The Hidden Barriers to Student Success

In today’s AI-driven job market, we face a paradox:

80%

of jobs are never advertised — and even when posted, applicants with referrals are up to 20x more likely to get hired 2

52%

of college graduates are under-employed: they do all we tell them to do, get the degree and still can’t build family sustaining, fulfilling careers

1. The Rochester Study (1966), B. Haldane (How to Make a Habit of Success, 1966), R. Bolles (What Color is Your Parachute, 1970)

2. Based on 80 mn ATS record analyzed by Jeremy Schifeling in 2025 and shared on LinkedIn

The Reframe

The opportunity is already there. Alumni and professionals want to help — students just need the skills and confidence to reach out. When instructors make relationship-building part of the journey, doors open.

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How We Do It?

Unlocking Social Capital for Economic Mobility: Climb Together works with education-to-career focused high schools, colleges, universities, and workforce organizations to unlock job referrals, relationships, social capital and jobs for learners who need it most.

Social Capital Strategy & Content

Our team of seasoned workforce experts partners with you to create a strategic social capital content plan.

AI-Based Learning

Learners have the opportunity to practice “real” networking conversations with our proprietary AI bot, Goldi.

Alumni Engagement Flywheel

Climb Together helps your institution attract, recruit, and engage employed alumni as “connectors”.

Unlocking job through social capital stories

Stanley

I was laid off from my company earlier this year. I immediately went into job search mode and applied cold to many postings on LinkedIn. I also reached out to my professional network from my workforce upskilling program and landed some interviews. After quite a few rejections, an alumna of my program asked if I was interested in a Salesforce Developer role. She connected me with the recruiter and I landed the job. This is what social capital is all about.

Nicole

My internship at Zuora was an incredible learning experience. I was disappointed when a full-time opportunity wasn't offered to me after the internship ended. After hundreds of cold applications and final interviews, I wasn’t getting any offers. I casually mentioned my job search to a friend whose husband was a well-connected VP of Sales. He connected me to several recruiters and I ended up with two offers shortly after.

Rumman

Over the past year, I threw everything I had into a one-year contract I secured at a fortune 100 company. There was a steep learning curve and I had to overcome many obstacles to prove my worth. Following what I learned at Climb Hire, I intentionally built strong relationships internally with senior leaders who recognized my value and contributions. They helped build my reputation within the team. Due to my relationships and dedication, I was offered the full-time role and am still thriving.

Jesse

I was working for a housing non-profit in a lower level role and struggling to break into management. I received a call from a former colleague who was opening a new facility and needed a leader. He reached out because he knew my work product and dedication. He asked me to interview for the role. I landed my first management role with this relationship and it significantly increased my income and earning power.

Yrel

I was out of work for six months because my company went through mass layoffs. A former colleague reached out after hearing I was affected and mentioned she wanted to hire me for an open role on her team. Because we had worked together successfully before, she knew I could do the job well. This is the power of social capital. It's way more effective than applying cold for jobs.

Nevin

I was looking to acquire a new skill in IT so that I could leave a low paying job at a school district office. I joined Climb Hire and learned many of the skills associated with social capital: active listening, deepening conversations, crafting a compelling story, resume building, interviewing, and making actionable “asks” of people both within and outside of my network. Armed with these new skills and confidence, I leveraged my school district relationships and was referred to an IT job that doubled my salary. This is social capital in action.

Carlos

After completing my Climb Hire program, I was hired by a company as an in-house Salesforce Administrator. I worked closely with two of the company's main clients and built strong relationships. Unfortunately the company shut down due to lack of revenue. Leveraging the connections I built, one of the clients offered me a full-time contract role which then turned into a permanent position six months later. This experience taught me the immense value of social capital and how it can open doors to unexpected opportunities.