Gen Zers are turning their tassels and sending out hundreds of applications hoping for their first break. Hospitality giant Hilton has seen a tidal wave of young candidates flood its inbox—and in the AI era, getting selected is even rarer than getting into Harvard University.
Hilton’s early career program Launch has become so competitive that landing a spot is harder than getting into an Ivy League college. For its 2026 cycle, it received 5,000 applications over just a few weeks for only 20 open positions, meaning only 0.4% were accepted into the cohort.
For the first 10 months of the two-year rotation in McLean, Virginia, the young professionals work in a key corporate area, strengthening their business, analytics, and tech skills. They also spend three months learning hotel operations and the guest experience at one of Hilton’s worldwide properties before cycling back into another 10-month corporate rotation.
Laura Fuentes, Hilton’s chief human resources officer, tells Fortune that the program is designed to give young workers a broad view of the business while setting them up for long-term careers. After their successful two-year immersion into the business, Launch participants are offered a full-time job.
“These jobs are super competitive. I mean, we have 20 to 30 spots, and we’ll get 5,000 applicants,” Fuentes says. “It’s intense… The volume may ebb and flow in any given year, but there are opportunities, and we’re looking for talent all around the world.”
Hilton is getting more and more Gen Z applicants
Aside from the two-year rotational program, landing an internship at the $68 billion hotel chain is just as cutthroat.
This year, around 12,000 candidates applied for 72 open slots—with only 0.6% making the cut. As it assembles its next 2027 cohort of early-career workers, Hilton tells Fortune the competition is ramping up, having already received almost 15,000 applications so far. The window for Gen Zers to submit their resume and cover letter is closing in less than a week—and those who apply will be entering an increasingly crowded applicant pool.
“Our internships and full-time gigs are perhaps fewer and far in between, and highly competitive,” Fuentes says.
Trying to land a job while up against tens of thousands of competitors, Gen Zers may be tempted to fire off as many resumes as humanly possible. Young professionals send out thousands of applications with no luck, while hiring managers wade through a deluge of candidates for a single job posting. Instead of playing the numbers game, the CHRO advises workers to be more intentional in their job hunt.
Internships and early-career jobs are more competitive in AI era
Aside from strong interest in working at the hospitality giant—ranked No. 1 on Fortune’s 2025 Great Place to Work list—Fuentes pointed out that competition for its entry-level gigs is heightened by AI.
Job applicants have been using the tech to quickly tailor their resumes and cover letters, ramping up the number of roles they can apply to. But in return for the convenience, they’re also up against thousands of others doing the same.
“[With] the volume that our recruiters are receiving, it’s nearly impossible to respond and manage that pipeline,” Hilton’s CHRO explained. “It’s a bit of a double-edged sword. Candidates can apply more easily—we’ve removed a lot of the friction from the process. AI is helping candidates apply, but then they’re also the victims of the increased volume that this generates.”
Instead of spraying and praying, Fuentes says authenticity can become a differentiator in a hiring market flooded with AI-generated applications. And when recruiters are drowning in applications, showing that you genuinely want the job may matter more than simply being another name in the pile.
“Try to be a little selective about places that really are going to light you up, where you’re going to be happy,” Fuentes says. “Because at some point, if you make it through—which is your hope in the interview process—we’re gonna want to see authentic interest.”
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