Coursera CEO’s No. 1 Career Tip for Graduates as AI Continues to Replace Traditional Jobs

As AI is wiping out entry-level jobs, Greg Hart, President and CEO of Coursera, has shared pro tips to help graduates stay competitive in the job market and perform exceptionally well in interviews.

Greg Hart used to be the technical advisor to Jeff Bezos and is now the CEO of the online learning platform Coursera, appointed in February 2025. In a conversation with CNBC Make It, he said that it is highly important for young people to engage in additional learning alongside a degree to secure their space in the AI-driven landscape.

“The advice that I give to my sons… is one of the best things that you can do is to augment your university degree with micro credentials specifically,” he said in the interview.

By “micro credential”, he referred to short courses that offer a certification for particular knowledge or skills. These usually take way less time when compared to a traditional degree or diploma. Hart shared that it is crucial to supplement degrees with additional certifications, as graduate jobs are at high risk of being replaced by AI.

“They [micro credentials] demonstrate to employers that not only did you get whatever university degree you’re studying, but you augmented that with something that is generally much more workforce focused,” Coursera’s Hart added.

Hart further explained that the fresh graduates going for the job interviews must highlight their character traits and personality alongside their experience. “Say you’re a young person in university right now; you are generally going to get hired into your first job based primarily on the traits that they see in you,” he said.

“They’re going to be assessing your mindset and your traits as a human being more than your experience, because by definition, you really don’t have much experience, and so they’re not really hiring you for your experience, they’re hiring you for your… personality traits,” he further added.

At the same time, Hart also talked about one of the traits that is prioritized by employers. While explaining about the specific trait, he said “people who are proactive and hard working and take initiative, who prove to be ready, learners” are the ones who are preferred by employers nowadays.

The most effective way to show that you have this trait is to complete the courses alongside the degree. For instance, Hart encouraged his son, who is a finance major, to pursue a course on AI for finance.

CNBC Make It has already interviewed a lot of career experts who advise that the employees who have been replaced by AI must train themselves in specific skills by increasing AI literacy via short courses, rather than engaging in an all-new, time-consuming degree. It will be significantly cost and time-efficient.

Committing to additional learning demonstrates that you are open to new learning and promise to bring those traits to your job, experts told CNBC.