickly step up to demonstrate skills like leadership and strategic thinking.