How CEOs’ Mindset Shift Offers Leverage Amid Gen Z Job Turmoil
In 2025, entry-level hiring slowed sharply across the United States, hitting millions of Gen Z graduates. Amazon, Walmart, and McDonald’s CEOs are pushing a counterintuitive message: success in this turbulent market depends less on traditional job security and more on mindset shifts. But this isn’t just about career pep talks—it’s a system-level call to realign young workers’ leverage within evolving labor constraints. “You’ve got to own your career; nobody cares more than you do,” said McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski.
Rethinking the ‘Entry-Level Job Crisis’ as a Leverage Constraint Shift
Conventional wisdom frames the slowdown in entry-level hiring as a pure labor market collapse—millions of NEETs and job huggers left stranded. Analysts see this as a breakdown of opportunity supply. They miss a crucial leverage mechanism: the constraint has moved from job availability to career proactivity and adaptability. This is leverage rooted in personal agency and behavioral systems, not just market supply and demand. The shift echoes themes we analyzed in why AI Actually Forces Workers to Evolve Not Replace Them, showing how disruption demands new relational strategies rather than old playbooks.
Systemic Leverage in Saying ‘Yes’ Before Being Ready
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy illustrates this with his own career path of trial and error—switching between sportscasting, retail, and product management. His message: you don’t need to have it all figured out early. This openness to exploration creates a feedback loop of learning and repositioning without requiring a perfectly mapped career plan. Jassy’s framework is a direct challenge to Gen Z’s self-imposed constraint of prescriptive certainty.
Similarly, McDonald’s Kempczinski preaches the “yes person” mindset to reduce friction for career progression, increasing the chance of “the next call.” This proactive volunteering is a low-human-leverage system design: getting ahead by creating reputational momentum with minimal added cost. Contrast that with passive job hunting, which traps candidates in a zero-sum metric of opportunity scarcity.
Blueprints From CEOs: Constraints, Growth, and Curiosity as Systems
Accenture’s Julie Sweet turned nontraditional background and early tech naivety into leadership leverage by embracing transparency and deep curiosity. Her leadership style dismantles the myth that top executives must have all answers upfront. Instead, curiosity operates as a compounding advantage, enabling ongoing upskilling and trust-building inside the organization. This approach embodies the leverage principle outlined in why Dynamic Work Charts Actually Unlock Faster Org Growth, where systems improve through continuous feedback and learning loops.
AMD CEO Lisa Su tells graduates to “run toward the hardest problems.” This is leverage through constraint repositioning: the biggest career growth happens by attacking rather than avoiding difficulty. It compresses the learning curve and exposure to high-impact roles, accelerating promotion cycles. Meanwhile, Citi CEO Jane Fraser stresses resiliency and judgment over perfect knowledge—critical skills in AI-driven disruption, where human intuition becomes the strategic multiplier.
What Changed and Who Wins Going Forward?
The real constraint that changed in the US labor market isn’t only the number of jobs but the system of career ownership, adaptability, and continuous learning. CEOs like Jensen Huang of Nvidia widely advocate skilled trades as an AI-resistant, growth sector, urging Gen Z to rethink credentials and embrace emerging, essential roles beyond white-collar tech jobs.
This signals a redistributive shift in labor leverage from credential-based pipelines to mindset-driven adaptability systems. Gen Zers willing to embed themselves in experiential learning, say yes early, and develop judgment will become “low-risk promotions” like Walmart CEO Doug McMillon described in his rise through hands-on commitment.
Other countries with rising automation and AI pressures can replicate this model by emphasizing behavioral leverage over traditional credentialism. “The hardest problems offer the fastest path to growth,” Lisa Su said—leverage through constraint redefinition.
Related Tools & Resources
As Gen Z navigates the evolving job landscape, the need for adaptable skills and proactive learning has never been clearer. Platforms like Learnworlds can empower future professionals by providing tools for creating and selling online courses, perfectly aligning with the idea of taking ownership of one’s career through continuous education. Learn more about Learnworlds →
Full Transparency: Some links in this article are affiliate partnerships. If you find value in the tools we recommend and decide to try them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend tools that align with the strategic thinking we share here. Think of it as supporting independent business analysis while discovering leverage in your own operations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why has entry-level hiring slowed sharply for Gen Z in 2025?
Entry-level hiring in the US slowed drastically in 2025, affecting millions of Gen Z graduates. This slowdown is viewed less as a collapse of job availability and more as a shift in leverage from traditional job supply to personal career proactivity and adaptability.
What mindset shifts are CEOs recommending to Gen Z job seekers?
CEOs urge Gen Z to embrace career ownership, adaptability, and saying "yes" early to opportunities. For example, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski advocates owning your career, while Amazon CEO Andy Jassy emphasizes exploration and trial error over having everything figured out.
How does saying "yes" early benefit career progression?
Saying "yes" early creates a "feedback loop" of learning and repositioning without needing a perfect career plan. This proactive mindset reduces friction in career progression and builds reputational momentum, as highlighted by McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski and Amazon’s Andy Jassy.
What role does curiosity play in leadership and career growth?
Curiosity serves as a compounding advantage for ongoing upskilling and trust-building. Accenture CEO Julie Sweet, who had a nontraditional background, credits deep curiosity and transparency for her leadership leverage and career growth.
Why do CEOs advise running toward difficult problems?
AMD CEO Lisa Su advises graduates to tackle the hardest problems because it compresses the learning curve and accelerates exposure to high-impact roles. This approach promotes career growth by redefining constraints as opportunities rather than obstacles.
How is labor leverage shifting in the US job market?
The labor leverage is moving from credential-based pipelines to mindset-driven adaptability systems. Gen Zers focusing on experiential learning, proactive engagement, and judgment development are positioned as "low-risk promotions," according to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon.
What sectors are considered AI-resistant and growth-oriented?
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang advocates skilled trades as AI-resistant sectors offering growth opportunities. This suggests a shift for Gen Z toward essential emerging roles beyond traditional white-collar tech jobs.
Can other countries replicate this mindset leverage model?
Yes, countries facing rising automation and AI pressures can adopt a behavioral leverage emphasis over traditional credentialism. This approach focuses on career ownership, adaptability, and continuous learning to navigate labor market disruptions effectively.