CEO Corner: Is "New Grad" Discriminatory in Job Ads?

A recent event made my jaw drop: One of our job ads was blocked by a third-party job search site for being non-compliant with their Age Discrimination Policy because the ad included the term “new grad.” (Read more about it on our blog.)

I pride myself on being inclusive, so this really threw me for a loop. Our legal team says the term “new grad” is not discriminatory because there’s no age limit for students; many adults go back to school for continuing education.

In fact, today, with technologies changing, new fields of study surfacing and careers shifting during the pandemic, I think more students of all ages are heading back to school.

Employers and candidates, what do you think? Does the term “new grad” denote a particular age? Do you think it’s discriminatory?