Recruitment 2026: The Study That Is Changing the Game When It Comes to Attracting Recent Graduates

A truly silent transformation is taking place in the job market. By publishing their latest joint study in early February 2026,EDHEC's NewGen Talent Centre and JobTeaser (in partnership with Kantar) have highlighted a radical paradigm shift. Carried out among 2,578 students and recent graduates between summer and autumn 2025, the survey documents how the new generation has redefined the rules of the recruitment game in the space of a few months.

Faced with hyper-tooled candidates with renewed demands, HR teams are faced with a stark observation: processes that take too long, rejection of automated assessment and disinterest in traditional corporate communication. The study reveals a number of key trends that call for an overhaul of attraction strategies.

Essential profile segmentation

One of the great strengths of this 2026 edition lies in its methodology. The researchers (Manuelle Malot, Geneviève Houriet Segard and Michaël Giaj) finely segmented the responses, interviewing 865 academics, 1,072 business school graduates and 436 engineers. The findings are clear: a generic employer promise no longer works.

The study also reveals that the ideal length of time envisaged for a first position has fallen to 17 months on average. But this average conceals very different realities:

• University graduates see it as an exploration phase (13 months on average), and 41% of them are not even looking for a permanent contract.
• Business school graduates (18 months) see this first job as a springboard, relying heavily on their alumni network (59%).
• Engineers (also 18 months) are the most likely to be looking for a permanent contract (65% ), and put skills development ahead of remuneration (61%).

Artificial Intelligence: the candidate tool par excellence, but rejected by recruiters

This is the most striking figure in the report: 92% of students today use AI to prepare their job applications. This use extends to all stages: 83% use it to optimize their CVs or prepare interview questions, 80% to draft approach messages, and two-thirds to solve case studies. Most of this learning was self-taught, with only 44% of those surveyed (and 33% of academics) believing they had received training in these tools during their studies.

However, a major paradox emerges: while candidates have mastered AI, they categorically refuse to let it judge them. 67% of them say they are uncomfortable with automated assessment (algorithmic sorting of CVs or machine-managed interviews).

As Olivier Bouteille, People & Culture Manager at Ikea, points out in the report:

"When it comes to recruitment, depending on the AI used, some applications that are nevertheless interesting may be put aside, creating a dehumanization of the process in the initial stages".

The lack of human affinity with the recruiter is, moreover, a cause of abandonment for 36% of those surveyed.

The fateful 22-day barrier

Slowness has become the number one reason for talent flight. After 22 days, 52% of candidates are likely to give up. This statistic is even higher than a lack of salary transparency (43%) or too many steps (43%).

For Léo Bernard, co-founder of Blendy,

"This 22-day ceiling is not just a statistic, it reflects a profound change in expectations".

He points to the obsolescence of HR tools and the lack of alignment between recruiters and line managers.

The end of the illusion of corporate content

Finally, the institutional employer brand is living out its last hours in its current form. For 57% of young graduates, it's the sector of activity that takes precedence, far ahead of the company's reputation (25%). Worse still for HR communications: only 18% of students give credibility to corporate content when forming an opinion about a company, preferring to rely on feedback from employees, students or alumni (80%).

Caroline Diard, professor at TBS Education, sums up this collapse:

"Gone are the days of formatted messages, in favor of spontaneous testimonials or direct exchanges with teams. The employee experience becomes the best tool.

In 2026, attracting talent requires speed, a hyper-personalized discourse and a return to authentic human exchanges, far removed from polished speeches.

Sources

• EDHEC NewGen Talent Centre × JobTeaser, Young graduates: the new rules for recruiting in 2026, published February 3, 2026, Kantar survey conducted from August 1ᵉʳ to October 15, 2025 on 2,578 students and young graduates. Download the study (PDF)

• EDHEC Business School, presentation of the NewGen Talent Centre and its annual publications.

• Ipsos, L'usage de l'intelligence artificielle par les Français, 2025 (cited by the EDHEC study for generational comparisons).