New Zealand Graduate Applies for 661 Jobs With Two Offers
Hannah Tollison applied for 661 jobs over one year to highlight a challenging New Zealand labor market for recent graduates.
Recent graduate Hannah Tollison applied for 661 jobs and attended 53 interviews between July 2025 and July 2026, receiving only two job offers. Tollison, who holds a bachelor of communications and a master's degree, avoided using artificial intelligence for her applications, describing the process as a "full-time role in itself." She previously worked in a public sector position that was disestablished following government cuts.
Employment data from Seek indicates that graduate job advertisements represented just over 2 percent of total listings last month. While the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment reported a 7 percent increase in online job advertisements for the year ending June 2026, New Zealand's unemployment rate remains high by historical standards.
Louise Saviker of Student Job Search characterized the current labor market as challenging for young people. Tollison's experience underscores the difficulty graduates face in securing entry-level roles despite high academic qualifications.
