New Grad Roles

New grad hiring runs on cohort calendars at large companies: target hire dates cluster around summer/fall after the academic year ends. The most competitive tech and finance new-grad programs (Google, Meta, Goldman, Citadel, Anthropic) start their recruiting cycles in August-September of the year before the start date and close by early winter. If you're seeing this in spring 2026, focus on summer-2026 starts and rolling-applicant companies; the September-2026 cohort cycle has largely closed.

For software engineering specifically, new grad compensation in 2026 has cooled slightly from 2022 peaks but still runs $130K–$200K total comp at top companies, with FAANG-tier offers clustering at $180K–$220K. Smaller companies and non-tech industries trend lower in cash comp but can offer faster trajectory.

Apply early, apply broadly, and don't filter out roles where you're a borderline match — new grad hiring is structurally noisier than experienced hiring, and recruiters at established programs often interview broadly to fill the cohort.