Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Career Launch for?

Recent college graduates (final-semester undergraduates and grads in their first 12 months post-graduation), the underemployed cohort working in non-degree roles, and career-changers in the first 5 years post-graduation re-running the journey for a new field.

How much does Career Launch cost?

Steps 1–3 are free. Steps 4–10 require a paid subscription: $450 one-time for lifetime access, or $100/month for 5 months ($500 total). All paid plans include lifetime access — Career Launch travels with you across job changes and role pivots.

What does Career Launch actually do that I can't do alone?

Career Launch sequences the work. Most graduates know they need a resume, mock interviews, networking, and negotiation prep — but not in what order or how the steps connect. The 10-step journey enforces sequence, gives an AI coach for context-aware help, parses 11 daily-refreshed job sources plus hidden-market signals, produces ATS-optimized resumes, and tracks the funnel so you know where applications are leaking.

Why now? Isn't the job market always tough for new grads?

Recent-grad unemployment was 5.7% in Q4 2025 — the highest in three years (Federal Reserve Bank of New York). Underemployment among 22–27-year-olds with degrees reached 42.5%, the highest since 2020. Anthropic's CEO has warned AI could eliminate up to 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs within five years. Big Tech entry-level hiring fell ~50% from pre-pandemic levels. The conditions are getting structurally harder.

Will Career Launch help if I've already graduated and have been job-searching for months?

Yes — that is one of the primary use cases. Six months without a degree-relevant role is when the underemployment trap typically closes. Step 9 (Manage Your Pipeline) is specifically designed for graduates who have lost momentum: a Kanban board with weekly conversion metrics shows exactly where the funnel is leaking — usually it isn't "applications sent."

Q1. I have a degree but I’m working a job that doesn’t require it.

In Q4 2025, 42.5% of recent grads (ages 22–27 with bachelor’s degrees) were underemployed per the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Career Launch’s free Steps 1–3 re-anchor you on the field you actually want; Step 5 (resume) and Step 7 (outreach) are tuned for redirecting from a non-target current job into a degree-relevant target role.

Q2. Every entry-level posting now wants 2 years of experience.

Employers raised entry-level criteria in 2024–2025 because AI handles the easiest tasks (IEEE Spectrum, 2025). Career Launch’s Step 6 (matching) parses actual qualification language, not titles, and Step 5 explicitly surfaces project, internship, and academic work as substitute experience. Step 8 (mock interview) trains you to compete on demonstrated, AI-augmented capability.

Q3. AI is doing the kind of work I just trained for.

Anthropic’s CEO predicts AI could eliminate 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs in five years. HBR’s analysis shows companies are cutting in anticipation of AI gains, not waiting to validate them. Career Launch redirects you toward roles that compound with AI rather than compete against it, and the AI Coach + JD Decoder model how to position you as an AI-leveraging applicant rather than an AI-replaceable one.

Q4. I send 200 applications and hear nothing.

The cold-application funnel is broken at scale. 60–80% of hires in most industries come from the hidden market — jobs filled before they’re posted. Step 6 surfaces hidden-market signals (WARN Act layoff filings, H-1B LCA filings, news-detected hiring). Step 7 gives professional cold-email and LinkedIn templates per company. Step 9 measures the funnel so you know which step is actually leaking — usually it isn’t “applications sent.”

Q5. My resume gets rejected by ATS before a human sees it.

Generic resume tools produce visually-pretty but ATS-hostile documents. Career Launch’s 5-phase resume builder produces two outputs per resume: a human-readable PDF and an ATS-optimized version (with HR-XML, HROpen, and LinkedIn-XML structured exports). The AI review cycles flag ATS-hostile patterns (skill walls, image-only logos, non-standard section headers).

Q6. I don’t know how to negotiate. I’ll just take whatever they offer.

New grads leave $5k–$30k+ on the table per offer because they accept the first number. Step 10 provides per-role salary benchmarks, negotiation scripts tailored to the offer amount, employment-agreement review (non-competes, IP assignment, equity vesting), and acceptance-letter templates. Graduates who use Step 10 typically recover the platform cost from a single negotiation cycle.

Q7. Companies Google me before interviews and I have no idea what they find.

Hiring managers Google candidates pre-interview. A messy digital footprint quietly tanks candidacies without explanation. Step 4 runs a guided digital-presence audit — Google search results, LinkedIn presence, abandoned profiles, reputation signals — with a prioritized cleanup list and how-to instructions for each action.

Q8. I’m anxious about all of this and have nobody coaching me.

University career counselors typically serve hundreds-to-one ratios; meaningful individual coaching is impossible. APA’s 2025 Work in America survey found 54% of workers report job-insecurity stress; recent-grad anxiety is higher. Career Launch’s AI Coach is available 24/7 with full context on your profile, completed steps, and current pipeline. It operates inside the 10-step framework, steering you to the next concrete action rather than offering generic advice. Step 8 lets you practice interview failure cheaply, in private.

Q9. I’m a CS graduate and the entry-level CS market just collapsed.

UK graduate tech roles fell 46% in 2024; U.S. entry-level tech postings fell 67% from 2023 to 2024 (IntuitionLabs analysis). Step 3 explores adjacent CS-skill-leveraging roles (applied AI/ML, DevOps, data engineering, security, technical PM, founding-engineer at AI-leveraging startups). Step 5 repositions your CS portfolio for the post-2024 market: “I built X using AI tool Y” rather than “I can write code.”

Q10. I graduated 6 months ago and I’m losing momentum.

NY Fed data shows recent grads are first to feel labor-market slowdowns. Six months without a degree-relevant role is when the underemployment trap closes. Step 9 (Pipeline) is the answer: a visible Kanban board with weekly metrics — “you applied to 12 roles, 4 phone screens, 1 onsite, 0 offers — here’s where the funnel is leaking” — creates the accountability and feedback loop a 1:300 career counselor can’t.

Q11. My parents want to help but they’re using outdated advice.

Career Launch’s parent-access feature grants shared visibility into your progress (with your consent), so parents can support without micromanaging — they can ask “how did Step 7 outreach go this week?” instead of “did you call any companies?”

Q12. I keep getting job-search advice that’s the same as everyone else’s.

The internet is saturated with generic advice; AI now produces it in infinite volume. Career Launch is structured around your specific data — your values, skills inventory, target field, target companies, current pipeline state. Every recommendation is contextual: resume bullets are about your actual experience, outreach scripts mention the actual company, negotiation scripts use the actual offer number.