Gen Z, AI, and the Workforce Crisis: Heather Jerrehian on Careers in the Age of Displacement

Heather Jerrehian:

I've been in this field of building AI technology for the last decade, really focused on the workforce and skills. But I'm now bringing it to Gen Z because I see an existential crisis with two billion of them starting to enter the workforce.

So a computer science major at Stanford was told her entire life, go into tech, you'll be set. And all of a sudden as she's in school realizing the job I had planned to do when I come out is starting to be replaced by AI. What does this mean for me? And you know last summer she was looking for an internship. She couldn't find an internship. From Stanford. She couldn't find one. No.

So what I am trying to do is bring psychometrics. So I am trying to help them understand what are their strengths.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Welcome to a series of conversations with leaders who are turning AI's promise into real business results. We're here at the World Economy Summit, Semafor in Washington, D.C. I'm Jeff Kavanaugh and today we're joined by Heather Jerrehian, CEO and Founder of H22. Heather, welcome.

Heather Jerrehian:

Thank you, Jeff. It's great to be here.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

What's the most surprising impact of the AI revolution for Gen Z and how it redefined how companies compete?

Heather Jerrehian:

Yeah, so great question. And I think what's so exciting about what's happening now is that everyone's a technologist, right? AI is kind of the great equalizer where those of us who don't have an engineering background know much about technology. Now all of sudden we can code.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

The promise and the peril.

Heather Jerrehian:

It's the promise and the peril. We can build our own technology tools. We can use it as a thought partner. We can use it as a way to take vast amounts of data and help us make sense of it.

And so I think for me, as someone who's starting a new company, I've been in this field of building AI technology for the last decade, really focused on the workforce and skills. But I'm now bringing it to Gen Z because I see an existential crisis with two billion of them starting to enter the workforce.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Two billion?

Heather Jerrehian:

Two billion Gen Zers. I've personally adopted them as my own children. Because I want to help them enter the workforce successfully. Because what we're seeing with AI is it's disrupting a lot of that entry level work, right? So it's doing a lot of the mundane tasks that a lot of young people would normally come into.

And what we're seeing with a lot of organizations, particularly I'm in the Silicon Valley, a lot of tech companies are really taking advantage of the great benefits that AI brings. And a lot of them are starting to hold on hiring a lot of new entry level roles.

So what that's doing, what's not really well known is in the US, our unemployment rate is 4.4 across the board, but for Gen Z, it's over 10%.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

But the number.

Heather Jerrehian:

And those are the ones looking for jobs.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

And those are the ones looking for jobs.

Heather Jerrehian:

And what's even more upsetting to me is that the under-employment rate. So nearly half of students are leaving college and doing work that actually doesn't require their degree. So they're dog walkers, bartenders, baristas. So that's not even showing up in that unemployment number.

But if you can imagine at the beginning of your career not successfully getting in and earning a real living over the arc of your lifetime, that can be really devastating for someone. And so I'm wanting to solve that problem.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Just put an exclamation point on it. Literally yesterday there was some information some research I was reading, I think it was 50% is underemployed or maybe not in a formal job. The informal work, maybe part-time gig work, etc. It's a crisis that I'm so glad you're addressing.

Heather Jerrehian:

Well, and we're here in Washington, DC, where last year we laid off almost 300,000 people right in the public sector. And a lot of those people intended to work in the public sector their entire career and retire. Sometimes it's both mother and father who are working in the public sector. And whether it was right or wrong to do so, there was a whole series of expectations and investments in college and everything else.

But how do we help them rethink coming into the workforce, into maybe the private sector? And so I'm actually trying to take that formula, but bring it to the people, the Gen Zers who are at the beginning of their career, because I just see that as if you can't get started on the right foot at the beginning, then that impact not only for them, but as a global society and our global GDP. This could be trillions of dollars of drag on our GDP.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

It's a two-part question. The first part is with so much AI investment, you mentioned all this drag. What is the measurable ROI that's going to come from this? Because if people, we're already spending a lot of money on AI. Can we direct it in a way that yields something that our audience who are corporate leaders can relate to?

Heather Jerrehian:

Yes. So I think there's so much benefit that can come. I mean, I think the early things that we're seeing is a lot of productivity gains.

And I think there are organizations, it depends on companies' philosophy, but for me, it's all about the psychological safety and the change management. Because a lot of organizations are very excited about AI, and they're implementing it, and they're kind of pushing it down into the organization, but they're forgetting about the individual people. And not all of us change, accept change at the same rate.

And so I think the need for trust and transparency in an organization to really understand how are we using this? What are the benefits we're looking for? What is the ROI? And being really transparent about what that is.

So in my experience of implementing this type of technology, being able to let workers know we want you to use this, we want you to get the productivity gains, we want you to have some of your tasks fully automated so it frees up time for you to do more of this work. That's the message for the companies.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Right. Okay. We were talking about three legs of the stool. So if the company value proposition that you're trying to address. Certainly the disillusioned two billion Gen Zers. Yeah. And then there's the academic piece. What's in it for the institutions?

Heather Jerrehian:

Well, so they care about this?

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Oh my goodness. They absolutely care.

Heather Jerrehian:

And the reason they care, everything goes back to dollars, right? I think some of these institutions are actually I know for a fact some of these institutions because I'm talking with them. Enrollments are starting to decline in some of these schools. Not all of them, but some of them are starting to see that because more and more Gen Zers are asking the question of do I need a degree? Like I'm in high school, do I go to a four-year college, do I go to a trade school, or do I just go directly to get a job? And do I not go into all this debt?

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Exactly.

Heather Jerrehian:

And so it's not only enrollments but it's retention of students because some are saying, and again these are doom and gloom headlines, we've all heard them, I don't subscribe to them, I have a very positive outlook on human-AI collaboration, but they're real. We're hearing them of jobs might go away.

