How Aussie Workers Can Break Through The ‘Entry-Level Glass Floor’

Recent grads, older workers and career changers looking for entry-level roles are struggling more than ever before to break into the job market. The full-time employment rate for domestic undergraduates is 79 per cent compared to Australia’s general unemployment rate of 4.1 per cent, and job mobility has fallen for the second year in a row for older workers, currently sitting at just 1 per cent.

Australian jobseekers are navigating a changing market, with Ai acting as a catalyst that’s redefining entry points and shifting the skills employers value most. Rapid technology advancements are also resulting in shifting demand for skills, as businesses look for talent equipped to keep up with the rate of change. Plus, Aussies are hesitant to adopt the technology – with Lucid Software’s Ai survey finding that 33 per cent lack trust in the outputs Ai creates, and 45 per cent fear being replaced by it altogether.

The phenomenon has been dubbed the ‘entry-level glass floor’ – and the question now is how to break through as the landscape continues to shift.

The Essential Non-Technical Ai Skills Every New Graduate Needs (And Are Already Using)

Whether you are a fresh graduate or looking to change the course of your career, keeping up with Ai and its impact on the world of work can feel intimidating. However, it could be your best chance at landing a new role. According to Amazon, Ai skills are desired by nearly two thirds (63 per cent) of employers, but 75 per cent can’t find the Ai talent they need.

The good news is that you don’t need to be super tech savvy to master Ai. Instead, the trick is to focus on the skills you already use every day. Lucid found that 86 per cent of Australian knowledge workers have never received formal training on how to use the tech, meaning that leveraging human skills like collaboration and critical thinking to build confidence in using Ai is a powerful way to stand out.

Here are the three skills that will help any candidate stand out and future-proof their career.

1. Collaboration With Ai (Putting Your New Colleague To Work)

A key to effective partnership is knowing each partner’s strengths. By treating Ai as a true collaborator, you can strike the right balance between what the technology does best and where human strengths shine. For example:

• Ai handles scale: Let it tackle initial research, data analysis, and first drafts. This is why 45 per cent of employees think Ai will save them three or more hours a week.
  
  
• You provide insight: Focus on what humans do best – setting strategy, asking critical questions, and applying the final judgement.

2. Critical Thinking (Manage Your New Junior Colleague)

Think of an Ai LLM as the most brilliant, fastest junior team member you’ve ever had. It can produce amazing work, but it has no real-world experience, so you would never trust its output without a thorough review. Your job is to manage the Ai, not just accept its answers.

For every output, ask the same questions you would of a new hire:

• Check for understanding: “Is this really what the brief was asking for?”
  
  
• Question its sources: “Where did you get this information? Let me see the original data.”
  
  
• Inspect for bias: “Is this perspective fair and balanced, or are we missing other points of view?”

This approach ensures that decisions made with Ai support are ethical, accurate and aligned with your goals, while also keeping you and your workplace safe from potential pitfalls.

3. Effective Prompt Writing (Briefing Your New Colleague)

A vague request to a human colleague gets a vague answer. The same is true for Ai. The key is shifting your mindset from asking a simple question (like you would in a search engine) to providing a clear prompt. This is a skill that develops with practice, which is why we found that 32 per cent of Australians cited the need for continuous training as a top challenge when implementing Ai. Here are three ways to get better results:

• A role and context: Tell the Ai who to be and provide the background it needs for your request.
  
  
• A specific format: Define the tone and structure you want in the output.
  
  
• An example: If possible, share a sample to guide the Ai’s response.

While many Australian employees remain hesitant about Ai, this initial uncertainty presents a clear opportunity. Instead of fearing replacement, the way forward is to become a skilled and indispensable human partner to this new technology. By mastering three core skills – learning to partner with Ai on the right tasks, brief it with clarity, and manage its outputs with insight and judgement – any job candidate can break through the “entry-level glass floor” and demonstrate immediate value.

Learning to utilise an Ai teammate can feel like starting a new job, it requires patience and practice. Candidates who bring this mindset are not just more attractive to employers – they are the ones who will lead the way, turning the potential of Ai into progress and shaping the future of work, not just being shaped by it.

 Bryan Stallings is Chief Evangelist at Lucid Software.

Last Updated on September 18, 2025 by  Bryan Stallings