Some employers forcing newly hired college graduates to wait months to start jobs

BOSTON – The job market for 2023 college graduates is strong, but some who are ready to enter the workforce have been thrown a curveball.

Several recent grads have told WBZ-TV they were offered jobs well before graduation, only to have their start dates pushed back to next year.

Recruiting exerts said they have seen this at many of the large consulting companies as well as many law firms.

Some of the graduates had planned to start this summer or fall, but have been told by their company they will need to wait until January or even next spring.  Some are offered a stipend to wait it out, others are not.

So the question is, do you wait or look for something else?

Elaine Varelas of Keystone Partners, says it's a lot like deciding which college to attend.

"If you think about a college that defers you for a year, if it's your number one college, highly prestigious, lots of great connections, then it absolutely can be a good decision to take that year off. If it's just a job, then I would encourage people to continue looking for other jobs," she said.

According to Varelas, these delayed starts could spell trouble for the 2024 graduates who will start looking in those industries next spring.