And some of them are hearing when you're really anxious and you're at the beginning and this is, you you've not been out in the workforce and you're hearing jobs going away.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Now social media would never feed on that fear, would it?

Heather Jerrehian:

No, no, not at all. But you hear that. And so it makes you question, gosh, should I take a break from school and start to get my foot in the workforce before jobs go away? That's some of the thinking I've heard from some of these Gen Zers.

And so really what I want to help them with is navigating across their life, learning, and career. So I want to help these academia, and help students. So I want to be the AI side of their human services. So when we think about traditional career services at a university, I want to bring the AI piece, which is an AI-native platform that supports what they're doing, that one-to-one career guidance counseling.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

You're a platform. Platforms work whenever the network effects kick in, you get big. Yeah. Sounds like it's LinkedIn for Gen Z or it's taking something that maybe would have gone that route. So what is that core value proposition that these folks are getting?

Heather Jerrehian:

So I'll give a perfect example. So Anna, who is an intern at H22, I met her at a really interesting point inflection point for her. So a computer science major at Stanford was told her entire life, go into tech, you'll be set. She's golden. Everything right. She is a software engineer. You'll get a six figure salary. And all of a sudden as she's in school realizing the job I had planned to do when I come out is starting to be replaced by AI. What does this mean for me?

And you know last summer she was looking for an internship. She couldn't find an internship. From Stanford. She couldn't find one. No. And this is she's like hundreds of students I've talked to who can't seem to even get a footing of an internship.

And so when we think about that what happens when you send out 300 resumes and nobody responds? What is it that I can actually do to contribute and bring value to this world? And you start to really question that. And when you're that young, you don't have enough life experience.

So what I am trying to do is bring psychometrics. So I am trying to help them understand what are their strengths. What are their motivators? What are things that are maybe challenges to create some self-awareness? Who might they collaborate well with?

Jeff Kavanaugh:

You are helping them get ready psychologically as well as mentally for this new world.

Heather Jerrehian:

Yes. So for Anna, when she learned we have nine archetypes, what her archetype was, what her natural innate strengths were, it was really interesting because she said to me, I'm not sure these are all my strengths. Some I recognize, some I don't. And I just said, well, just pay attention. And day to day practical experience as you're interning with us and you're engaging and she's had a seat at the table.

The ethos of my company is that everyone, including Gen Z, gets a seat at the table. And because I want this built by Gen Z for Gen Z. But what was interesting is over time, she's like, you know what, Heather, I started to see I do have that strength. I didn't realize it.

So what we're doing is we're creating an understanding for her of what is her unique value. And then what we do is once you've got a better understanding of who you are and how to articulate that. What are you learning in school? Is your major the major that you actually want or is it the one that your parents said they would pay for?

Can't tell you how many students are like getting a STEM degree because that's all my parents would pay for but I'm actually interested in music or writing and so how do we take that information of what your passions are your interests?

Jeff Kavanaugh:

I know some people very well who went the softer route because they said follow your passion right and they're actually mad that they didn't get a little stronger guidance about what might be productive. So I think it goes both ways.

Heather Jerrehian:

Well, it does go both ways. And so the third part of our platform is not just the learning and what's your major, your concentration and helping you select classes that are suited for you. So it's all custom personalized.

But then from there, what are all the possible dynamic career paths that you might take based on who you are, what you're learning, what skills and interests and hobbies you have, and what are all the dynamic paths? And we have a proprietary model for that, also looking at labor data of understanding which paths have a greater possibility of automation risk versus others so that they can make actually a decision on what's best for them, but more importantly, not just the traditional things that they've heard about, right?

There is so much work to be done out in the world, but it might not be, it may be something that you've never heard of, but you realize, oh my gosh, that's a really unique match for me. So we're creating this blueprint of you across life, learning, career. So three paths and 22 dimensions that evolves and grows with.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

22 dimensions. Yes. In the 22nd century. Yes. Yes. Everything's 22 H22. Yes. Got it.

Heather Jerrehian:

Yeah, and I'm for 22nd century leadership because I'm trying to make a point for those that are in decision-making capabilities that we're making short-term decisions. But we need to think about what's the longer-term impact? So what decisions are we making today and what's the impact on Gen Z alpha and beta behind them and so I'm a real proponent for us thinking about the longer term.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

You said the schools are really excited about this. What has been your experience with corporations or companies?

Heather Jerrehian:

I'm a serial entrepreneur I sold a company into the enterprise and so I have a lot of experience working with very large, you know fortune 500 fortune 50 organizations.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

I mean, it seemed like an enlightened HR officer would love to hear this.

Heather Jerrehian:

There is definitely I think a product-led growth into the enterprise for this because what we're trying to create is like a sovereign vault for a Gen Zer, so it's all about who are they so they're really getting to know all the attributes of themselves, their archetype. It's kind of a database of what were all my studies, a digital portfolio of all the projects and things they did, a digital resume.

So if you think about a company who's really, again, this is about like not just job titles, but we want to understand what are the skills of people? What are their interests? What are their passions? How do they work with other people? This kind of brings all those missing dimensions that maybe an organization doesn't know about their.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Or keywords, or searches that won't capture. And then all of a sudden you're filtered out before you ever get a chance to show who you are. Right, so a different way of maybe matching people as we think about. Measure for grit, measure for experiences, resilience, and all that kind of stuff.

Heather Jerrehian:

Exactly.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Well Heather thank you so much for your time.

Heather Jerrehian:

Thank you for having me. This has been great.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

I'm Jeff Kavanaugh from the Infosys Knowledge Institute. Until next time, keep learning and keep sharing.