Over the past few years, early talent interest has shifted away from big tech companies and toward a wider range of opportunities—including roles with small businesses.
Small businesses offer many of the benefits Gen Z is looking for as they start their careers. They play an important role in enriching and empowering local communities, appealing to Gen Z’s desire for work that has a tangible social impact. Well-established small businesses can provide the stability early talent is prioritizing—a recent Pew Research Center report notes that the majority of small businesses have been operational for six or more years, and 15% have been in business for 25 years or more. Working for a small business can also be a valuable career development opportunity, particularly for new grads who want to take on more responsibility and build skills across multiple functions.
On Handshake, we’re seeing several trends that point to a bright future for both small businesses and the early talent they’re hiring:
- Job availability: roles with small businesses accounted for more than a third of full-time jobs posted on Handshake in the past year.
- Rising interest: the share of applications on Handshake submitted to small businesses has risen steadily over the past three years, and the average number of applications per open role has more than tripled.
- Geographic diversity: small businesses are hiring across the country, and account for a significant share of jobs posted in both small towns and large metropolitan centers.
Read on for a deeper dive into each of these findings.
Small businesses account for a significant share of jobs posted on Handshake
Small businesses offer a wealth of post-graduate opportunities for early talent, and are also critical providers of the internships and part-time roles that help students prepare for the workforce. Over the past year, well over a third (37%) of all full-time jobs posted on Handshake have been with organizations that have 250 or fewer employees. That share is even larger for internships (48%) and part-time jobs (54%).
In some industries, small businesses are even more important contributors to early talent employment. More than half of full-time jobs posted by media, marketing, and entertainment employers are with organizations that have 250 or fewer employees. The same is true of more than 40% of roles in technology and professional and financial services.
Early talent is increasingly drawn to roles with small businesses
Applications to small businesses on Handshake have increased significantly over the past three years. 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. Even more notably, the average number of applications per small business role nearly quadrupled between 2021 and 2024, while the average number of applications to larger business roles roughly doubled.
"I’ve had a chance to intern at both a boutique firm and a large corporation, and I think I’m better off at a smaller firm. It’s more dynamic. It’s definitely more demanding, but at the same time, you get a lot more opportunities to learn. You take on a lot more responsibility early in your career, which helps you grow more quickly."
—Class of 2025 student, Finance major
The share of applications submitted to small businesses fluctuates seasonally, with a dip in early fall and a peak in late spring. But there’s a clear upward trend even with that variation. The spring peaks in 2023 and 2024 were markedly higher than in 2022, and the 2024 peak lasted longer, with more than 40% of applications submitted to small businesses in every month between February and June.
Interest in small business roles has increased even more among students in certain fields. In particular, the share of Computer Science students’ applications submitted to small businesses has increased by 68% since the 2021-2022 school year, from below average (25%) to well above average (42%).
Small businesses are hiring in a wide variety of locations
Location is a key factor in students’ and new grads’ job decisions. Seventy-five percent of Class of 2024 students say they’d be more likely to apply to a job in a preferred location, and a sizable majority say it’s at least somewhat important that their job allow them to live close to their family and friends.
While opportunities with larger companies are often concentrated in major metro areas, small businesses are hiring in a wide range of cities and towns across the country. Cities with a higher-than-average share of jobs on Handshake posted by small businesses include New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Detroit, as well as much smaller communities such as Grand Rapids, Michigan; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Missoula, Montana.
Early talent is poised to make a big impact on small businesses
It’s no coincidence that students and new grads are applying to small business roles in ever-greater numbers. This generation is eager to learn, passionate about community impact, and craving a stable, sustainable approach to work. Their skills and interests are a great fit for smaller employers—and as they shape these companies in the years to come, it’s a safe bet that small business roles will only become more desirable.
Methodology
Application and job post trends are based on Handshake platform activity between September 2021 and September 2024.
Industry classifications are based on employer self-identification on the Handshake platform.
Major classifications are based on data provided by students and higher education institutions through the Handshake platform.