Want a new job in 2025? Hiring for small businesses is seeing big gains [Video]

If you’re searching for a new job this year, don’t overlook openings at small businesses.

Throughout 2024, just over one-third, 37%, of all full-time jobs posted on Handshake, the career site for college students and recent grads, were for organizations with 250 or fewer employees, according to a recent report.

And those job openings are seeing increasing interest from young job-seekers.

Applications to small businesses on Handshake have increased over the last three years at roughly double the pace of applications to big companies.

Between September 2023 and September 2024, 39% of all applications submitted on the platform went to organizations with 250 employees or fewer — up from 32% for the same period the prior year, and 27% the year before.

A tougher job marketin recent years, especially for entry-level professionals, could be pushing recent grads to deprioritize big-name companies in favor of smaller employers, says Christine …