TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett’s 3 rules for Gen Z entering the workforce: Adapt, lean in, and build a bigger table

Instead of a typical message of inspiration, Thasunda Brown Duckett, CEO of TIAA, offered Florida A&M University’s class of 2026 tangible ways to approach today’s job market, which is increasingly challenging for Gen Z. While she acknowledged the growing power of AI can feel intimidating, Duckett, one of only four Black women to ever helm a Fortune 500 company, told graduates on May 1 at Florida A&M University’s commencement that fear isn’t the right response to today’s labor market. “The world you’re entering won’t stand still,” she said. “ Artificial intelligence is reshaping industries at a pace that is breathtaking. The worldwide economic landscape is shifting right in front of us. Institutions that once felt permanent are being challenged and reimagined. Industries, vocations, and jobs that once seemed reliable may not be the havens they once were.” The class of 2026 is joining a shrinking labor market. Entry-level job postings made up just 38.6% of all postings in March, down from 44% in 2023, according to ZipRecruiter’s annual Graduate Report published in April. In turn, job seekers are increasingly competing for the entry-level job postings that do exist, with the year-over-year percent change in clicks per job posting jumping from 10% to 21.7%. Goldman Sachs economists also estimate that AI is now cutting roughly 16,000 U.S. jobs a month, and Gen Z is getting hit the hardest because they’re concentrated in the kinds of routine white-collar roles AI automates first. And in 2025, the share of unemployed Americans who are new workforce entrants hit a 37-year high, peaking at 13.3% in July. “But I don’t want you to fear these changes,” Duckett insisted, “because it is not all bad news.” Against the concerning labor market statistics and conditions, Duckett, who runs the $47 billion retirement services giant, offered recent graduates three concrete pieces of advice instead of the usual commencement speech platitudes. Keep learning, becaus