Trying harder isn’t the problem: Why we need to change the narrative around unemployment in the lasting wake of COVID-19
By Anika Umesh Kumar, April 24 2026—
“Maybe you just need to try harder.”
That’s what someone said to me after I told them about my struggle to find a good job. To their credit, this was said with no malice, and they were quick to apologize once they realized how it sounded. Still, the quick delivery, the lack of hesitation and the sheer weight of that comment made it pack a punch.
In that moment, it was startling to consider that I wasn’t where I thought I’d be solely because of my own shortcomings. The idea became more unsettling when I realized that all my peers were struggling, and that none, including the brightest among us, seemed to have accomplished what society expected of us by now.
A comment so easily spoken was enough to blame an entire generation of striving youths — a group that spent many of their formative years isolated amid uncertainty and confusion — for being unable to find their way in a world that hasn’t quite recovered.
The impacts of COVID-19 are by no means subtle or overlooked. Economically, politically and socially, the pandemic left lasting consequences that we will continue to grapple with for years to come., Yyet society seems determined to move on. We seem to be are eager to revert to the way things used to be rather than come to terms with the fundamental changes that have occurred in the past few years.
As a high school student in 2021, I missed internships, networking opportunities, workplace experiences and countless other critical chances to build my professional skills and confidence. Like many others, I entered university on unequal footing compared to those before me, and yet I was expected to perform at the same level.
While the early years of the pandemic brought temporary accommodations, such as flexible grading, modified assessments, and extended deadlines, those measures quickly disappeared quickly once campuses reopened. By the time my cohort entered university, expectations for academic performance, internships, and professional development had largely returned to pre-pandemic standards. Universities emphasized expanded mental-health supports, but offered far less recognition or tangible support for the educational and professional gaps created by years of cancelled opportunities and disrupted learning. COVID-19 changed the starting line, but the criteria by which we were judged stayed the same.
I’ve since found my feet as a student, but now the same issue faces meus as Iwe try to enter the workforce. With every entry-level application asking for years of experience, multiple credentials and an ever-growing list of accomplishments, I’m compelled to ask: When were we supposed to do this?
I’m not sure what answer I’d receive if I actually posed that question to an employer, but I suspect the result would remain the same: — an email beginning with, “We regret to inform you.” The same standards that once overwhelmed first-year students now continue to narrow an already dwindling job market, making it nearly impossible to recover the opportunities that were lost.
Now, before I get labelled “lazy” or “entitled,” let me be clear: I’m not asking for handouts, nor do I think I deserve to get opportunities I’m unqualified for. What I am asking for is acknowledgement.
It’s unfair to blame youths when the systems in place have so heavily contributed to shaping and restricting the paths available to us. The pandemic worked on an unimaginably massive scale, and it’s not entitled to point that out or suggest that expectations be adjusted accordingly.
The world did not hit pause in 2020. Yes, things seemed to be still for a moment, but life continued forward, just different from before. This is why “going back to the way things were” is a fruitless endeavour that intentionally ignores how our reality has been fundamentally reshaped.
The gaps that were created in the process cannot just be haphazardly filled like potholes; they need to be acknowledged and accommodated. Recognizing this is not about lowering expectations or giving freebies — it’s about aligning opportunities with reality, and giving those who endured unprecedented disruption a fair chance to succeed.
And finally, a message to all those who relate to this article: we are not behind because we lack effort or ambition. We are navigating a world that has been radically altered while being measured by standards from a world that no longer exists, and that is a failure of the systems.
“Trying harder” is not the crux of our problems. Expectations are.
This article is a part of our Opinions section and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Gauntlet editorial board.